Biblioteca Civica A. Hortis
Trieste
Italy
Aureli’s lecture on RVF 233 introduces the main topic of the sonnet (the influence of Laura’s eyes on the poet), and then offers a line-by-line exposition. He concentrates in particular on linguistic and grammatical annotations, and on rhetorical figures. He rejects the interpretations of some passages of the sonnet provided by other commentators, especially Gesualdo. In the lecture on RVF 225, Aureli depicts Petrarch as a character who is actually present at the scene described in the sonnet. Aureli notes the middle (‘mezzano’) style of the sonnet and then proposes a line-by-line explanation of it. In the lecture on RVF 62, Aureli claims that Petrarch’s intention is to pray to and worship God. This sonnet is considered ‘facile’ (easy) and ‘piano’ (plain), but ‘alto’ (high) as regards style. The line-by-line exposition concentrates on rhetorical features, the meanings of some words, and the different spellings adopted in poetry and in prose. Detailed discussion is provided of Petrarch’s use of the singular ‘tu’ instead of the plural ‘voi’ to address God in the sonnet. Aureli divides his lecture on RVF 365 into three parts: the subject of the sonnet (Petrarch’s repentance); a close analysis of religious and spiritual concepts, such as the effects of the divine grace on Petrarch; elucidation of its teachings (love of God above all other creatures; need to set a good example, and ask for the divine grace). He also lists the effects of divine grace on the members of the Accademia degli Insensati, quoting all their academic names and briefly describing their imprese (or academic devices). Aureli’s lecture on RVF 89 is a philosophically-oriented discourse on the topic of liberty. It is divided into three parts: definition of liberty; description of its kinds; and discussion of which type of liberty is more convenient for human beings. He quotes philosophical sources (Aristotle, Plato), and religious ones (Gregory, Augustine). This lecture is most likely unfinished and ends quite abruptly with a comma; some blank space is left in the next fol., and there is no salutation. In the lecture on RVF 246, Aureli claims that Petrarch’s intention is to celebrate Laura and pray to God. After discussing the middle (‘mezzano’) style of the sonnet, his line-by-line analysis focuses in particular on philosophical issues raised by the body-soul relationship. The lecture on RVF 61 is the shortest. According to Aureli, the sonnet is ‘facile’ (easy), and he refers to or paraphrases Gesualdo for its analysis. His lecture on RVF 157 imagines that Petrarch wanted to recall the ineffable scene of Laura crying in front of him. Aureli then provides a line-by-line commentary of the sonnet, in which he explains the meanings of obscure words and metaphors, and focuses on rhetorical figures and on linguistic doubts (e.g. on the verb ‘inarcerbare’). Unusually he provides an intertextual reference at line 1 to Virgil, Aen. V 49-50. Contoli’s lecture on RVF 182 is the longest of the ms. It is a philosophical exposition dealing with the idea of love – which implies an illustration of the different parts of the human soul – reverence (‘timore’), and jealousy. Contoli rejects Gesualdo’s attribution to Petrarch of jealousy. In the lecture on RVF 146, Contoli firstly expresses the intention of the poet to spread Laura’s name throughout Italy. He then focuses mostly on grammatical and linguistic issues (though there is a digression on steam, analysed as a natural and physical phenomenon). The last lecture on RVF 236 is divided into three parts. In the first, Contoli briefly illustrates the subject of the poem, that is, Petrarch’s request for forgiveness for his love. The second part is devoted to a line-by-line analysis of the sonnet, which deals mostly with philosophical and grammatical issues. In the final section, he focuses on aspects connected to the Tuscan language (‘cose appartenenti alla lingua toscana’), namely, linguistic and grammatical teachings that can be gathered from the reading of the poem.
Contoli’s sonnet ‘Santa, saggia, leggiadra, onesta, et bella’ analysed in one of Anastagi’s lectures is a Petrarchan cento.
Throughout the ms. there are many marginal integrations, corrections, and rubrics indicating the quotations cited in the lectures.
Originally, this collection of lectures was part of ms. 1717, held at the Biblioteca Augusta of Perugia, containing other academic lectures by the aforementioned Insensati. In the nineteenth century these lectures were donated to jurist and patriot Domenico Rossetti (1774-1842), who was setting up in Trieste a collection of prints and manuscripts related to Petrarch. This is now part of the holdings of the Museo Petrarchesco Piccolomineo in the Biblioteca Attilio Hortis of Trieste.