Epic poem in Latin "Africa" (9 books, 1338-1342), glorifying the conquest of Carthage by the Roman commander Scipio. Even before its completion, "Africa" brought Petrarch the glory of the great poet and the crowning with a laurel wreath in Rome at the Capitol, like the great men of antiquity [1341]. From that moment on, Petrarch becomes the intellectual leader of the entire cultural world.