Modern Philology

Renaissance court literature, between poetry and treatises The course consists of 84 hours of lessons (for a total of 12 credits), divided into the following two modules: Module A (Prof. Lucioli) Reading Matteo Maria Boiardo's Inamoramento de Orlando The module aims to introduce students to the reading and understanding of Matteo Maria Boiardo's chivalric poem Inamoramento de Orlando, paying particular attention to the genesis and structure of the work, the historical and cultural context and literary tradition in which it is set, its relationship with other works by the same author (in particular Amorum libri tres) and its reception. The module consists of 42 hours of lessons (for a total of 6 CFU) and includes an analysis of the following topics: - introduction to chivalric poetry; - life and works of Matteo Maria Boiardo; - reading and analysis of Inamoramento de Orlando. Module B (Prof. Favaro) Baldassarre Castiglione and the Social Model of the Court in Renaissance Italy The module (42 hours, 6 CFU) will focus on the analysis of one of the most representative texts of the Renaissance tradition, Baldassarre Castiglione's The Book of the Courtier, exploring key themes such as, for example, the representation of the court, the requirements for the ideal courtier and palace woman, the question of nobility, the debate on the superiority of arms and letters, the 'civil conversation', the dignity of women, the relationship of the courtier with the prince and, more generally, with political power.

Excellent knowledge of the Italian language. Excellent knowledge of Italian literature from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance and of the main metrical and rhetorical structures.

The final bibliography will be provided at the beginning of the course. Module A - M.M. Boiardo, Orlando innamorato/L'inamoramento de Orlando, a cura di A. Canova, Milano, BUR: cantos that should be read and known: book I, 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 24, 25, 27, 29; book II, 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 16, 17, 20, 25, 26, 27, 31; book III, 1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 9; - Marco Villoresi, La letteratura cavalleresca. Dai cicli medievali all'Ariosto, Roma, Carocci, 2000; - T. Zanato, Boiardo, Roma, Salerno editrice, 2015; - Anthology of texts available on Moodle (Letteratura italiana. Forme e percorsi - Matteo Maria Boiardo - Francesco Lucioli). Module B - B. Castiglione, Il libro del Cortegiano (complete study; any annotated edition is acceptable, but not the rewriting in modern Italian by A. Busi and C. Covito for the publisher Rizzoli, except as additional support while reading the original text; among the editions currently on the market, we recommend the one edited by W. Barberis, Turin, Einaudi, 2017). - A. Quondam, Introduzione, in B. Castiglione, Il libro del Cortegiano, Milan, Mondadori, 2002, vol. I, pp. V-XCIX. - G. Mazzacurati, Baldassar Castiglione and the pomposity of the court, in Id., The Renaissance of the Moderns. La crisi culturale del XVI secolo e la negazione delle origini, Bologna, il Mulino, 1985 [the volume was also reissued in 2016], pp. 149-207. - P. Floriani, Bembo e Castiglione. Studi sul classicismo del Cinquecento, Roma, Bulzoni, 1976, pp. 99-186. - P. Floriani, I personaggi del ‘Cortegiano’, in Id., I gentiluomini letterati. Studi sul dibattito culturale nel primo Cinquecento, Napoli, Liguori, 1981, pp. 50-67. - C. Scarpati, Dire la verità al principe. «Cortegiano» IV 5, in Id., Dire la verità al principe. Ricerche sulla letteratura del Rinascimento, Milano, Vita e Pensiero, 1987, pp. 11-44. The entire bibliography for the module listed above (with the exception of the edition of Castiglione's text) will be uploaded in pdf format to Google Classroom; code: rxcww7lc

Attendance is strongly recommended.

At the end of the course, students will be required to take an oral examination with Prof. Lucioli for Module A and another with Prof. Favaro for Module B (the two examinations may be taken in different sessions). The examination will consist of testing the topics and texts covered in the programme according to the objectives indicated. To pass the examination, students must obtain a mark of at least 18/30. The final mark for the 12-credit course will be calculated as the average of the marks for Module A and Module B and can only be recorded after both modules have been taken. In order to take the examinations, during the registration period for the individual sessions, students must book by sending an email to the lecturer with whom they intend to take the examination. For the final recording of the marks obtained in the two modules, students must register via Infostud. The marks will be recorded by Prof. Lucioli.

Module A - C. Dionisotti, Boiardo e altri studi cavallereschi, a cura di G. Anceschi e A. Tissoni Benvenuti, Novara, Interlinea, 2003; - Gli Amorum libri e la lirica del Quattrocento, con altri studi boiardeschi, a cura di A. Tissoni Benvenuti, Novara, Interlinea, 2003; - R. Alhaique Pettinelli, Forme e percorsi dei romanzi di cavalleria da Boiardo a Brusantino, Roma, Bulzoni, 2004; - M. Santagata, I due cominciamenti della lirica italiana, Pisa, ETS, 2006; - M. Praloran, Le lingue del racconto. Studi su Boiardo e Ariosto, Roma, Bulzoni, 2009; - M. Santagata, Pastorale modenese. Boiardo, i poeti e la lotta politica, Bologna, Il mulino, 2016; - J.A. Cavallo, Il mondo oltre l'Europa nei poemi di Boiardo e Ariosto, traduzione di C. Confalonieri, Milano, Bruno Mondadori, 2017 (ed. orig. The World beyond Europe in the Romance Epics of Boiardo and Ariosto, Toronto, Toronto University Press, 2013); - R. Galbiati, Il romanzo e la corte. L'Inamoramento de Orlando di Boiardo, Roma, Carocci, 2018; - Boiardo, a cura di Jo Ann Cavallo e Corrado Confalonieri, Milano, Unicopli, 2018; - G. Rizzarelli, Per figuras. Strategie narrative e rappresentative nei poemi di Boiardo e Ariosto, Lucca, Pacini Fazzi, 2022; - R. Galbiati, Inventarsi Ruggiero. Genealogie estensi, Roma, Carocci, 2024. - Lettura dell'Inamoramento de Orlando, libro I, a cura di E. Brilli, E. Menetti, G. Rizzarelli, Novara, Interlinea, 2026. Module B Please refer to the bibliographical references contained in: - A. Quondam, Per Baldassarre Castiglione: guerra, diplomazia, letteratura, Rome, Viella, 2025.

The course consists of 84 hours (42+42) of face-to-face lectures (for a total of 12 CFU).