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Why did Petrarch leave Avignon for Milan in 1353?

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Engraving of Petrarch wearing a laurel wreath and a robe, holding a closed book in his left hand. — Petrarch Petrarch, engraving.

Petrarch decided to leave Avignon for Milan in 1353 due to a combination of personal and professional factors. His departure was primarily driven by the death of his closest friends, a strong dislike for the newly elected pope, Innocent VI, and increasingly bitter relations with the papal court in Avignon.1