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Petrarch and the Reformation: Paths of a Restless Reception

SSD: L-FIL-LET/13

Settori ERC: 

Categoria di finanziamento: 

PRIN 2022 PNRR

Durata: 

Petrarch is undeniably a fundamental figure in the history of European literature. While his role as the founder of modern love poetry has been thoroughly explored, to this day there is a lack of targeted studies on his contributions in other areas, which are equally important for the formation of European identity. This project aims to fill one of these gaps by reconstructing the pathways of reception of Petrarchan ideas and themes that profoundly influenced literature and thought during the Reformation and Counter-Reformation. Preliminary research shows that some Protestant polemicists “appropriated” Petrarch’s political writings, an operation that earned him a prominent position among the precursors of Protestantism.

The project intends to investigate the late medieval background as well as the developments of this phenomenon, starting from the analysis of a significant corpus of texts from highly representative regions (Italy, Germany, France, the British Isles). The Messina and Perugia-Studi units will focus on the circulation and reuse of anti-curial writings, such as the “Liber sine nomine” and the so-called ‘Babylonian sonnets’, as well as certain apocrypha. The Perugia-Stranieri unit will study the ‘afterlife’ of Petrarch’s invectives with a focus on “De ignorantia”. By paying attention to the interaction between literary reception and the ideological aims of geographically and culturally homogeneous areas, the project will not only allow for an accurate survey of the role played by Petrarch in a crucial phase of European history but, more generally, will also lead to substantial progress in the development and refinement of analytical tools for the study of the (re)use of literary texts from an ideological perspective.

Attività / Fasi del progetto: 

The project involves achieving five milestones, each structured into corresponding work packages. After establishing an overall framework of the political Petrarch's presence in the disputes between Protestants and Catholics during the age of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, the project will also include a survey of the texts under research and the definition of the corpus to be examined in more depth (M1, WP1). The Messina Unit will specifically address the apocryphal texts attributed to Petrarch, “Epistola Luciferi” and “Dialogus Pyladis et Orestis”, the Bellarmine-Perrot controversy in its historical-cultural and textual aspects, and the impact of these writings in their context of reference (M2, WP2). The Perugia-Studies Unit will focus on the reception of Petrarch’s anti-curial writings in France and the British Isles, delving into the study of the reception of the Bellarmine-Perrot controversy, the ‘Babylonian sonnets’ and the translations of the “Liber sine nomine” by Duplessis-Mornay, Lennard and Lauder (M4, WP4).

The Perugia-Stranieri Unit will study the circles in which Petrarch’s “De ignorantia” spread, through analysis of the manuscript and printed tradition of the work, and will assess the impact of the circulation and reuse of the polemical tract in Europe by examining texts by a selected group of authors (M5, WP5). The research group will compare initial project results at a workshop at the end of the first year of activity; the overall findings will be presented at a conference at the end of the second year. The most significant texts analyzed will be published on the ‘POL – Petrarca online’ portal, created in collaboration with the National Commission for the Edition of the Works of Francesco Petrarca and set to be launched soon.

Notizie / Eventi / In evidenza: 

Coordinatore: 

Dr. Laura REFE - Prof. Carla GAMBACORTA

Team: 

Dr. Laura REFE

Prof. Carla GAMBACORTA

Dr. Nicole VOLTA (Research Fellow)