Italian

There is no doubt that Italy played a central role in the diffusion of the Homeric text among Italian humanists and the rest of Europe. It seems, however, that at the end of the sixteenth century, French scholars and publishers were the ones to take over Italy’s leadership and advance Homeric studies in Europe. The first translation of Homer into Italian is the version of book 1 of the Iliad by Francesco Gussano, published in Venice in 1544. The first edition of Lodovico Dolce’s translation in octaves of both the Iliad and the Aeneid was published posthumously in 1570. Each book is preceded by an argomento, a brief summary of the relevant book, and allegorie that are explanations designed to provide a broad context of the action to the reader. This edition is richly illustrated with woodcuts.

L’Achille et l’enea di messer Lodovico Dolce. Dove egli tessendo l’historia della Iliade d’Homero à quella dell’Eneide di Vergilio, ambedue l’ha divinamente ridotte in ottava rima. Con argomenti, et allegorie per ogni canto….
Venice : Gabriel Giolito de’ Ferrari, 1572.