Tuscan intellectual Vincenzio Martinelli spent much of his life in London. A teacher of Italian, an amateur musicologist, a great conversationalist, he was also well-versed in the capital's social life. He frequented its most illustrious residences (Walpole, Burney, Townshend) and was a long-standing point of reference for Italians visiting the city, from Casanova to Alessandro Verri. His work Lettere familiari e critiche (1758) provides an enlightening picture of mid-18th-century English society. However, he and his work have always been overshadowed by the hasty judgment of Giuseppe Baretti, who was a friend but deplored his linguistic views. In reality, Martinelli’s Lettere represent a crucial step in the pursuit of a language moving towards conversation and scientific dissemination, in the wake of Galileo, Redi and Magalotti, which would soon be decisively confirmed by the choices made by the «Caffè group».
University of Insubria, Italy - ORCID: 0000-0001-5214-8654
Chapter Title
«Facilità e chiarezza» o «nessun garbo di lingua»? Baretti e le Lettere familiari e critiche di Vincenzio Martinelli
Authors
Gianmarco Gaspari
Language
Italian
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0448-4.09
Peer Reviewed
Publication Year
2024
Copyright Information
© 2024 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Book Title
Baretti’s England
Book Subtitle
Figure e momenti del Settecento anglo-italiano
Editors
Elisa Bianco, Alessandra Vicentini
Peer Reviewed
Number of Pages
200
Publication Year
2024
Copyright Information
© 2024 Author(s)
Content License
Metadata License
Publisher Name
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0448-4
ISBN Print
979-12-215-0447-7
eISBN (pdf)
979-12-215-0448-4
eISBN (epub)
979-12-215-0449-1
Series Title
Biblioteca di storia
Series ISSN
2464-9007
Series E-ISSN
2704-5986