D’Annunzio e l’edizione 1911 della ‘Commedia’ by Laura Melosi

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 Reviews of followers: a sequela Francisci or a sequela Dominici (a follower of Francis or of Dominic) should not replace a sequela Christi. Whereas Savonarola’s followers, the Piagnoni (Weepers), forcibly denounced and silenced any attempt to move away from the stringent rules that they had instituted, Biondo renounced all claims to leadership: there would be no Church of Gabriele Biondo, only a Church of Christ. Part  consists of editions of Biondo’s most significant writings: his treatise on meditation and its deceptions; the Commentarius (a Latin translation of his Ricordo); and a long letter, entitled De amore proprio (On self-love), written for the nun Alessandra degli Ariosti. ese texts are presented in chronological order, accompanied by helpful notes which shed light on obscure points. Each work is also preceded by an informative and readable introduction which offers a summary of its general theme. is editorial approach proves especially useful given the extraordinarily convoluted and oxymoronic style which Biondo used to express the paradoxes and intricacies that are characteristic of a certain kind of Christian mysticism. e volume ends with an index of manuscripts, an index of names, a map of Italy highlighting the main locations in Biondo’s life, a family tree, and four illustrations from Biondo’s own manuscripts. In conclusion, Michele Lodone has succeeded in saving Gabriele Biondo from oblivion, while at the same time making a real advance in historical knowledge and inviting further research. W I V G D’Annunzio e l’edizione  della ‘Commedia’. By L M. (Biblioteca di bibliografia: Documents and Studies in Book and Library History, ) Florence: Olschki. . viii+ pp. €. ISBN ––––. Laura Melosi’s elegantly presented volume from the House of Olschki concerns a proposal to publish a prefatory essay by Gabriele d’Annunzio to accompany a resplendent edition of the Divine Comedy, eventually to be released with a publication date of . e proposed edition was enthusiastically backed by Leo Samuel Olschki, ambitious to convert his Florentine Libreria Antiquaria into a greater publishing enterprise which might reflect the printing tradition of his Prussian ancestors. e essential text of the Commedia had been prepared by the enthusiastic Dante scholar Count Giuseppe Lando Passerini, at the time director of Florence’s Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana and founding director of the Giornale Dantesco. Both men were eager to include d’Annunzio’s name in what was to be a brief preface to a Life of Dante that might accompany their proposed monumental edition of . All three men had connections in the pleasant territory around Bocca d’Arno, Marina di Pisa, and Vallombrosa. Olschki and Passerini were permanent local residents with established families. D’Annunzio, burdened with debt but never willing to pay his creditors, was also a regular, if at times fleeting, tenant at the Pisan resort. MLR, .,   Olschki had broached the Dante topic with d’Annunzio during a reception at the Saltin, his villa in Vallombrosa. One of Melosi’s many valuable finds is the note containing the invitation from Leo Olschki welcoming d’Annunzio to his ‘modest and humble house’, discovered in the Olschki archive in Florence. e poet accepted and, not untypically, brought along a guest of his own, Annibale Tenneroni, librarian of Rome’s Biblioteca Nazionale. At the Saltin there was evidently some discussion of a proposed new edition of the Divine Comedy. Over-optimistic leaks to the press wrongly implied d’Annunzio’s favourable inclination to the project, hinting too that Olschki was anxious to publish a biography of Dante. Some time aer that first meeting, Olschki and Passerini concocted a dra agreement which the publisher sent to d’Annunzio later in  (though with a wrongly pencilled, post-dated note of  October ). e proposal for the Dante edition would include a brief Life of Dante and  autograph signatures by d’Annunzio to encourage the sale of such authenticated copies of the work. For this the publisher offered  lire with a further  lire upon the successful conclusion of the contract. D’Annunzio replied aer a slight delay, thanking Olschki for his hospitality at the Saltin but making no mention of any supposed biography of Dante. It is worthwhile noting that Olschki, hoping to move...