Lodovico Dolce: Renaissance Man of Letters

In Lodovico Dolce: Renaissance Man of Letters, Ronnie Terpening revives and reassesses the work of a minor but significant sixteenth-century humanist, said to have led a life ‘both wretched and glorious.’ Although Dolce (1510? - 1568) gained universal renown in his own century and was considered a cultivated scholar and writer, few today recognize his importance as one of the major transmitters of culture in Cinquecento Italy. This is the first comprehensive study in English of the literary works of Dolce. It integrates a critical rereading of his writings with a history of the literary and cultural milieu of late sixteenth-century Italy.

Active as a teacher, editor, critic, translator, and author of over one hundred volumes, Dolce is perhaps more typical of the Renaissance humanist than the major authors are, since the latter were possessed of particular rather than general talents. As the most prolific writer and editor for the largest Venetian press, Dolce played a dominant role in late Cinquecento culture. Responsible for over a quarter of the books published in Venice in his time, Dolce was a major figure in the development of print as a mass medium. To indicate the scope of Dolce’s influence, Terpening also looks at his most interesting writings in several genres: chivalric romances, comedies, tragedies, prose dialogues, and treatises.

Lodovico Dolce includes an up-to-date bibliography, extensive notes, and translations throughout.