Today we talk about one of the most important cultural figures in all of Italian history. He is an author and it is an extraordinary historical and literary case: according to legend, he studied so much that he died leaning his head on his papers; he is the first human being in history about whom we have received so much information, and from first-hand sources at that; and he is also the author of one of the most influential works of Italian literature, to the point that not even Shakespeare would have been 100% the Shakespeare we all know, if it hadn't been for the work in question. I'm talking about Francesco Petrarca, who with Dante and Boccaccio is part of the so-called Three Crowns, the three major authors of the late Middle Ages in Florence, fundamental in the history of the Italian language and literature.
This is the second video in this regard, after the one from a few years ago on Dante: naturally, in the future there will be a third, on Giovanni Boccaccio. But let's get straight to Petrarca: a stop in his world is an almost obligatory step, if you want to start studying and understanding Italian literature, because this author has forever influenced not only the fate of the literature of the Bel Paese, but also the fate of literary language in general, and in particular the language of poetry. Initially, therefore, we will focus on the author's life and his fortune, understood as success.
Then we will take a look at his best known and most studied work, namely the Canzoniere; and, finally, we will try to understand the cultural, literary and linguistic legacy that Petrarca left us. I'm Davide and this is Podcast Italiano, a channel for those who learn or love Italian. If you learn the language of Dante, Petrarca and Boccaccio, you will find the transcription of everything I say on my website.
I'll leave you the link in the description. And if you need it, turn on the subtitles. Francesco Petrarca was born in 1304 in Arezzo, Tuscany; between 19 and 20 July, according to tradition.
He is the son of a notary banished from Florence, where great political battles had raged in previous decades. These are the same battles that led to Dante's exile, which – by the way – Petrarch's father knew about. But let's return immediately to our Francesco Petrarca.
Already as a child, he became a traveler: in 1312, in fact, his father took the family to live in Avignon, in southern France, where Petrarch was educated by an Italian who was himself an exile. Access to these studies was not common: the very young Francesco was born into a fairly wealthy condition, and his father did not deny him the purchase of several manuscripts useful for his studies. Consider that we are in the 14th century, before the invention of printing: often, to have access to a text, the richest could commission its reproduction to a copyist, who copied everything; otherwise, you had to directly purchase the original or a copy already produced previously, or even - think about it - copy the text yourself, if possible - think about the effort -: in all cases, it was an investment, often of money or , alternatively, of time.
A few years later, Petrarca began studying law in Montpellier, still in France, which however he tackled reluctantly. Always in the period of his early youth, he also visited Rimini, Venice and, above all, Bologna, a very important destination for honing his literary skills. In fact, at the time, the city was a very important center for the radiation of poetry in the vernacular, that is, in this specific case, in one of the many Italian languages that had evolved from Latin.
Incidentally today, in Italian, vulgar typically means coarse, rude, scurrilous or, in other words, rude. In technical jargon, however, this word indicates, especially when talking about the Middle Ages, because then in the future we start talking about dialects, it indicates, I was saying, the languages spoken by the vulgar, that is, by the people, as opposed to the higher and more literary language noble, which was Latin. In 1326, there is a turning point: the father of our young scholar dies, leading the family to a period of economic difficulty.
Precisely on this occasion Petrarch definitively abandons he studied law and, perhaps, in turn began to produce works in the vernacular. He soon settled in Avignon, where at the time, among other things, the seat of the papal curia was located. As some of you may know, in fact, for much of the 14th century the Pope did not reside in Rome, but rather in Avignon, France.
Speaking of religion. . .
In Avignon, Petrarch decides to take the minor orders, which, in short, represent an affiliation to the Church which involves some tasks, but, above all, which guarantees all the economic benefits that at the time were reserved for men of church. Smart, our Francesco. This practice was actually not rare, precisely because it did not require great effort, but it gave considerable advantages.
In this way, Petrarch basically frees himself from major economic worries, and has the opportunity to do what he likes. The years of youth are characterized, at least according to Petrarca, by a certain abandonment to worldly life - even if we must consider that we are talking about the criteria of a severe man, who wants to give a certain image of himself, and we will talk about it later. In this period, perhaps, Petrarch also indulged in love for a woman, about whom, once again, we know little: some scholars believe they have even found her identity, while others strongly doubt it.
In any case, this relationship will later be taken up in Petrarch's most important work, so let's keep it in mind. Meanwhile, the years pass, and our Francesco becomes closer, thanks to his culture and knowledge, to important personalities, to visit whom he makes several other trips. We are now around the 1930s when we see big steps forward in studies too: Petrarch, in fact, was very close to the texts of antiquity, and constantly tried to understand and analyze the Latin texts.
It even produces editions, for example of a work by the famous Latin author Livy; and, perhaps even more surprisingly, he discovered the manuscripts of some very important Latin texts, such as that of Cicero's Pro Archia. At the same time, these texts served as teachers for Petrarch, who absorbed the subtleties of the Latin language and reproduced them with mastery. A mastery to which his contemporaries did not remain indifferent: in 1341, Petrarch was crowned poet in Rome, in the Campidoglio, by none other than King Robert of Anjou, who at the time was the sovereign of the Kingdom of Naples.
This rite was intended to explicitly recall the Latin tradition, in which, according to the information available at the time, it was customary to honor poetic glory in this way. And Petrarch is crowned precisely for his production in Latin, which was considered the most beautiful: for now, his verses in the vernacular are not yet ready to shine, even if, as they say, something is cooking. Meanwhile, a laurel wreath is placed on our author's head , making him, so to speak, a VIP of his era; and with good reason, because we do not forget that Petrarch is one of the greatest authors in the Latin language of his time.
But our Petrarch does not rest on his laurels: the journeys continue, thanks to ecclesiastical benefits and, even more so now, thanks to the protection of the powerful, who are happy to support an intellectual of this caliber. In 1348, when Italy and Europe are on their knees due to a plague epidemic, Petrarca overcomes the crisis unscathed, but the woman he loves - remember? – but he doesn't survive.
This event will also be very important for what we will say later, so let's keep it in mind. In 1350, the poet finally visited Florence: the family's exile had been lifted in the meantime, and there were friends and admirers in the city. Furthermore, our poet meets another very important writer for his era and for future centuries, the third crown we will talk about, namely Giovanni Boccaccio, also influencing his artistic production.
The travels between Italy and France still do not stop, until, in 1352, Petrarch definitively leaves France for Milan. In that year, in fact, Innocent VI became pope; and relations with Petrarca were not exactly the best. Remember that the Pope was in France at the time; so our friend decides it's time to pack his bags and return to his homeland.
Starting from his stay in Milan, his literary activity grew further, even if there was no shortage of travel and political commitments. The powerful of the time did not mind having a great intellectual at their service, nor entrusting him, for example, with diplomatic missions. Over time, however, Petrarch decided that he wanted to dedicate himself to his studies in peace: starting from 1369-70 he settled, as far as possible, in Arquà, not far from Padua, in Veneto, where he died in 1374.
Today, in his honor, Arquà is a village also known by the name of Arquà Petrarca, where it is still possible to visit the house where the great poet lived. Great, yes – and now we will see why – to the point that, after his death, admirers and scholars began to look for his books. And to this day a huge amount of material arrives: works, notes, letters.
Letters then carefully copied and, always along the lines of the great Latin models, designed to be actually read by posterity. Petrarch knew that his letters would be read, and for this very reason we cannot blindly trust their content: the author wanted to outline an ideal autobiography, in order to show the world and posterity that he had retraced as much as possible the steps of a great ideal Roman. Throughout the 14th century and part of the 15th, Petrarch was admired as a fine Latin poet; until something changes: starting from the second half of the fifteenth century, attention for the Latin Petrarch decreases, while the fame of the poet in the vernacular increases.
Soon, our poet becomes the poet, the unsurpassed model of poetry, both in the Italian peninsula and outside. But thanks to which work, exactly? The work in question is typically called Canzoniere, a generic word which, in Italian, indicates a collection of poems.
It goes without saying that Petrarch's has become the songbook par excellence, and this is the title of the work. In reality, however, the real title was Rerum vulgarium fragmenta, that is, fragments of vulgar things, that is, various texts written in the vulgar language. In all, we received 72 sheets of parchment, which contain all 366 poems that make up the work (one for each day of the year, if we exclude the poem that serves as an introduction to the work).
Both Petrarch himself and a copyist who worked under his direct supervision wrote on these sheets of parchment. These sheets were bound, that is, put together, after the author's death, and are now found in the Vatican Apostolic Library, with the Latin Vatican code name 3195: there is almost no scholar of Italian literature who does not know this number. The fact that we have an entire work by Petrarch written by Petrarch himself is extraordinary: just think that we do not have a single word of Dante written first hand, nor, in reality, written under his direct supervision (in these cases, in jargon technical, we speak of an idiographic text).
But there is an even more extraordinary fact: the papers containing the drafts of the work, and other drafts still, have even reached us (the manuscript, in this case, is called Vaticano Latino 3196). These papers give us the possibility of studying how the text was improved, reworked and brought to its final form: today this exercise might seem obvious, but at the time it was not, and Petrarca's papers played the role of driving force, of engine that gave a boost to these reflections. At this point, it is impossible not to ask ourselves: what is the work about?
The Canzoniere tells of Petrarch's love for Laura, a beautiful woman who represents not only the object of an earthly love, but also poetic glory itself. This interpretation arises from the fact that Petrarca continually compares Laura's name with a series of words that have the same etymology, that is, the same origin, and which refer to laurel: this plant, also called laurel, is the same one that it was made of the crown with which - you remember - Petrarch was crowned, and it is precisely a symbol that represents poetry. Among other things, this is also why in Italy, when you finish university, you graduate from "lauro", and a laurel wreath is worn in the ceremony.
Our Petrarch, therefore, loves a woman and loves poetic glory: you are perhaps wondering what the problem is. The fact is that Petrarch would like to love eternal things, and therefore dedicate his spirit to the adoration of God. This generates an internal conflict: either one loves earthly things, or one loves otherworldly things, and there is no way medium as possible.
Yet Petrarch struggles to let go of his love for Laura: he himself tells us, thinking about his past self, that he is now a different man, but only "in part" (and he uses exactly these two words, "in part"). This internal struggle lasts an entire life, and condemns Petrarch to eternal restlessness: he cannot enjoy love and poetic glory, because he feels guilty; and, at the same time, he cannot enjoy the love for God, because the love for Laura never dies completely, no matter how much the work constantly leads us towards the adoration of God. We see, or rather we read with our eyes : below you will listen to the poem (or more precisely the sonnet) which, in fourteen verses, serves as an introduction to the entire work.
You who listen in scattered rhymes to the sound of those sighs with which I nourished my heart in my first youthful error when I was partly a different man from what I am, of the various style in which I cry and I reason between vain hopes and vain pain, where there is someone who intends love by test, I hope to find pity, as well as forgiveness. But I see well now how I was a complete fable to the people for a long time, so that I am often ashamed of myself; and shame is the fruit of my raving, and repentance, and clearly knowing that what pleases the world is a brief dream. Petrarch, with this text, addresses those who are reading the text, and in particular those who, like him and many of us, have suffered for love: his hope is to be understood and forgiven for having made the mistake of love Laura.
His youthful mistake led him to be mocked, to repent, and above all to understand that earthly things are only a brief dream, in the sense that they are not eternal like divine things. Yet Petrarch's change is not complete: it occurred, as we have already seen, only "in part". There is not the time necessary to analyze the text in detail or read others, but I would like to point out, in the meantime, that fundamentally Petrarch's Italian is also our Italian, for the most part, and this is because Petrarch himself contributed indirectly to create literary Italian , and because the Florentine vernacular, which was the language of Petrarca, over the centuries, as you know, would have been chosen as the reference language for Italians.
Let's just think about the first verse: You who listen to the sound in scattered rhymes. Phonetically, all words remained identical. It would be really difficult to say the same about a verse written in English, in French, in German, in Greek or in Chinese in the 14th century, it is astonishing.
As for the meaning, scattered rhymes could rather be translated as loose poems, that is, not collected in a well-ordered and concluded work. In general, however, the poem is quite easy, all things considered, to understand for an Italian in 2024, obviously provided that some indication is provided. The message is that Petrarch's Italian, for a series of reasons, is very similar to our Italian, and this applies to a good portion of literary Italian.
This is excellent news for those who already know and study Italian, because it means that those who know the contemporary language can also, with a little effort and patience, access eight hundred years of literature. It's not bad, right? Before closing the video, I would like to try to explain more explicitly why Petrarca is such an important author and why I dedicated such a long video to him.
First of all, he left us a huge cultural and literary legacy, both with his Latin and vernacular works, both with the works he discovered, and with the works he studied and commented on. But if this is also a merit of several other authors, with Petrarch there is something else. With the Canzoniere the poetic forms of Italian were basically definitively established : they range from the canzone, which is the noblest form, used for the highest and most political topics, to the sestinas, ballads and madrigals, up to the sonnet, that is, the form used to write the poem we read just now, composed of fourteen verses.
In the Canzoniere, the sonnet is the quantitatively most represented form, and in general, starting from Petrarch, it will often be used to deal with slightly lighter topics than those of the song, and in particular obviously love. It is, by the way, an entirely Italian form, given that it was born in Italy in the early thirteenth century, soon spread throughout the peninsula and, thanks to Petrarch, even went beyond the borders of Italy. In fact, in the sixteenth century, Henry Howard, an English poet, translated several texts by Petrarch.
Thomas Wyatt, himself a poet, tends to use translation and imitation less, and rather writes his own sonnets, always based on the form established by Petrarch. Starting from these inputs, and then from the contributions of other followers of Petrarch, the sonnet spread more and more. The number of these followers rose to the point where we can speak of a real artistic phenomenon, called Petrarchism: in the 16th century we find signs of it, not only in England, but also in France and Spain, and beyond.
Shakespeare probably read only part of Petrarch's works, also because he did not know Italian very well; however, he could not fail to know the Petrarchists of his era, and in fact Shakespeare's sonnets are not without this influence. If we had not had Petrarch, we would not even have had the Shakespeare we know, nor would we have had several other works as we have known them, both in Italy and abroad. As for the Italian language, Petrarchism arrived at the right time, because at the beginning of the sixteenth century the debate on the language was quite intense: the Peninsula was divided into many political entities, there was no nation, as you know, and yet people were looking for a language to Italy, to write and communicate among the various reasons.
It is at this point that Pietro Bembo, an Italian intellectual who we will talk about in more detail in a future video, enters the scene . Bembo, an Italian intellectual and man of letters, understands that choosing an Italian vernacular as the reference language also means making one language prevail over all the others, and he also understands that this imposition can only occur successfully if it is based on prestige. For this reason, as a model for prose (i.
e. non-poetic writing) he chooses the famous Decameron by Boccaccio, the author I mentioned before, who Petrarch met in Florence in 1350, we will talk about it; and as a model of poetic language, instead, it indicates the Canzoniere of our Petrarch. Perhaps Bembo indicates the only winning solution, the only one possible in that precise cultural, historical and geographical context.
In the fifteenth century there had been much more linguistic heterogeneity, but the sixteenth century, the first true century of printing, required greater uniformity; and Bembo gives the right proposals at the right time. In 1525 he composed the Prose della volgar lingua, in which the models just mentioned are given, thus constituting a sort of grammar of fourteenth-century Tuscan literature, that is, two centuries ahead of his time. Furthermore, Bembo himself composes, on this basis, several texts, which will then be taken as examples.
The proposal works, it works incredibly well: Petrarca remains unquestionably the greatest poetic model for over five hundred - five hundred! – years, so much so that we can still clearly see its influence in nineteenth-century poems. Let's take The Saturday of the Village, a poem written by Giacomo Leopardi in 1829.
At a certain point, we find "the little old lady up the stairs"; in the Canzoniere, however, we find «risata era a filar la rossarella»: not only is the language very similar, but also the poetic images that Leopardi selects are often of Petrarchan inspiration. And again: we read «already all the dark air» in the Saturday of the village, while in the Canzoniere we find «et l'aere nostra et la mia mente bruna». In short, we have discovered an important Italian author: important from every point of view (cultural, literary, linguistic), even European level.
The examples could not be counted: just think of how many intellectuals of eighteenth-century Vienna knew Italian thanks to the Canzoniere. . .
And then, thanks to his role as a great model of poetic language, Petrarch has forever influenced the fate of Italian, even if the story is much longer. In the next video of this series we will talk about the third crown, namely Giovanni Boccaccio. In the meantime, if you haven't seen it yet, I'll leave you my video on Dante here.
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