Ermolao Rubieri was born in Prato on the 21st of February 1818. The family, of French origin, from Saint Remy in Provenza, had moved to Italy at the beginning of the 18th century. In a passage from his autobiography, Ermolao talks about the virtues of his parents: his father, Giovanni Rubieri, was an excellent doctor, loved Italy (which is why he changed his name to an Italian name) and was a supporter of democratic ideas (in 1799 he was put on trial and was later arrested in a struggle with the clerical party); his mother, Assunta Bresci, came from a rich Pratese family. Ermolao lost his parents when he was very young, and so at the age of six, he boarded at the Cicognini College, which was established as one of the best schools in Italy. From 1830 to 1836 he studied at a college in Lucca. He then returned to Prato and settled in his father's house, in via Santa Trinita. In 1838 he wrote an epic poem, inspired by the deeds of Napoleon, entitled "Il predestinato", that he then destroyed. In 1840, after reading the play of Corneille, he wrote a tragedy, "Il Cid". In 1842, after a period of an elegant and happy-go-lucky lifestyle, he devoted more time to the historical studies, finishing the drama "Torquato Tasso". Both the tragedy and the drama were published in 1844. In 1843 he wrote "Bianca Cappello" and "Eleonaora di Toledo", both remained unpublished because of problems with the censor's office. In 1845 he started another drama, "Francesco Valori", which was published in 1848 by Le Monnier. Several works were published in that period, that promoted the struggle for the unity of Italy: "Del primato…" by Gioberti, "Speranze d'Italia" by Balbo, and "Gli ultimi casi di Romagna" by D'Azeglio. Ermolao was eager to take part in the political struggle and sided with the people that wanted Italian unity, and were against the Austrians and the papacy. In 1847 he stayed in Rome and then moved on to Palermo where he met his old College mate, Giuseppe de Spucches, Prince of Galata. He then visited the Abruzzi, Marche and Romagne regions and the San Marino Republic. In 1849 his "Alexandra III" was published. Amongst his works we should mention: "Nuovi saggi drammatici" (1856), and the historical two volume novel, "Francesco I Sforza" (1879). He joined the struggles and rebellions during the Italian "Risorgimento" (he spread his ideas through his writing and was a volunteer soldier). Rubieri was deputy at the Italian Parliament. In 1876 he withdrew from politics, but went on writing about politics, the economy and jurisprudence. His political ideals are illustrated in his polemic book, "Storia intima della Toscana, dal 1° gennaio 1859 al 30 aprile 1860 (Prato, 1861)". His "Storia della poesia popolare italiana" (1877) is still used as a useful aid for studying Italian folk poetry. Ermolao Rubieri died in Florence on the 23rd of October 1879.