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Biography

Francisco de Oliveira is Full Professor of the Institute of Classical Studies of the

University of Coimbra, Portugal; member of the Center of Classical and Humanistic

Studies of the University of Coimbra and Director of the Latin Studies; former Dean

of the Faculty of Letters (1996-2002); former President of the Euroclassica and of

the Portuguese Association for Classical Studies; former Director of the Institute of

Classical Studies and of Teacher Training Programmes including in-service training.

Conferences presented in many countries and publications in Portuguese, French,

Spanish, English and German.

Main research subject: theatre in general and especially sociology of theatre and the

tragedy of Seneca; political theory in antiquity, actually Cicero and Pliny the Younger;

currents of thought in the High Roman Empire; classical education in Portugal.

Summary

The present anthology of texts in Latin, drawn from classical antiquity to the pre-

sent, containing seventeen chapters dedicated to different countries of the Euro-

pean Union and the candidate countries, intends to fulfil the following aims: 1) to

consolidate th European heritage through collective, national and transnational

reflection on its past; 2) to present an image of Europe in its unity and diversity,

as envisioned by a group of classical language teachers from each of the member

countries and from those who are candidates for inclusion; 3) to reflect upon what

the European Union has been, what it is and what it will be, using as a basis our

cultural inheritance as it is written in the Latin language.

Francisco dE olivEiracoordinator

WORK PUBLISHED WITH THE SPONSORSHIP OF

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I t A L y

VA G A n t e s p e R I t A L I C A L I t o R A .

I t I n e R A R I V m po e t I C V m I n t R A L A t I n A m

I t A L I C A m Q Ve t R A D I t I o n e m

Introduction

This.contribution.wishes.to.be.a.practicable.itinerary.for.knowledge.and.

study.about.Italy.through.texts.composed.by.poets.and.prose.writers..The.

authors.and.works.that.I.have.chosen.cover.a.very.long.period:.from.the.

Roman.Republican.age.through.to.the.Decadence.Age,.embracing.a.period.

of.two.thousand.years..You.can.find.some.very.familiar.texts.here,.such.as.

the.beautiful.poem.by.Catullus.(Verona,.84?.B.C..–.54.B.C.).about.Sirmio.

(carm..31).or.the.ode.by.Horace.(Venosa,.65.B.C..–.Roma,.8.B.C.).to.the.

Bandusian.spring.(carm..3..13),.but.also.some.works.from.the.medieval.

or.humanistic.age.that.are.essentially.far.from.the.usual.lines.of.literary.

studies..The.order.of.my. contribution.obviously.has. a. symbolic. sense,.

starting.with. the. celebration.of. Italian.beauties. (Catullus). and. ancient.

traditions.(Horace).with.a.pathetic.mourning.of.a.sacrificed.young.goat.

After. these.much.-celebrated.poems.of. the.classical. era,.we.go.on. to.

some.verses.by.our.most.prestigious.poet.and.humanist,.Francesco.Petrarca.

(Arezzo,.1304.–.Arquà,.1374),.whose.most.important.works.were.inspired.

by.Laura's.love,.the.girl.that.he.met.in.Avignon.in.April.1327..Able.emu-

lator.of.classics,.Francesco.Petrarca.found,.studied.and.published.a.very.

large.number.of.manuscripts..Among.his.works.the.most.remarkable.Latin.

Serena.Ferrando..-.Genoa,.ItaliaLiceo.scientifico.“A..Issel”,.Finale.liguree.-mail:.serena_ferrando@libero.it

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poems.are.De viribus illustribus, Africa, Secretum, De remediis utriusque

Fortunae and.the.Canzoniere (this.one.written.in.Italian.but.inspired.by.

Catullus).. In.some.of. these.works.Petrarca.speaks.with.ancient.poets.as.

though. they.were.his.best. friends..We.can.find. this. singular. attitude.of.

the.author. in. two. texts. that. I.have. selected.here,.namely. two. letters. in.

Latin. respectively. addressed. to.Horace.and.Vergil..Talking.about.Vergil.

(Andes,.70.B.C..–.Brindisi,.19.B.C.),.we.must.also.include.in.this.itinerary.

the.famous.celebration.of.Italy.that.we.can.read.in.Georgica.(2..458.-474)..

It.is.a.praise.of.our.country.very.similar.to.the.Vergilian.laus.Italiae.that.

follows.a.constant.pattern.in.Petrarca's.composition..It.is.also.a.beautiful.

and.classical.text,.where.we.can.find.many.classical.quotations..

Following.the.dialogue.of.Petrarca.with.ancient.authors,.I.would.like.

to.present.some.quotations.of.the.Epistula, composed.by.Dante.Alighieri.

(Florence,. 1265.–.Ravenna.1321),. father.of. Italian. literature..The. text. I.

have.chosen.was.written.by.the.poet.during.a.difficult.period.in.exile,.to.

which.he.was.subjected.for.political.reasons..Very.famous.for.his.Divina.

Commedia,.where.he.describes.his.voyage.on.the.reign.of.deads.in.search.

of.God.and.moral. redemption,.Dante. is. also.well.known. for.his.politi-

cal.and.rhetoric.works.(Epistulae,.De Monarchia,.De.vulgari.eloquentia,.

Convivio)..However,.his.ardent.love.for.his.city,.Florence,.in.Tuscany,.and.

for.Italy.in.general,.does.not.make.it.hard.for.him.to.reach.a.compromise.

with.political.adversaries:. this. is. the.essential.message.conveyed.by. the.

text. introduced.here..After.Dante,.we.have.another. famous.exile,.Ovid.

(Sulmona,.43.B.C..–.Tomis,.17.or.18.A.D.)..A.mysterious.carmen.(perhaps.

the.Ars.amatoria).and.an.error.led.to.the.banishing.of.this.brilliant.poet.

of.the.golden.society.away.from.Rome.to.Tomis..The.difficult.situation.of.

Ovid.is.described.in.the.works.he.wrote.during.his.exile.(Tristia, Epistulae

ex Ponto),.where,.unlike.Dante,.he.continuously.tries.to.return.home.with.

the.help.of.influential.people.from.the.Roman.society..I.quote.here.some.

lines. from.a.delightful.description.of. the. Italian. spring,.where. the.poet.

celebrates.the.natural.beauty.of.this.country.with.a.really.bright.picture.

of.Roman.life.during.the.feasts,.in.strident.contrast.to.his.inner.‘death’..

After.this.Laus.veris Romanae,.another.poet.is.introduced.who.composed.

some.perfect.verses.in.Latin:.Giovanni.Pascoli,.one.of.the.most.important.

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