In Naples a unpublished manuscript by Giacomo Leopardi wrote at the age of 16 years and which is preserved in the National Library. Truly an important discovery considering the authority and fame of the poet from Recanati, a discovery made by Marcello Andria and Paola Zito which will be presented today Tuesday 3 May in the Sala Rari of the Library.
The manuscript is titled "Leopardi and Giuliano emperor. An unpublished note from the Neapolitan papers”And is found in the Leopardian Collection of the National Library. It is almost certainly dated to 1814 and focuses on figure of the Emperor Flavius Claudius Julian. We can believe with certainty that it is a writing by Leopardi since there is his signature.
But let's see better what it is.
The unpublished notebook by Giacomo Leopardi
As mentioned, this notebook tells us about the figure of Flavio Claudio Giuliano, called Giuliano the Apostate and who was thelast openly pagan Latin emperor.
The writing consists of four half sheets which, folded in the center, form in total eight sides which contain a very long list in alphabetical order of ancient authors and Late Antiquity and each of them is accompanied by different numerical references, which in total are at least 550.
Leopardi's studies on the revaluation of the emperor Julian
The poet was a great scholar and from an early age he always frequented his father's library and Recanati, in the family palace, where he managed to collect an incredible amount of information on the emperor Julian consulting her complete work. The main source of him was Ezekiel Spanheim's edition of that work, published in Leipzig in 1696.
His studies were fundamental to what was there revaluation of the figure of the emperor because up until that time, the Apostate had always been seen in a negative light. The general opinion towards him was based on the condemnation of historians that on average obscured the figure, despite a positive rediscovery of the Illuminists in the 700s.
Leopardi also after this manuscript spoke of Giuliano in his other works, such as in the Moral Operettas and in Zibaldone, two of his most important writings in the history of literature.
The importance of the Neapolitan collection on Leopardi
This further discovery confirms even more the importance of the collection of Leopardi's works preserved in Naples, a place where the poet lived for a long time, having a contradictory relationship with our city. A city loved at the beginning, because it was considered a sort of medicine for its loneliness and suffering, over time it had a different and more complex relationship with it.
In the National Library his autograph works are many and represent a fundamental collection for getting to know the poet.
The presentation of the unpublished manuscript
The notebook will be presented today 3 May at 16.00 pm in the Sala Rari of the National Library in the presence of Maria Iannotti, Giulio Sodano, Francesco Piro, Rosa Giulio.
