This poem was written by Leon Modena in 1584 when he was only 13 years old and dedicated to his departed teacher Rabbi Mosè della Rocca. It’s my understanding that the Italian translation is also authored by Leon Modena (via on the main line):
קינה שמור אוי מה כםס אוצר בו
כל טוב אילים כוסי אור דין אל צלו
משה מורי משה יקר דבר בו
שם תושיה און יום כפור הוא זה לו
כלה מיטה ימי שן צרי אשר בו
צייון זה מות רע אין כאן ירפה לו
ספינה בים קל צל עובר ימינו
הלים יובא שבי ושי שמנו
Chi nasce, muor. Oimè, che passo [a]cerbo!
Colto vi è l’uom, cosí ordina ‘l Cielo
Mosè morí, Mosè: già car di verbo
Santo sia ogn’uom, con puro zelo
Ch’alla metà, già mai senza riserbo
Si giunge, ma vedran in cangiar pelo
Se fin abbiam, ch’al cielo ver ameno
- Ah – l’uomo va, se viv’ assai, se meno.
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Not quite an Italian translation. Something much more wonderful. The Italian poem has the same sounds, in the same order, as the Hebrew poem, but, of course, adding up to Italian words. The Italian words constitute a lament on the death of the poet’s teacher,and the Hebrew words constitute a completely different lament on the death of the poet’s teacher.
The Hebrew poem begins, “Kinah Shimor” = “Observe a lament”
The Italian poem begins, “Chi nasce, muor” = “Whatever is born, dies,”
And so on for every word of the poem.
Pretty spectacular, no?
Eliezer, it’s hard to appreciate this without knowing Italian, But Modena is one f my absolute heroes so there is no one whom I admire as much and I am sure your praise of his poetry is not even enough.