Riti di fidanzamento. Nicola Vaccaj e Giulia Puppati (1826-1828)

Abstract

The musician Nicola Vaccaj, from Pesaro, became engaged in 1827 with the young Giulia Puppati, from Castelfranco Veneto (the Beppa described by George Sand at the time of his stay in Venice with Alfred de Musset). The engagement committed the man to the young woman’s family, and was sealed by a contract establishing mutual financial obligations. A year later Vaccaj broke off the engagement. The Puppati family ended relationships with him, and Giulia returned the gifts she had received. The affair is described from the point of view of Nicola, whose rich epistolary is preserved.