Interpreting and Judging Petrarch’s Canzoniere in Early Modern Italy

Petrarch’s Canzoniere had a central role in the Italian Early Modern culture, especially — but not only — in the sixteenth century, as is shown by its remarkable diffusion in print and manuscript copies, and its status as supreme poetic and linguistic model. As a result, many commentaries and other types of texts aiming at explaining and evaluating Petrarch’s poems date from that period. The essays in this volume study the diversity of ways in which the Canzoniere was read, judged and interpreted in Italy across a broad chronological span, from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries. The volume also draws attention to some neglected but stimulating works that deserve scholarly attention.