Rule reminder
In literary Italian, the condizionale passato is used with heightened frequency for elegant expression of counterfactuals, indirect speech, and nuanced hypotheticals. Verbs like 'valersi', 'avvalersi', 'trarre', 'addurre', 'espungere' appear in elevated contexts.
Il poeta non ___ (scrivere) quelle strofe se non avesse vissuto quella tragedia.