Patrizia Cavalli was born in Todi, Umbria, and now lives in Rome. She has published seven collections of poetry, including Poesie 1974-1992, L'io singolare proprio mio, Sempre aperto teatro, Pigre divinit¿ pigra sorte and, most recently, Datura. She has also published popular and well-regarded translations of Shakespeare and Moli¿.