Lorenzo Gambara's Caprarola and on Poetic Composition - (Jesuit Studies) by Paul G Gwynne & Patrick M Owens (Hardcover)

About the Book

This volume presents the first English translation with commentary of Lorenzo Gambara's verse panegyric on the Farnese Palace at Caprarola together with the Latin treatise in which the poet laments his lascivious verse. The treatise is here newly ascribed to the Jesuit polymath Antonio Possevino.

Book Synopsis

In 1569, Lorenzo Gambara published a long verse description of the Farnese palace at Caprarola, which was dedicated to Cardinal Alessandro Farnese. Twelve years later, this poem was thoroughly revised and considerably lengthened. In the meantime, the aged poet had repudiated the compositions of his youth and repented his lascivious verse. This dramatic change of heart is documented in a Latin treatise in which poets are encouraged to eschew pagan and classical themes in favor of Christian subject matter. This volume presents the first English translation with commentary of the revised poem and the treatise, which is newly ascribed to the Jesuit polymath Antonio Possevino.

About the Author

Paul Gwynne, Ph.D. (1990), The Warburg Institute, University of London, is Professor of Medieval and Renaissance Studies at The American University of Rome. He is the author of numerous articles and chapters in books as well as a trilogy of monographs that review the production of neo-Latin poetry in Rome from 1480-1600, including Francesco Benci, Quinque Martyres. Introduction, Translation and Commentary (Brill, 2017).
Patrick M. Owens, Ph.D. (2015), Institutum Altioris Latinitatis, Università Pontificia Salesiana, is Distinguished Assistant Professor of Classics at Colgate Univeristy. He is President of the American Association for Neo-Latin Studies and the editor of the journal Neo-Latin News.