Re-Writing Trent, or What Happened to Italian Literature in the Wake ...

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continuing public demand for vernacular poetry. 18 A sense of tokenism cannot be avoided. And while one might expect, given the very small numbers, a list consisting purely of „big names‟ like Bembo - as a way to send a message to the wider public about the kinds of popular poetry that were no longer deemed acceptable - instead the list includes a number of minor poets whose fame and influence must have been limited. The case of Vitale Papazzoni is emblematic. He had published only one volume of verses in 1572. There had been no subsequent editions by 1580, and the poet did not produce a further volume of poetry, so why, eight years later and given the scarce impact of his work, did his name appear on the Parma Index? 19 Papazzoni‟s case might in fact provide a clue to the decisions governing inclusion on the Parma list. He spent the majority of his life in service as secretary to Monsignor Michele della Torre (who became a cardinal in 1583). In this role he attended the Council of Trent, and accompanied della Torre in his role as papal nunzio to the French court in 1566. Papazzoni was appointed Archdeacon of Ceneda in 1569, so we can assume he at some stage took minor orders. 20 These biographical glimpses indicate that he was engaged at some level with the religious issues of the day and known to some of the powerful figures in the Vatican. Although his poetic output was not great, we might assume therefore that it would have attracted more than its fair share of censorial rigour, given his connections. And while the content of his collection of verse is entirely in line with the Petrarchan fashions of his day (or even possibly old fashioned, in its adherence to a Bembist model from the earlier Cinquecento), and contains large numbers of harmless occasional verses documenting events and meetings in the poet‟s life, the stress on an unrequited love for a woman named Laura 18 For general trends in the period, see Brian Richardson, Printing, Writers and Readers in Renaissance Italy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999). 19 Papazzoni did contribute a few verses to anthologies after 1572: see Bullock, ‘Vitale Papazzoni’, p.54. 20 All this useful biographical information is found in Bullock, ‘Vitale Papazzoni’, pp.52-4. 8
was perhaps not deemed a sensible literary ploy for a man in his position. 21 The compiler of the Parma Index, we might imagine, used his task as an opportunity to take action against colleagues who were not sufficiently serious about their roles as ambassadors for the church. The inclusion of Bembo alongside Papazzoni on the list reinforces the sense that the censure was directed at amorous Petrarchism penned by men of the cloth. 22 Notably, Papazzoni in his verses is careful to make clear the chaste and platonic nature of his passion for Laura: seemingly even a sublimated passion was too much for the Parma censors, however. The Petrarchan anthology collections on the Parma list suggest similar concerns with amorous Petrarchism at play, although not in this case written by clerics. Giolito‟s banned 1547 volume contains a single verse by Anton Francesco Doni, banned outright on the Parma Index, as well as a number of poems by Luigi Alamanni and Ludovico Domenichi, both censured on the Parma Index for their salacious verses (although the sonnets in the Giolito anthology are not of this type). Likewise the collected volume of Tuscan authors contains two sonnets by Luigi Tansillo and a single poem by Giovanni Della Casa, both already placed on the Index in 1559. The other anthology, Per donne romane, contains no banned poets but the subject matter fits the general picture of censure of amorous Petrarchism, particularly of a collection that purports to glorify the city of Rome on account of its beautiful and virtuous ladies. Once again, given the large numbers of Petrarchan anthologies in print in the sixteenth century, the selection of a random three for inclusion on the Parma Index seems tokenistic and somewhat haphazard at best. To underline this, the first Giolito anthology, published in 1545, opens with a sequence of (unexpurgated) sonnets by Bembo, and includes poems by Pietro Aretino, Luigi Alamanni, Giovanni Della Casa, Anton Francesco Doni and Ludovico 21 A detailed account of the contents of Papazzoni’s Rime is provided by Bullock, cit. 22 Clearly aware of a new need for decorum after becoming a Cardinal, Bembo himself tried to prevent publication of youthful lettere amorose and poems in 1544: see Richardson, Printing, Writers and Readers, p.74. 9
Page 1 and 2: Re-Writing Trent, or What Happened
Page 3 and 4: age, transforming past models to co
Page 5 and 6: condemnation, and to highlight the
Page 7: Indeed, it is very hard, surveying
Page 11 and 12: aware of the possibility of censure
Page 13 and 14: Perugia and Spoleto in the early se
Page 15 and 16: works without undue meddling by the
Page 17 and 18: Thus all three are condemned for re
Page 19 and 20: keeping of the abbess. 58 The preci
Page 21 and 22: The example of Gabriel Fiamma, cite
Page 23 and 24: problematic. But his exclusion from

Re-Writing Trent, or What Happened to Italian Literature in the Wake ...

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