Italian Literature
A.Y. 2024/2025
Learning objectives
The first part intends to offer some exemplary critical readings taken from the main texts of the Italian literary tradition. The second will deepen in a monographic form a work, an author or a literary current.
Expected learning outcomes
Knowledge of the main currents of Italian medieval, early modern and modern literature, set in their historic and cultural context, with special emphasis on their literary and linguistic peculiarities. Elements of rhetoric and metric. Interpretive tools of critical analysis. Understanding of the specificities of literary texts. Familiarity with the basics of critical scholarship. Acquisition of a personal and grounded judgement. Clarity and rigor of the analysis through a proper use of the critical vocabulary.
Lesson period: First semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course cannot be attended as a single course. Please check our list of single courses to find the ones available for enrolment.
Course syllabus and organization
A (A-D)
Responsible
Lesson period
First semester
Course syllabus
The course consists of two sections that will be developed sequentially:
Section A: "The Italian literature from the Origins to the beginning of the 19th century: main authors and works" (40 hours, 6 ECTS)
Section B: "The sonnet: history of an Italian metric form" (20 hours, 3 ECTS)
Section A will provide a general overview of some of the most important authors, works and historical moments of the Italian literature, from the Origins to the beginning of the 19th century.
Section B will focus on one of the most successful inventions of Italian literature, the metric form of the sonnet, that has accompanied all the history of Italian poetry from the Origins up to today, also being implemented and used by other literary experiences in Europe and beyond. Through the analysis of a suitable number of texts composed between the 13th and the 20th centuries, we will deepen the origins of this form, its great expressive potential, and its transformations over the time, without ignoring some episodes of its European and extra-European fortune and their influences on the Italian tradition itself.
This course provides only 9 ECTS; it can't provide only 6 ECTS. All lectures are in Italian.
Section A: "The Italian literature from the Origins to the beginning of the 19th century: main authors and works" (40 hours, 6 ECTS)
Section B: "The sonnet: history of an Italian metric form" (20 hours, 3 ECTS)
Section A will provide a general overview of some of the most important authors, works and historical moments of the Italian literature, from the Origins to the beginning of the 19th century.
Section B will focus on one of the most successful inventions of Italian literature, the metric form of the sonnet, that has accompanied all the history of Italian poetry from the Origins up to today, also being implemented and used by other literary experiences in Europe and beyond. Through the analysis of a suitable number of texts composed between the 13th and the 20th centuries, we will deepen the origins of this form, its great expressive potential, and its transformations over the time, without ignoring some episodes of its European and extra-European fortune and their influences on the Italian tradition itself.
This course provides only 9 ECTS; it can't provide only 6 ECTS. All lectures are in Italian.
Prerequisites for admission
None.
Teaching methods
Lectures with reading and commentary of texts; students are invited to take part in the discussion on the topics treated in class. Class attendance is highly recommended.
Additional digital teaching materials (such as images, musical registrations, and bibliographic supports) will be published in the MyAriel site of the course.
Additional digital teaching materials (such as images, musical registrations, and bibliographic supports) will be published in the MyAriel site of the course.
Teaching Resources
Section A:
Before classes start, the teacher will publish on the MyAriel site of the course a booklet containing the texts that will be read and commented during the lessons. Class notes are part of the exam program. Further teaching materials will be provided in the MyAriel site during the course.
Students will complete their preparation with the study of the main authors of Italian literature analyzed in class on a good handbook of Italian literature, that will provide a general knowledge of their historical-cultural background (the authors to be studied will be listed in a document published on the MyAriel site at the end of this section of the course). The teacher can provide foreign students with additional information about this and all the other aspects.
During personal study, students may use handbooks that can help them in the metrical and rhetorical analysis of texts (such as Pietro G. Beltrami, "Gli strumenti della poesia", Bologna, Il Mulino, 2002 and Bice Mortara Garavelli, "Il parlar figurato. Manualetto di figure retoriche", Bari-Roma, Laterza, 2010).
Section B:
Before classes of this section start, the teacher will publish on the MyAriel site of the course a booklet containing: 1) the texts that will be read and commented during the lessons; 2) the precise indication of the critical bibliography to be studied for the exam. Further teaching materials will be provided in the MyAriel site during the course. Class notes are part of the exam program.
Non-attending students are invited to contact the teacher for additional information and supplementary bibliographic references that will substitute the attendance at classes (and consequently the study of personal class notes).
Erasmus incoming students with linguistic difficulties with the Italian language may contact the teacher to establish a specific study plan.
The programme of this course is valid until February 2026.
Before classes start, the teacher will publish on the MyAriel site of the course a booklet containing the texts that will be read and commented during the lessons. Class notes are part of the exam program. Further teaching materials will be provided in the MyAriel site during the course.
Students will complete their preparation with the study of the main authors of Italian literature analyzed in class on a good handbook of Italian literature, that will provide a general knowledge of their historical-cultural background (the authors to be studied will be listed in a document published on the MyAriel site at the end of this section of the course). The teacher can provide foreign students with additional information about this and all the other aspects.
During personal study, students may use handbooks that can help them in the metrical and rhetorical analysis of texts (such as Pietro G. Beltrami, "Gli strumenti della poesia", Bologna, Il Mulino, 2002 and Bice Mortara Garavelli, "Il parlar figurato. Manualetto di figure retoriche", Bari-Roma, Laterza, 2010).
Section B:
Before classes of this section start, the teacher will publish on the MyAriel site of the course a booklet containing: 1) the texts that will be read and commented during the lessons; 2) the precise indication of the critical bibliography to be studied for the exam. Further teaching materials will be provided in the MyAriel site during the course. Class notes are part of the exam program.
Non-attending students are invited to contact the teacher for additional information and supplementary bibliographic references that will substitute the attendance at classes (and consequently the study of personal class notes).
Erasmus incoming students with linguistic difficulties with the Italian language may contact the teacher to establish a specific study plan.
The programme of this course is valid until February 2026.
Assessment methods and Criteria
The exam consists of a preliminary written examination about section A, and in an oral examination about section B. The written examination will take place in December 2024 (with the possibility to take the oral exam from January 2025, with possible exceptions), February 2025 (with the possibility to take the oral exam from June 2025), May 2025, September 2025 and December 2025; both examinations are mandatory and contribute to the final overall evaluation.
The written exam has to be completed within 90 minutes and consists of three open-ended questions: two questions focus on authors, works or literary movements analysed in the course; a third question consists in the paraphrase and stylistic analysis of one of the texts studied in the course. Written exams will be assessed as: Acceptable - Quite Good - Good - Excellent. The abilities to provide correct information within a coherent exposition and to paraphrase and comment properly the text will be evaluated.
The oral examination focuses on section B, and will assess students' preparation, their ability to construct a coherent and precise speech using the acquired skills in the analysis of literary texts.
The final overall evaluation (written exam + oral exam) is expressed in thirties.
The examination procedures for students with disabilities shall be established in advance with the teacher and with the dedicated office.
The written exam has to be completed within 90 minutes and consists of three open-ended questions: two questions focus on authors, works or literary movements analysed in the course; a third question consists in the paraphrase and stylistic analysis of one of the texts studied in the course. Written exams will be assessed as: Acceptable - Quite Good - Good - Excellent. The abilities to provide correct information within a coherent exposition and to paraphrase and comment properly the text will be evaluated.
The oral examination focuses on section B, and will assess students' preparation, their ability to construct a coherent and precise speech using the acquired skills in the analysis of literary texts.
The final overall evaluation (written exam + oral exam) is expressed in thirties.
The examination procedures for students with disabilities shall be established in advance with the teacher and with the dedicated office.
L-FIL-LET/10 - ITALIAN LITERATURE - University credits: 9
Lessons: 60 hours
Professor:
Resconi Stefano
B (E-O)
Responsible
Lesson period
First semester
Course syllabus
The class is subdivided into two units.
Unit A offers some exemplary critical readings selected from the main texts of the Italian literary tradition, typically from the Middle Ages and Dante to Romanticism. Its content will be assessed in a written exam at the end of the class.
In Unit B (which may vary every year) the focus is on a specific work, author, or literary movement, treated monographically. Unit B will be the main topic of the discussion during the oral exam.
This year's class examines Italian literature's troubled encounter with the "other", as an outcome of the Italian diaspora in the Mediterranean context and in continental Europe, and on the other hand Italian literature's lingering fascination with its traditional rural and provincial context.
Unit A offers some exemplary critical readings selected from the main texts of the Italian literary tradition, typically from the Middle Ages and Dante to Romanticism. Its content will be assessed in a written exam at the end of the class.
In Unit B (which may vary every year) the focus is on a specific work, author, or literary movement, treated monographically. Unit B will be the main topic of the discussion during the oral exam.
This year's class examines Italian literature's troubled encounter with the "other", as an outcome of the Italian diaspora in the Mediterranean context and in continental Europe, and on the other hand Italian literature's lingering fascination with its traditional rural and provincial context.
Prerequisites for admission
The class is conducted entirely in Italian. Course materials and readings require an average knowledge of the main currents of Italian medieval, early modern ad modern literature, set in their historic and cultural context, with special emphasis on their literary and linguistic peculiarities.
Teaching methods
The class consists in 30 lectures. Students are strongly invited to turn in written assignments, the content of which is discussed with the teacher. These papers, though, are not mandatory.
Teaching Resources
Unit A
Course materials are uploaded in the Ariel portal: https://ariel.unimi.it
Unit B
Texts
Fausta Cialente, Cortile a Cleopatra, any edition
Saro Marretta, Piccoli italiani in Svizzera, Iannone, Isernia 2007
Silvio D'Arzo, Casa d'altri, any edition
Gino Tellini, Scritture della migrazione. Per una prospettiva globale della letteratura italiana, Le Monnier Università, Milano 2023
Criticism. Either one of the following volumes:
Martino Marazzi, Italexit. Saggi su Risorgimento e disunione nazionale, Franco Cesati, Firenze 2019
Martino Marazzi, A occhi aperti. Letteratura dell'emigrazione e mito americano, FrancoAngeli, Milano 2011
Martino Marazzi, Through the Periscope. Changing Culture, Italian America, SUNY Press, Albany, N.Y., 2022
Additional readings for non-attending students. Three out of the following books:
Fausta Cialente, Natalia, any edition
Marisa Fenoglio, Il ritorno impossibile, Nutrimenti, Roma 2012
Silvio D'Arzo, Penny Wirton e sua madre, any edition
Five short stories by Silvio D'Arzo, in any edition
Elvira Mujčić, La lingua di Ana, Infinito edizioni, Castelgandolfo (Roma) 2012
Ti-Noune Moïse, Terra! ma nessuna patria, Lussografica, Caltanissetta 2022
Course materials are uploaded in the Ariel portal: https://ariel.unimi.it
Unit B
Texts
Fausta Cialente, Cortile a Cleopatra, any edition
Saro Marretta, Piccoli italiani in Svizzera, Iannone, Isernia 2007
Silvio D'Arzo, Casa d'altri, any edition
Gino Tellini, Scritture della migrazione. Per una prospettiva globale della letteratura italiana, Le Monnier Università, Milano 2023
Criticism. Either one of the following volumes:
Martino Marazzi, Italexit. Saggi su Risorgimento e disunione nazionale, Franco Cesati, Firenze 2019
Martino Marazzi, A occhi aperti. Letteratura dell'emigrazione e mito americano, FrancoAngeli, Milano 2011
Martino Marazzi, Through the Periscope. Changing Culture, Italian America, SUNY Press, Albany, N.Y., 2022
Additional readings for non-attending students. Three out of the following books:
Fausta Cialente, Natalia, any edition
Marisa Fenoglio, Il ritorno impossibile, Nutrimenti, Roma 2012
Silvio D'Arzo, Penny Wirton e sua madre, any edition
Five short stories by Silvio D'Arzo, in any edition
Elvira Mujčić, La lingua di Ana, Infinito edizioni, Castelgandolfo (Roma) 2012
Ti-Noune Moïse, Terra! ma nessuna patria, Lussografica, Caltanissetta 2022
Assessment methods and Criteria
Written + oral exam:
at the end of the class, either in November or December, a two-hour written exam on Unit A (no dictionary allowed) tests the understanding of the specificities of literary texts, as well as students' familiarity with the basics of critical scholarship, and their acquisition of a personal and grounded judgement. Clarity and rigor of the analysis is required through a proper use of the critical vocabulary. Two additional tests are typically scheduled in May and in September. The exact dates are published in the MyAriel website.
Grades breakdown: Fail, Basic, Average, Good, Excellent.
Once the written part is completed, students can access to the oral exam (Unit B). All students can take part in it, even those who were graded as Fail (in which case, they will have to repeat their preparation of Unit A, in accordance with the teacher).
The oral part asks for the same learning requirements as the written part, and, in compliance with the Italian academic tradition, will be graded on a 30-point scale, from 18/30 to 30/30 cum laude .
at the end of the class, either in November or December, a two-hour written exam on Unit A (no dictionary allowed) tests the understanding of the specificities of literary texts, as well as students' familiarity with the basics of critical scholarship, and their acquisition of a personal and grounded judgement. Clarity and rigor of the analysis is required through a proper use of the critical vocabulary. Two additional tests are typically scheduled in May and in September. The exact dates are published in the MyAriel website.
Grades breakdown: Fail, Basic, Average, Good, Excellent.
Once the written part is completed, students can access to the oral exam (Unit B). All students can take part in it, even those who were graded as Fail (in which case, they will have to repeat their preparation of Unit A, in accordance with the teacher).
The oral part asks for the same learning requirements as the written part, and, in compliance with the Italian academic tradition, will be graded on a 30-point scale, from 18/30 to 30/30 cum laude .
L-FIL-LET/10 - ITALIAN LITERATURE - University credits: 9
Lessons: 60 hours
Professor:
Marazzi Martino
C (P-Z)
Responsible
Lesson period
First semester
Course syllabus
The class is divided into two parts (A and B), addressed in sequence:
Part A: Italian literature from the origins to the early nineteenth century: authors and fundamental texts (40 hours).
Part B: reading Dante's Inferno (20 hours).
Part A - institutional and preparatory to the written test - deals with fundamental authors and texts (even in a broader European horizon) of Italian literature from the origins to the early nineteenth century from a historical perspective.
Prolusion on Literature (Dante Alighieri, Seamus Heaney, Mariangela Gualtieri, Jorge Luis Borges will be discussed).
The dawn of Italian poetry: poets of the court of Frederick II
A new way of love poetry: Dolce stil novo
Fragments of a soul: Francesco Petrarca and Rerum vulgarium fragmenta
Tell in the garden: Giovanni Boccaccio and the Decameron
A current political treatise: Niccolò Machiavelli and The Principe
The poem of beauty: Ludovico Ariosto and The Orlando furioso
Nocturnal: Torquato Tasso, Rime and Gerusalemme liberata
World and theatre: Carlo Goldoni and the theater reform
Love and guilt: Vittorio Alfieri, Mirra
Literature and life: Ugo Foscolo, Ultime lettere di Jacopo Ortis, Sonetti, Dei Sepolcri
Wedding on the lake: Alessandro Manzoni and I promessi sposi
Infinity beyond the hedge: Giacomo Leopardi, L'infinito.
Part B - monographic - focuses on the reading Dante's Inferno. A full knowledge of Dante's Inferno is required.
Part A: Italian literature from the origins to the early nineteenth century: authors and fundamental texts (40 hours).
Part B: reading Dante's Inferno (20 hours).
Part A - institutional and preparatory to the written test - deals with fundamental authors and texts (even in a broader European horizon) of Italian literature from the origins to the early nineteenth century from a historical perspective.
Prolusion on Literature (Dante Alighieri, Seamus Heaney, Mariangela Gualtieri, Jorge Luis Borges will be discussed).
The dawn of Italian poetry: poets of the court of Frederick II
A new way of love poetry: Dolce stil novo
Fragments of a soul: Francesco Petrarca and Rerum vulgarium fragmenta
Tell in the garden: Giovanni Boccaccio and the Decameron
A current political treatise: Niccolò Machiavelli and The Principe
The poem of beauty: Ludovico Ariosto and The Orlando furioso
Nocturnal: Torquato Tasso, Rime and Gerusalemme liberata
World and theatre: Carlo Goldoni and the theater reform
Love and guilt: Vittorio Alfieri, Mirra
Literature and life: Ugo Foscolo, Ultime lettere di Jacopo Ortis, Sonetti, Dei Sepolcri
Wedding on the lake: Alessandro Manzoni and I promessi sposi
Infinity beyond the hedge: Giacomo Leopardi, L'infinito.
Part B - monographic - focuses on the reading Dante's Inferno. A full knowledge of Dante's Inferno is required.
Prerequisites for admission
No prerequisites are requested. The class is conducted entirely in Italian.
Teaching methods
Lectures, which include critical discussions and analysis of literary texts. Using the projector to facilitate notes.
Teaching Resources
Part A:
At the beginning of the course, the teacher will publish a handout on the Ariel website containing all the texts that will be read, paraphrased and commented on in class.
The lecture notes are the fundamental part of the exam program.
To complete the preparation, it is advisable to have a certain historical and cultural framework of the authors and of the texts analyzed in class using a good manual for high schools. In any case, updated manuals of Italian literature will be indicated in the dispensation, as well as useful tools for the study of texts from a metric, rhetorical and stylistic point of view.
Part B:
Notes of the lessons
Inferno. La Commedia di Dante raccontata da Claudio Giunta, Milano, Feltrinelli, 2023.
The materials and the bibliography for examination require literary history skills, use of specific terminology and analysis tools of the literary text acquired during secondary school.
At the beginning of the course, the teacher will publish a handout on the Ariel website containing all the texts that will be read, paraphrased and commented on in class.
The lecture notes are the fundamental part of the exam program.
To complete the preparation, it is advisable to have a certain historical and cultural framework of the authors and of the texts analyzed in class using a good manual for high schools. In any case, updated manuals of Italian literature will be indicated in the dispensation, as well as useful tools for the study of texts from a metric, rhetorical and stylistic point of view.
Part B:
Notes of the lessons
Inferno. La Commedia di Dante raccontata da Claudio Giunta, Milano, Feltrinelli, 2023.
The materials and the bibliography for examination require literary history skills, use of specific terminology and analysis tools of the literary text acquired during secondary school.
Assessment methods and Criteria
The exam (held entirely in Italian) consists of a preliminary written test (held in December 2024, in May 2025, in September 2025) and an oral exam to be taken (in one of the calls as per the teaching calendar) only after passing the written test. Both tests are compulsory and determine an overall final evaluation.
The paper concerns the subject of Part A, and consists of three questions: two open questions on aspects and authors of Italian literature tackled during the first 40 hours of lessons, and an exercise in paraphrasing and commenting on a text (or part of a text) analysed in class and included in the handout. The time available for the written test is 90 minutes. The evaluation is expressed through a judgment: insufficient - sufficient - more than sufficient - fair - more than fair - good - more than good - excellent. In particular, the ability to provide correct information by constructing a clear and coherent discourse, and to provide a timely paraphrase and commentary of the proposed text will be assessed positively. No material may be consulted during the written test: no books, notes or dictionary.
The oral exam covers only the subject of part B (last 20 hours) and consists of an interview aimed at ascertaining the students' preparation, ability to put specific knowledge to good use (in particular in paraphrasing and commenting on the analysed Dantean texts), and expository property. During the oral examination, the student will initially be asked about an episode from Inferno, which must be narrated and commented on. Then they will be presented with a passage analysed in class (some tercets) to be read, paraphrased and commented on.
The final assessment of the examination (which takes into account both the written test and the oral test) is expressed in thirtieths.
Class attendance is strongly recommended.
Students unable to attend lectures are invited to go to the lecturer's reception, who will provide precise indications on the supplementary bibliography with which to replace attendance. Foreign and Erasmus incoming students who have particular language difficulties with Italian may write an email to the lecturer to arrange a reception and agree on a special programme. The course programme is valid until February 2026.
Examination arrangements for students with disabilities and/or DSA must be agreed in good time with the lecturer, in agreement with the competent office.
The paper concerns the subject of Part A, and consists of three questions: two open questions on aspects and authors of Italian literature tackled during the first 40 hours of lessons, and an exercise in paraphrasing and commenting on a text (or part of a text) analysed in class and included in the handout. The time available for the written test is 90 minutes. The evaluation is expressed through a judgment: insufficient - sufficient - more than sufficient - fair - more than fair - good - more than good - excellent. In particular, the ability to provide correct information by constructing a clear and coherent discourse, and to provide a timely paraphrase and commentary of the proposed text will be assessed positively. No material may be consulted during the written test: no books, notes or dictionary.
The oral exam covers only the subject of part B (last 20 hours) and consists of an interview aimed at ascertaining the students' preparation, ability to put specific knowledge to good use (in particular in paraphrasing and commenting on the analysed Dantean texts), and expository property. During the oral examination, the student will initially be asked about an episode from Inferno, which must be narrated and commented on. Then they will be presented with a passage analysed in class (some tercets) to be read, paraphrased and commented on.
The final assessment of the examination (which takes into account both the written test and the oral test) is expressed in thirtieths.
Class attendance is strongly recommended.
Students unable to attend lectures are invited to go to the lecturer's reception, who will provide precise indications on the supplementary bibliography with which to replace attendance. Foreign and Erasmus incoming students who have particular language difficulties with Italian may write an email to the lecturer to arrange a reception and agree on a special programme. The course programme is valid until February 2026.
Examination arrangements for students with disabilities and/or DSA must be agreed in good time with the lecturer, in agreement with the competent office.
L-FIL-LET/10 - ITALIAN LITERATURE - University credits: 9
Lessons: 60 hours
Professor:
Pirovano Donato
Professor(s)
Reception:
Monday 10.30 A.M
Piazza sant'Alessandro, first floor, near Spanish studies
Reception:
Tuesday, h. 15.00-18.00; please, anticipate your presence by e-mail
Professor's office: Via Festa del Perdono 7, Sezione di Modernistica (right side of the courtyard after accessing from the main entrance), 1st floor