The reception of Nicola Festa’s edition of Petrarch’s Africa is here examined: scholars’ criticism of the philological criteria applied in the constitution of the text, and the support given to Festa by those who appreciated the importance of the edition for the cultural politics of the time. In fact, we need to place Festa’s work within the framework of a cultural operation that he pursued between 1926 and 1929, the years that led to the Lateran Treaty: to support a model of nationalism that would be both Catholic and Fascist, and on this basis to establish a firm link with Giovanni Gentile. Such a political project was met with doubt and rejection in both Catholic and Fascist circles, so Festa soon shelved it.
L'Africa di Nicola Festa come «poema della trionfante romanità»
Claudio Schiano
2024-01-01
Abstract
The reception of Nicola Festa’s edition of Petrarch’s Africa is here examined: scholars’ criticism of the philological criteria applied in the constitution of the text, and the support given to Festa by those who appreciated the importance of the edition for the cultural politics of the time. In fact, we need to place Festa’s work within the framework of a cultural operation that he pursued between 1926 and 1929, the years that led to the Lateran Treaty: to support a model of nationalism that would be both Catholic and Fascist, and on this basis to establish a firm link with Giovanni Gentile. Such a political project was met with doubt and rejection in both Catholic and Fascist circles, so Festa soon shelved it.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
