Ariosto's library. For a new commentary on 1532 Orlando furioso
Abstract:
The studies and the edition which accompanied the celebrations of the 500th anniversary of Orlando Furioso’s first edition (1516) have laid the foundations for a better understanding of Ariosto's refined and multifaceted literary memory and they have made it possible to re-examine and widen our knowledge of the intertextual depth of the poem in its three editions (1516, 1521, 1532). While these acquisitions have enriched the Ariosto studies, they have also highlighted how much more can still be done to reconstruct Ariosto's elusive library.
Drawing on these considerations, it is clear that, despite the excellent editions of the Furioso produced in the past by scholars of the stature of Emilio Bigi and Cesare Segre, it is necessary to develop an innovative commentary on the final version of the poem.
Aim of the project is, therefore, to lay the foundations for a new commentary on 1532 Orlando Furioso, through a systematic investigation of the poem's complex intertextual network, focusing on a closer inquiry into the cultural environment both in Ferrara and in Italy between the late 15th and the early 16th century. The research will unfold along three different strands: 1. a reconsideration of the classical and vernacular models of the poem, with particular attention to the humanistic culture of the Este court; 2. a comparative examination of the relationship between Ariosto’s poem with the contemporary chivalric literature; 3. an analysis of the sixteenth-century commentaries on the poem, highly valuable in tracing both its classical and vernacular sources.
We thus intend to: 1) bring into sharper focus the Este culture, both humanistic and vernacular, which provides the essential background for reconstructing Ariosto’s intellectual environment and better understanding his work; 2) extend our knowledge of Italian chivalric literature between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, both in order to trace possible new links between the Furioso and the chivalric poems from which Ariosto may have drawn inspiration, and to better determine, through more up-to-date studies, his relationship with the works of Pulci and Boiardo or other less known poems (e.g. Ancroia, Altobello, Persiano); finally, 3) investigate the contemporary reception of Ariosto's poem in sixteenth-century commentaries (e.g. by Simone Fornari, Orazio Toscanella, Alberto Lavezola) and the later debate, examining in particular the role of Tasso as a reader of the Furioso, which has so far been neglected in relation to the sources of the Orlando Furioso.
By reclaiming what was already pointed out by his contemporaries and investigating the intellectual environment in Ferrara, the project aims to compile a new ideal catalogue of Ariosto's library, in order to better understand how it nourished the Furioso, both in terms of content and of narrative strategies.
Drawing on these considerations, it is clear that, despite the excellent editions of the Furioso produced in the past by scholars of the stature of Emilio Bigi and Cesare Segre, it is necessary to develop an innovative commentary on the final version of the poem.
Aim of the project is, therefore, to lay the foundations for a new commentary on 1532 Orlando Furioso, through a systematic investigation of the poem's complex intertextual network, focusing on a closer inquiry into the cultural environment both in Ferrara and in Italy between the late 15th and the early 16th century. The research will unfold along three different strands: 1. a reconsideration of the classical and vernacular models of the poem, with particular attention to the humanistic culture of the Este court; 2. a comparative examination of the relationship between Ariosto’s poem with the contemporary chivalric literature; 3. an analysis of the sixteenth-century commentaries on the poem, highly valuable in tracing both its classical and vernacular sources.
We thus intend to: 1) bring into sharper focus the Este culture, both humanistic and vernacular, which provides the essential background for reconstructing Ariosto’s intellectual environment and better understanding his work; 2) extend our knowledge of Italian chivalric literature between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, both in order to trace possible new links between the Furioso and the chivalric poems from which Ariosto may have drawn inspiration, and to better determine, through more up-to-date studies, his relationship with the works of Pulci and Boiardo or other less known poems (e.g. Ancroia, Altobello, Persiano); finally, 3) investigate the contemporary reception of Ariosto's poem in sixteenth-century commentaries (e.g. by Simone Fornari, Orazio Toscanella, Alberto Lavezola) and the later debate, examining in particular the role of Tasso as a reader of the Furioso, which has so far been neglected in relation to the sources of the Orlando Furioso.
By reclaiming what was already pointed out by his contemporaries and investigating the intellectual environment in Ferrara, the project aims to compile a new ideal catalogue of Ariosto's library, in order to better understand how it nourished the Furioso, both in terms of content and of narrative strategies.
Dettagli progetto:
Referente scientifico: Gritti Valentina
Fonte di finanziamento: Bando PRIN 2022
Data di avvio: 17/10/2023
Data di fine: 17/10/2025
Contributo MUR: 70.087 €
Co-finanziamento UniFe: 19.230 €
Partner:
- Università degli Studi di MILANO-BICOCCA (capofila)
- Università degli Studi di FERRARA
- Università degli Studi di FIRENZE