Why is he sometimes called Petrarca or Francis Petrarch?
It all has to do with translations. The most “correct” was to spell his name would be Francesco Petrarca. His name is often spelled Petrarch because in English this spelling gives a closer to sound to his real name. The change from Francesco to Francis again is an English change, as Francis is the English version of the name Francesco early English writers who copied his works would often change his name to sound more English as well.
