Programme

The course will trace the history of Italian literature through a series of narrative masterpieces (both in prose and verse) that have also had particular success in the visual arts and art history. The journey begins in the fourteenth century and continues up to the dawn of the twentieth century: Commedia by Dante, Decameron by Boccaccio, Orlando furioso by Ariosto, Gerusalemme liberata by Tasso, I promessi sposi by Manzoni, up to Pinocchio by Collodi and the fairy tale tradition of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Core Documentation

Handouts (texts and studies) prepared by the professor

Giancarlo Alfano, Paola Italia, Emilio Russo, Franco Tomasi, Profilo di letteratura italiana: dalle origini a fine Ottocento, Milano, Mondadori, 2021

Non-attending students will add the following volume to the syllabus for attending students: Pier Vincenzo Mengaldo, Attraverso la prosa italiana. Analisi di testi esemplari, Roma, Carocci, 2024

Attendance

Attendance is recommended, where possible, but of course not mandatory: for non-attending students, an additional reading will be required as part of the exam materials.

Type of evaluation

Oral test