Author Description

This volume represents the proceedings of the conference in memory of Vittore Branca held at the Warburg Institute in October 2005. Almost all the papers delivered at the conference are included, as well as two additional ones. The essays reflect the breadth of Branca's interests, from medieval to contemporary, and his ability to relate to scholars at all stages of their careers. The contributions focus on Boccaccio's Decameron and its later reception, Renaissance authors such as Petrarch and Machiavelli, the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century writers Vittorio Alfieri and Ugo Foscolo, and a variety of twentieth-century figures including the novelist Cesare Pavese and the poet Eugenio Montale. Branca's special interest in Venice is represented by papers on Venetian charity and political rhetoric; there are also contributions on his anti-Fascism and philological methods. The volume will appeal to scholars and students of Italian literature ranging from the Middle Ages to the modern era, to enthusiasts for Venetian culture and to specialists interested in Branca's impact on these fields. Contents: Zygmunt Baranski: Boccaccio and Epicurus Carlo Caruso: L'edizione Vittore Branca dell'Amorosa visione (1944) e la nuova filologia Guyda Armstrong: The translated Boccaccio in early modern England Nicola Jones: The importance of 'visualization': re-viewing Branca on manuscript illustrations Rhiannon Daniels: Materiality and marginalia in Renaissance editions of the Decameron Vincenzo Fera: I fragmenta de viris illustribus di Francesco Petrarca Abigail Brundin: 'Presto fia 'l mio potere in farvi onore': Renaissance women poets and the importance of praise Martin McLaughlin: Translation or rewriting? Beroaldo's version of Decameron X, 8 Brian Richardson: The scribal publication of Machiavelli's works: 'copisti per passione', 'copisti a prezzo' Filippo de Vivo: Rhetoric and government in sixteenth-century Venice: some paradoxes Brian Pullan: Italian charity and Venetian charity G