Named probably after a character in the opera La Gioconda by the Italian composer Amilcare Ponchielli (1834–1886). The opera is based on a play by the French poet Victor Hugo (1802–1885) {see planet  (2106)}. This planet could also have been named after the character in Sonnets to Laura by the Italian poet Francesco Petrarca (1304–1374). (H 51) _ _.