Programme

Italian Humanism: From Petrarch to Valla. The course focuses on the period of Italian humanism, inaugurated by Petrarch's literary and philological experience, and will focus in particular on the humanists of the first two generations, from Coluccio Salutati to Leonardo Bruni, from Poggio Bracciolini to Lorenzo Valla, and their discoveries. The course will begin with a discussion of Petrarch's intellectual challenges and continue with a reading and commentary on works or excerpts from works by Salutati, Bruni, and Bracciolini, with critical insights (texts will be provided via the course's Teams channel). The first part will focus on Petrarch's life, the birth of humanism, and the exploration of its founding principles. Special attention will be paid to the pedagogical aspects of his work and the European reception of De remediis. The second part will focus on the legacy of Petrarch's teaching in the three authors considered and characterizing the intellectual activity and lives of literati in the 15th century. Bracciolini's Facezie will be included, in conjunction with Petrarch's Rerum memorandarum libri. The final part of the course will be dedicated to creating critical and educational paths based on the works considered. The course includes 60 hours of classroom instruction and 20 hours of other activities.

Core Documentation

Please note that the exam syllabus consists of both the texts listed in this section and the bibliography indicated in the next section.
An anthology of texts will be made available on the Teams channel, including a selection from the following works:
F. Petrarca, Rerum memorandarum libri (selezione);
C. Salutati, De laboribus Herculis
L. Bruni, Le vite di Dante e di Petrarca
Poggio Bracciolini, Facetiae
Lorenzo Valla, De voluptate
Pietro Bembo, De Virgilii Culice et Terentii fabulis
Additional texts will be indicated during the course and made available in the Teams channel.

Reference Bibliography

Please note that knowledge of the bibliography listed here is required, as are the texts indicated in the previous section. Lecture notes (will form an integral part of the exam) L. Marcozzi, Petrarca. La vita e il mondo, Rome, Carocci, 2025 G. Cappelli, L’humanesimo italiano. Da Petrarca a Valla, Rome, Carocci, 2018 F. Rico, Il sogno dell’umanesimo. Da Petrarca a Erasmo, Turin, Einaudi, 1998 L. Chines, Umanesimo e modernità, «Griseldaonline» 12 (2012) (available online) L. Marcozzi, Bembo, Firenze, Cesati, 2017 Students who do not attend or who do not reach two-thirds of the attendance requirements will add Gian Mario Anselmi, L’età dell’Umanesimo e del Rinascimento. The Italian Roots of Modern Europe, Rome, Carocci, 2008 Further reading will be posted on the Teams channel.

Attendance

Attendance is mandatory. Attendance will be tracked. To be considered attending, students must be present at least two thirds of the lessons. Non-attending students are required to read additional readings as specified in the Texts section.

Type of evaluation

Students will take a computer-based written exam on the moodle platform (in person). The exam includes a series of sequential multiple choice / short / choice questions and other open-ended questions. The time available is one hour. For multiple choice questions, 1 point is awarded for each correct answer, 0 for an answer not given, -0.25 for each incorrect answer. For open-ended questions the scoring range goes from 0 to 6 points. The exam is constructed in such a way as to be able to verify the level of effective understanding of the concepts, the ability to re-elaborate critical literature, the skills acquired in the critical reading of the proposed texts, the level and quality of knowledge of the topics and the ability to critically analyze texts and bibliography.

Programme

Italian Humanism: From Petrarch to Valla. The course focuses on the period of Italian humanism, inaugurated by Petrarch's literary and philological experience, and will focus in particular on the humanists of the first two generations, from Coluccio Salutati to Leonardo Bruni, from Poggio Bracciolini to Lorenzo Valla, and their discoveries. The course will begin with a discussion of Petrarch's intellectual challenges and continue with a reading and commentary on works or excerpts from works by Salutati, Bruni, and Bracciolini, with critical insights (texts will be provided via the course's Teams channel). The first part will focus on Petrarch's life, the birth of humanism, and the exploration of its founding principles. Special attention will be paid to the pedagogical aspects of his work and the European reception of De remediis. The second part will focus on the legacy of Petrarch's teaching in the three authors considered and characterizing the intellectual activity and lives of literati in the 15th century. Bracciolini's Facezie will be included, in conjunction with Petrarch's Rerum memorandarum libri. The final part of the course will be dedicated to creating critical and educational paths based on the works considered. The course includes 60 hours of classroom instruction and 20 hours of other activities.

Core Documentation

Please note that the exam syllabus consists of both the texts listed in this section and the bibliography indicated in the next section.
An anthology of texts will be made available on the Teams channel, including a selection from the following works:
F. Petrarca, Rerum memorandarum libri (selezione);
C. Salutati, De laboribus Herculis
L. Bruni, Le vite di Dante e di Petrarca
Poggio Bracciolini, Facetiae
Lorenzo Valla, De voluptate
Pietro Bembo, De Virgilii Culice et Terentii fabulis
Additional texts will be indicated during the course and made available in the Teams channel.

Reference Bibliography

Please note that knowledge of the bibliography listed here is required, as are the texts indicated in the previous section. Lecture notes (will form an integral part of the exam) L. Marcozzi, Petrarca. La vita e il mondo, Rome, Carocci, 2025 G. Cappelli, L’humanesimo italiano. Da Petrarca a Valla, Rome, Carocci, 2018 F. Rico, Il sogno dell’umanesimo. Da Petrarca a Erasmo, Turin, Einaudi, 1998 L. Chines, Umanesimo e modernità, «Griseldaonline» 12 (2012) (available online) L. Marcozzi, Bembo, Firenze, Cesati, 2017 Students who do not attend or who do not reach two-thirds of the attendance requirements will add Gian Mario Anselmi, L’età dell’Umanesimo e del Rinascimento. The Italian Roots of Modern Europe, Rome, Carocci, 2008 Further reading will be posted on the Teams channel.

Attendance

Attendance is mandatory. Attendance will be tracked. To be considered attending, students must be present at least two thirds of the lessons. Non-attending students are required to read additional readings as specified in the Texts section.

Type of evaluation

Students will take a computer-based written exam on the moodle platform (in person). The exam includes a series of sequential multiple choice / short / choice questions and other open-ended questions. The time available is one hour. For multiple choice questions, 1 point is awarded for each correct answer, 0 for an answer not given, -0.25 for each incorrect answer. For open-ended questions the scoring range goes from 0 to 6 points. The exam is constructed in such a way as to be able to verify the level of effective understanding of the concepts, the ability to re-elaborate critical literature, the skills acquired in the critical reading of the proposed texts, the level and quality of knowledge of the topics and the ability to critically analyze texts and bibliography.

Programme

Italian Humanism: From Petrarch to Valla. The course focuses on the period of Italian humanism, inaugurated by Petrarch's literary and philological experience, and will focus in particular on the humanists of the first two generations, from Coluccio Salutati to Leonardo Bruni, from Poggio Bracciolini to Lorenzo Valla, and their discoveries. The course will begin with a discussion of Petrarch's intellectual challenges and continue with a reading and commentary on works or excerpts from works by Salutati, Bruni, and Bracciolini, with critical insights (texts will be provided via the course's Teams channel). The first part will focus on Petrarch's life, the birth of humanism, and the exploration of its founding principles. Special attention will be paid to the pedagogical aspects of his work and the European reception of De remediis. The second part will focus on the legacy of Petrarch's teaching in the three authors considered and characterizing the intellectual activity and lives of literati in the 15th century. Bracciolini's Facezie will be included, in conjunction with Petrarch's Rerum memorandarum libri. The final part of the course will be dedicated to creating critical and educational paths based on the works considered. The course includes 60 hours of classroom instruction and 20 hours of other activities.

Core Documentation

Please note that the exam syllabus consists of both the texts listed in this section and the bibliography indicated in the next section.
An anthology of texts will be made available on the Teams channel, including a selection from the following works:
F. Petrarca, Rerum memorandarum libri (selezione);
C. Salutati, De laboribus Herculis
L. Bruni, Le vite di Dante e di Petrarca
Poggio Bracciolini, Facetiae
Lorenzo Valla, De voluptate
Pietro Bembo, De Virgilii Culice et Terentii fabulis
Additional texts will be indicated during the course and made available in the Teams channel.

Reference Bibliography

Please note that knowledge of the bibliography listed here is required, as are the texts indicated in the previous section. Lecture notes (will form an integral part of the exam) L. Marcozzi, Petrarca. La vita e il mondo, Rome, Carocci, 2025 G. Cappelli, L’humanesimo italiano. Da Petrarca a Valla, Rome, Carocci, 2018 F. Rico, Il sogno dell’umanesimo. Da Petrarca a Erasmo, Turin, Einaudi, 1998 L. Chines, Umanesimo e modernità, «Griseldaonline» 12 (2012) (available online) L. Marcozzi, Bembo, Firenze, Cesati, 2017 Students who do not attend or who do not reach two-thirds of the attendance requirements will add Gian Mario Anselmi, L’età dell’Umanesimo e del Rinascimento. The Italian Roots of Modern Europe, Rome, Carocci, 2008 Further reading will be posted on the Teams channel.

Attendance

Attendance is mandatory. Attendance will be tracked. To be considered attending, students must be present at least two thirds of the lessons. Non-attending students are required to read additional readings as specified in the Texts section.

Type of evaluation

Students will take a computer-based written exam on the moodle platform (in person). The exam includes a series of sequential multiple choice / short / choice questions and other open-ended questions. The time available is one hour. For multiple choice questions, 1 point is awarded for each correct answer, 0 for an answer not given, -0.25 for each incorrect answer. For open-ended questions the scoring range goes from 0 to 6 points. The exam is constructed in such a way as to be able to verify the level of effective understanding of the concepts, the ability to re-elaborate critical literature, the skills acquired in the critical reading of the proposed texts, the level and quality of knowledge of the topics and the ability to critically analyze texts and bibliography.