Francesco Petrarca Rime

Catalog description

The full title of the seminar is "Francesco Petrarch’s "Lyric Poems and Petrarchism" The course is dedicated to the "Rime" of Francesco Petrarca (1304-1374), read in continuity with the poetic and cultural tradition that Aretino inherits, strengthens, and renews, and mirrors other works including a selection of Letters, and fragments from "The Secret" and "Invectives". Intellectual and Humanist, Francesco Petrarca (1304-1374) is one of the greatest Italian and European poets. His achievements in lyric poetry has made him the most acclaimed and imitated poet of Europe during the Renaissance and a model for lyrical poetry for centuries. The course proposes a reading of Francesco Petrarca, Rime in the excellent translation of Robert Durling. The importance Petrarch gives to the medieval Christian Platonism is the core of our exploration. The role played by the ancient and medieval theory of interior word in Petrarch’s thought and poetry will be emphasized. It offers the student the opportunity to gain a perspective on classicality, medieval literary tradition and thought, and on the genesis of humanism. The course includes the Petrarchism in the lyric poetry from Vittoria Colonna,Gaspara Stampa.Veronica Franco up to Michelangelo and Tasso.