A «parnaso vernacolo»

Abstract

This article aims at outlining a history of Venetian dialect literature, starting with the definition of “vernacular – i.e. dialectal – parnassus” by bibliographer Bartolomeo Gamba in Collezione delle migliori opere scritte in dialetto veneziano (1817), and to be put in context with Collezione delle migliori opere scritte in dialetto milanese published by Francesco Cherubini in 1816. The Venetian dialect literature had already appeared in anthologies in the 16th century, both in manuscripts and printed, with particular emphasis on the Pavan poetry after Ruzante. An early work on the history of this literary genre is the Ragionamento dello Academico Aldeano sopra la poesia giocosa de’ greci, de’ latini, e de’ toscani by Nicola Villani (1634), a detailed analysis of the comedy poetry in all its chronological development, with significant original and unpublished information to identify authors, reveal pseudonyms, attribute works and with a surprising multidialectal knowledge. Even the great anthology by Manlio Dazzi, Il fiore della lirica veneziana (1956-1959) – although in its preliminary selection of lyric poetry at the expense of the prose production – confirms the framework outlined by Gamba, bringing back to Venice the dialectic with both the literary language and the variety of the local dialects