Saggio

Nicola Ribatti

«Il verboso epinicio del futuro». Futurismo e iconografia futurista in Gadda

The essay examines the complex and often misunderstood relationship between Carlo Emilio Gadda and Italian Futurism, beginning with an analysis of the literary texts and iconographic references they contain. The investigation highlights how Gadda possessed an in-depth knowledge of the poetics, techniques, and themes of the Marinettian avant-garde − from the celebration of the machine and speed to the theories of simultaneism − at times incorporating them into his own work. These references, however, far from constituting ideological or aesthetic adherence, most often assume an ironic, parodic, and critical function, aimed at unmasking the simplistic and optimistic rhetoric of Futurism. In his short stories and novels, for instance, industrial Milan and technological innovations are depicted through a complex and polyphonic stylistic register, in which the poetic of pastiche emerges as an alternative to the Futurist "synthetic novel." In this way, Gadda distances himself from the aesthetics of "words-in-freedom" and from the vitalistic celebration of progress, developing a model of writing which, while maintaining an ongoing dialogue with the avant-gardes, appropriates them critically in order to reaffirm the need for a realism capable of probing and conveying the social and cultural complexity of modernity.

versione italiana

Saggio

Stefano Tonietto

Le edizioni illustrate delle Macaronee folenghiane nel Cinquecento

The illustrations in the 1521 Toscolanense edition of Teofilo Folengo's Macaronee are part of a specific editorial project involving the publisher, Alessandro Paganini, and most likely the author himself. Created to depict Baldus's heroes and their bard, the fat poet Merlinus Cocaius, these woodcuts (which differ greatly from the typical images found in chivalric poetry and resemble those that accompanied the prints of Morgante) are now recognised as an integral part of the macaronic text. They were so successful that they were reused extensively in subsequent 16th century editions of the Toscolanense, and even recycled to decorate the posthumous edition, the Vigaso Cocaio, for which they were no longer entirely suited. The demand for an illustrated "Merlin Cocaio" prompted other publishers to create new series of woodcuts. Initially, these closely followed the original corpus (in 1564 and 1613), but later adaptations (in 1692 and 1768-71) reflected changing artistic tastes. This article summarises the publishing history of the Macaronee over the first hundred years, with a particular focus on the original illustrations, examining a selection of them.

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