Female Characters and Love Philosophy. On the “Dialogo d’amore” by Nicolò Vito di Gozze

Abstract

This paper aims to offer an analysis of the Dialogo d’amore detto Antos, secondo la mente di Platone (1581), written by the philosopher and politician Nicolò Vito di Gozze, one of the most important intellectuals of the Republic of Ragusa between the 16th and 17th centuries. After an overview of the context in which the work was written and its relationship with its twin Dialogo della bellezza, the themes and sources used and discussed by the author are illustrated, both on the philosophical (with particular attention to the Platonic side, but also to the Aristotelian and to the religious ones) and on the literary level (Ovid, Dante, Petrarch, and even Croatian popular poetry). One of the most distinctive features of the dialogue is then explored, namely the fact that the dialogue takes place between two women, the poet Fiore Zuzori and Maria Gondola, the author’s wife. Maria and especially Fiore are represented as highly cultivated, on the basis – as explicitly declared by Gozze – of the potential of their sex rather than the congruence with the historical reality. The affective bond between Maria and Fiore recalls the ideal of friendship proposed by Ficino. These aspects are considered in relation to the rich reflection of the time on female excellence, to which Gozze and his wife also contributed beyond the Dialogo d’amore (as shown by the well-known letter signed by Maria Gondola at the beginning of Gozze’s Discorsi sopra le Metheore d’Aristotele).