Abstract
From Casella to Bonagiunta. A hypothesis regarding Giacomo da Lentini as a model in Purgatorio ii · The opening cantos of Purgatorio introduce the new ascensional character of the second cantica. At the same time, two metaliterary elements – Casella’s intoning of Dante’s ‘Amor che nella mente’ and the souls’ singing of the psalm In exitu Israel de Aegypto – indicate that, in the second canto, Dante also reflects on his earlier experience as a love poet. In this regard, the embedding of Giacomo da Lentini’s ‘Meravigliosamente’ within Casella’s speech marks the first step towards the poetic declaration of Purg. xxiv, where Bonagiunta recognizes the differences between Dante and the earlier lyric tradition. Consequently, thisarticle examines Giacomo as a rhymical and rhetorical model in Purg. ii and investigates the complex system of poetic renewal present in Casella’s song and Cato’s rebuke.
Ferrilli, Sara