A future digital edition model for the Duke of Parma

This article offers a preliminary reflection on the possibility of editing Fernando Pessoa’s The Duke of Parma, based on an early version of the Duke of Parma Digital Archive. Rather than proposing a definitive editorial model, it explores methodological approaches for reconstruct-ing a highly fragmentary and unfinished work. The study examines the tensions between document and work, genetic and critical editing, and philological rigour and reader accessi-bility. Through codicological description, binary encoding of material features, and cluster-ing analysis, the article investigates possible material groupings and writing phases within the surviving corpus. It further considers thematic and narrative criteria for reconstructing the projected dramatic work. Ultimately, the article argues that editorial practice should move beyond the mere preservation of documents and aim to facilitate a meaningful encoun-ter between Pessoa’s unfinished work and its readers.