‘L’ufficio dello ’nterprete’: Castelvetro Translator of Melanchthon

Abstract

Examining the purpose and specific qualities characterizing some of Castelvetro’s less studied translations in the light of the hermeneutical and critical approach outlined in his letter to Calori ‘del traslatare’, this paper aims at verifying the ways in which the premises outlined in his theoretical codification are implemented in his translation practice. More specifically, by looking at some aspects of Castelvetro’s translation of the work of the humanist reformer Philip Melanchthon, this paper reconsiders some crucial aspects of Castelvetro’s religious stance, and explores the implications that the letter ‘del traslatare’ has for the attribution of another work circulating under Castelvetro’s name. It concludes that the translation into the Italian vernacular of the 1522 revised edition of Philip Melanchthon’s Loci communes rerum theologicarum seu hypotyposes theologicae, which circulated under the title I principii de la theologia di Ippofilo da Terra Negra, should no longer be attributed to Castelvetro.