D’Annunzio, Bernini, and the Baroque prelude of Il Piacere

Abstract

This essay investigates the early rediscovery of Bernini and the Roman Baroque in D’Annunzio’s Il piacere. Starting from the analysis of the few explicit textual references and the many implicit allusions to the Baroque artist in the novel, the present study documents Bernini’s impact on Sperelli’s persona, poetic method, and artistic projects. At the same time, based on the protagonist’s radical re-evaluation of Bernini—after two centuries of critical dismissal—this article also sheds light on the deep and substantial relationship connecting the Roman Baroque and D’Annunzio’s aesthetics. The rediscovered culture of the 17th century indeed constitutes not only a key element in Il piacere, but also an important poetic prelude for D’Annunzio’s hoped-for renaissance of the arts, and for the scholarly re-appreciation of the genius of Bernini (from Riegl to Wittkower). In light of the later success of dannunzianesimo, the novel’s Baroque vein can also be read as the first historical spark of the fervent Italian debate known as the questione barocca.