L’eroe che la modernità merita e di cui ha bisogno: precetti per il ‘capitano’ nei commenti cinquecenteschi al “Furioso”

Can the Orlando Furioso offer useful teachings to the captains of the contemporary reality? The answer seems to be positive, considering the 16th-century commentaries to the poem. These latter underline the exemplary value of Ariosto’s heroes when they act as commanders. At the same time, they analyze the military aspects about which the Furioso gives food for thought (such as prudence, cunning, speed of execution, conduct in laying a siege, the importance to completely destroy the enemy if the occasion arises …). The article examines such commentaries while putting them into relation with the flourishing contemporary tradition of treatises on the perfect captain and of biographies of illustrious military commanders.