Tradurre in esilio. Le Vecchie romanze spagnuole di Giovanni Berchet

Abstract

This article examines the story behind Giovanni Berchet’s interest in popular Spanish poetry, identifying such key stages as his period in Milan with the Conciliatore and the years spent abroad working on Vecchie romanze spagnuole. An analysis of the essay entitled Quadro storico della poesia castigliana [A History of Castilian poetry] (1819) sheds light on Berchet’s early days as a militant and polemist. It was this same verve, albeit somewhat modified, that fomented his research into the romances and his work as a translator, which occupied Berchet for almost a decade at the height of his maturity as a poet and intellectual. After retracing the long gestation period behind Vecchie romanze spagnuole and the publishing woes associated with it, the article offers a detailed analysis of the work, highlighting its autobiographical features as well as its social engagement. The themes that were close to him include the utility and significance of translation, the origins and future of literature, the possible links between poetry and civil progress and the poet and society, and the search for an art form with a didactic and moral component.