Venice, Museo Civico Correr, Donà dalle Rose 447

Quires 32 and 33 reproduce almost identical with only minor differences to the print of Le Rime del Petrarca breuemente sposte per Lodovico Castelvetro(Basel 1582), pp. 1-20. Similarly, quire 35 replicates Camillo’s ‘Espositione sopra ’l primo, et al secondo Sonetto del Petrarca’, which had been printed in his collection of works (Tutte le opere di M[esser] Giulio Camillo Delminio, Venice: Giolito, 1567, II, 99-114). Quire 36 reproduces with substantial additions the aforementioned ‘Espositione’ (II, 115-122), and it possibly testifies to another version of Camillo’s exegetical writing on RVF2. As for Castelvetro’s critical observations, the most interesting quire of the ms. is no. 34, which contains the commentary on RVF361. The exposition here presents notable discrepancies with Castelvetro’s print commentaryLe Rime del Petrarca and is accompanied by some additional letters. According to Grohovaz (1993b, 254), the discrepancies in terms of commented lines and different observations between Le Rime del Petrarca and quire 34 indicate the different times in which Castelvetro commented on the poem. The material following Castelvetro’s exposition (made of four letters, one list, and one sonnet) is evidence of a flourishing debate on the differing interpretations of RVF361. In the first letter, Giovanni Maria Castelvetro illustrates the concerns of an unnamed commentator who follows Bembo’s theories. In the second letter Castelvetro defends his own theories, mostly focusing on linguistic issues. The two following letters belong to a later period and were probably sent on the initiative of Melchiori. The third and fourth letters set out Lodovico Dolce’s and Venier’s opinion on some passages in RVF361. In the last series of objections, possibly compiled by Melchiori (Grohovaz 1993b, 254), Castelvetro comments on previous issues raised in the letters. A copy of this material on RVFwas drafted in the nineteenth century in ms. Cicogna 3001/1 held at the same library (Venice, Museo Civico Correr). Grohovaz has published the material related to Castelvetro (1993b, 266-280).

         Often the names of the commentators, who participated in the debate on RVF361, have been erased. This is not the case in the aforementioned nineteenth-century copy.

Ms. Donà dalle Rose 447 is composed of 41 quires, either original works of Leonardo Donà, or copies made by him of works of other authors. Quires 1-21 deal with Leonardo Donà’s prestigious political activity and, more broadly, historical events. Some quires focus in particular on the history of Venice (mostly seen in a flattering perspective); other quires relate more strictly to Donà’s political career, to household matters, and to the many journeys he undertook. Quires 22-41 collect a series of literary and philosophical writings copied by Donà, who had a great interest in the works of Francesco Robortello (Quire 28: ‘Francesco Robortello dell’Oratore’; Quire 22: ‘Di Francesco Robortello discorso dell’origine numero, ordine, et methodo delli luoghi topici’; Quire 26: ‘Oratione funebre di Francesco Robortello nella morte del card[inale] Ardinghello’).