‘By consultation of elevated minds’: the role of paratexts in Giovanni Battista Calderari's comedies

Genette's Seuils considers the dramatic paratext as the odd one out, and, indeed, the early‐modern theatrical paratext has remained understudied. This article discusses the paratexts of the comedies of Giovanni Battista Calderari, a sixteenth‐century author quite neglected by scholars, whose works were published in Vicenza and Venice. By focusing on the paratexts of La Mora (The Moorish Woman, 1588), La schiava (The Slave Woman, 1589), and Armida (1600), the article stresses Calderari's attempts to clarify his poetic ideas and his endeavours to create a network of intellectuals and obtain their opinions about his work. These interlocutors belonged to the knights of Malta and the Vicenzan Accademia Olimpica, two circles to which Calderari himself belonged, but they also were authoritative Venetian intellectuals. His insertion of poems and letters that praise his person and work, reveals his attempt to promote himself and his writings. He tries to promote himself not only as a military man or a great Vicenzan poet, but as a scholar of theatre who is able to juggle poetic discourse and is worthy to be considered by intellectuals, though he ultimately seems to have failed to really assert himself on the Venetian cultural scene and the Vicenzan stage.

the text but which are still placed on the inside of the book (péritextes) which were explicitly inserted by Calderari.
Scholars in the last decades have tended to think that Gérard Genette's Seuils cannot be easily applied to the Early Modern period.For Helen Smith and Louise Wilson, for example, the distinctions which have been made between author-printer and text-paratext have to be overcome: both printer and author influenced those elements of the book which we tend to ascribe to the other 'profession'.Furthermore, the reader was guided not just by the paratexts but also by the rendition of both text and paratext. 4he theatrical paratext was passed off by Genette as the odd one out among literary paratexts in general since the genre's performative aspects make it difficult to classify among other examples of its species.More recently, however, Philiep Bossier and Rolien Scheffer have underlined that the paratext was an essential part of sixteenth-century drama.It was in their paratexts that authors had to pick sides regarding the gradually modernizing movement of Italian drama: do we want an innovative or a conservative genre? 5 Indeed, before we can discern Calderari's intentions, we need to dialogue Della dedicatione de' libri (On the Dedication of Books, 1590), such as the exaggeration of the praise of patrons: The practices regarding titles are certainly as necessary for rendering the world modest and reforming it, as they are to condemn luxuries, since every retailer or rascal, having obtained the degree of doctor or gentleman, [however] not by their scientific faculties or superiority in arms, wants to be called either 'very excellent' or 'honourable'. 7wever, for an author like Calderari, paratexts were an occasion not only to honour a patron and obtain recompense, but also to put himself in the spotlight.According to Bossier and Scheffer, the development of the paratext as a genre in its own right in the Cinquecento was connected to the development of print itself as an art form, which adapted its appearance and organizational use of space along the way.As the printed book and printers became more professional, so did their authors, who now claimed that space in the spotlight.The question then arises whether the author as an individual meant what he or she wrote or wore the mask of a professional writer.This 'mascherarsi' ('disguising oneself') became stronger in the paratexts as the author reconstructed his or her ideas and personal network, entering into contact with the reader. 8ossier and Scheffer are concerned with the contents of paratexts, whereas the volumes by Smith and Wilson and Santoro and Tavoni approach them from the viewpoint of book historians. 9The only study on early modern drama in these volumes betrays this book-historical approach.In it, Sonia Massai compares English dramas whose front pages promise amendments.She shows that these are not hollow phrases and that the revisions are the result of teamwork. 10Of greater interest for my purposes are the literary and historical approaches adopted in Bossier and Scheffer's volume.Among them, Frans-Willem Korsten explores the persona that was used by the seventeenth-century Dutch dramaturgist Vondel to participate in and shape political debates. 11Bossier analyses how the paratexts of the sixteenth-century nun and authoress Maddalena Campiglia, also from 7 'Certo che le prammatiche intorno ai titoli sono non meno necessarie per modestia et riforma del mondo di quelle che si fanno per mortificar le pompe, poich'ogni pizzicaruolo o scalciacane, ottenuto il grado di dottore o di cavaliere, non già con la facoltà delle scienze o la generosità dell'arme, vuol esser chiamato, questi con l'aggionta di "eccellentissimo", et quegli d'"illustre"'.Giovanni Fratta, Della dedicatione de' libri, con la correttion dell'abuso, in questa materia introdotto.Dialoghi del signor Giovanni Fratta, nobile veronese (Venezia: Giorgio Angelieri, 1590), fol.20v. 8Bossier and Scheffer, 'Introduzione', 14-18. 9Santoro and Tavoni (eds.),I dintorni del testo; Smith and Wilson (eds.),Renaissance Paratexts.Vicenza, play with three Cinquecento trends: the rise of the pastoral, the new impulses coming from commedia dell'arte, and the topos of showing one's inadequacy even though this was not the case. 12Lisa Sampson's approach will be most fruitful for us.In her study on the sixteenth-century noblewoman Barbara Torelli's Partenia, Sampson sets Torelli within the geographical, academic, and networking contexts in which she operated.She also reconstructs the theoretical debates which are reported in the paratexts by this network of authors. 13n this article, I will analyse Calderari's paratexts using Sampson's approach as a point of departure.In the first section, I will reconstruct Calderari's personal and authorial biography and contextualize his network.The sections 'The Paratexts of La Mora (1588)', 'The Paratexts of La schiava (1589)' and 'The Dedicatory Letter of Armida (1600)' will study the paratexts of, respectively, La Mora, La schiava and Armida in relation to Calderari's biography and network.These sections are followed by my conclusions.This study will not only uncover Calderari's personal authorial interests, such as his desire to communicate his work with others and obtain their approval, but also, and in so doing, further explore more general questions which mattered to authors of drama, and how these were conveyed in their paratexts.
His life seems to have been divided between his authorial practices at the Accademia Olimpica and Malta.Archival evidence attests that on 21 December 1569 and about two years later, on 3 January 1572, Calderari was made a nuovo accademico of the Accademia Olimpica of Vicenza. 17On 18 May 1573, 18 aged thirty-two, he became a knight of Malta.The Hospitaller knights of the Order of St John of Malta were members of a military-religious order.Besides fighting for the Christian religion, they obeyed the rules of the church and took a vow of chastity, though they were not compelled to lead a cloistered and secluded life.To receive the knightly habit and become one of the 'brothers' ('fratelli') was firstly to receive an honour reserved for aristocrats with a proven noble lineage.But it also entailed considerable costs to be admitted to the knights of Malta and uphold this status, for example by dressing accordingly or maintaining horses, and always in a way that stood in line with the status within the order.However, for young noblemen not destined for marriage, entering the Order of Malta was a very respectable alternative -much like young noblewomen who, rather than marrying, entered into convents. 19The frontispieces of Calderari's comedies consistently represent him in this esteemed capacity: on La Mora's and La schiava's frontispieces he is '[the] lord friar Giovanni Battista Calderari, knight of Malta', while on Armida's he is '[the] excellent sir Giovanni Battista Calderari, Vicentine, knight of Jerusalem'. 20s stated in his dedicatory letters, after about fifteen years of service between 1573 and 1588 (the publication date of La Mora), and being afflicted by gout, he wished to dedicate himself to writing.During this period, in 1584, he was involved in the preparations for the inaugural spectacle of the Vicenzan Teatro Olimpico, Sophocles' Edipo tiranno (Oedipus Tyrannus) translated by Orsatto Giustinian. 21Calderari was part of the commission 'employed with the recruitment and instruction of the actors and with the giving of advice on the music' and one of the academicians who 17  had to guide the women to their seats.He also replaced Angelo Caldogno in a council of the Accademia in 1585. 22His Rime testifies to his public offices and confirms his local prestige.For example, the poem 'Sprolico de Braghin di Forabusi per el Commun de Bolzan denanzo al smagnifico Scapotagno de Vicenza' ('Rambling speech by Braghin of Forabusi for the City of Bolzano before the Magnificent Captain of Vicenza') describes how he was elected as an official representative by the citizens of Bolzano Vicentino to go to the local authorities and try and resolve the friction between factions who each proposed their own candidate for the ecclesiastical title of dean. 23Coming from a new noble family with merchants and notaries at its roots, Giovanni Battista and his brother Decio, the heir, started a -rather unsuccessful -campaign to elevate their family's prestige and enter the highest aristocratic society.Part of this project was given to investing heavily in the construction of the Teatro Olimpico, on whose steps Giovanni Battista obtained the honour of having his statue erected. 24any sonnets and letters praise his comedies and four of his compositions were included in La quarta parte delle rime alla rustica di Menon, Magagnò e Begotto (The Fourth Part of the Rustic Rhymes of Menon, Magagnò and Begotto) by Giovanni Battista Maganza, Agostino Rava, and Marco Thiene from the 1580s, which shows that he must have been an acknowledged author, 25 if not at first for his comedies, at least for his poetry. 26However, we can also consider his public celebrity as the result of a personal campaign.If he and his brother Decio indeed undertook a 'public relations campaign', Calderari took no half measures and devoted himself to disseminating both his Rime and comedies.Not only did he celebrate himself as a poet in his Rime by comparing himself with the three maestri, Rava, Maganza, and Thiene, both by expressing his admiration for them and by affirming his own poetic uniqueness, 27 but he also explicitly inserted laudatory works into his comedies.Besides one dedicatory letter in each one, La Mora contains six poems 22  and La schiava three letters, all nine texts of which are written by various authors.Armida only carries one dedicatory letter by Decio Calderari.
The inserted poems and letters suggest that Calderari had many acquaintances reading his works.We also find traces of similar exchanges in epitextual sources.For example, a letter dated 6 March 1588 shows that Giovanni Battista Ghellini, the dedicatee of La Mora, forwarded this comedy to Velleio Velo, the house steward of Virginio Orsini in Rome.Ghellini's letter suggests that he sent it at Calderari's request: 'I did not wish to fail in sending one to your lordship so that you would see the work, which is very worthy because of the honour this honoured and virtuous Calderari has done me, and with this I bow to you kissing your hand in the name of this lord Calderari'. 28Another trace can be found in the opening sonnet of Calderari's Rime rustiche as transcribed in the Paduan manuscript BP 1467 II, where Giulio Piovene praises La schiava in a sonnet in dialect, 29 and in Niccolò Rossi's Discorsi […] intorno alla comedia, which we shall discuss below. 30alderari thus clearly promoted himself and conversed with others.These interlocutors were mostly fellow knights of Malta or academics from the Accademia Olimpica, who were increasingly interested in theatre, staging plays in private houses of nobles and their Teatro, and in poetry, which they recited amongst themselves. 31Calderari's work combines all of these interests.But he very explicitly sought out the opinions of some connoisseurs of drama who were among the most authoritative figures of the Venetian culture in his time.

CALDERARI'S NETWORK
To fully appreciate the scope of Calderari's paratexts, it is useful to first examine briefly who his interlocutors were.These figures make up the cultural network in which Calderari wished to immerse himself.La Mora is dedicated to Giovanni Battista Ghellini who was principe of the Academia Olimpica in the period and possibly a member of the noble Ghellini family. 32The paratextual poems all seem to have been composed by authors pertaining to Calderari's sphere.Antonio Maria Angiolello, an orator and poet, Gherardo Bellinzona, 28 'Io non ho voluto mancare di mandarne una a vostra signoria accio veda l'opera, che è meritevolissima per l'onore che mi è stato fatto da questo onorato e virtuoso Calderari, e con questa le faccio riverenza baciando la mano a nome di esso signor Calderari'.Valerio Morucci, Baronial Patronage of Music in Early Modern Rome (Abingdon: Routledge, 2018), 77.The letter can be found in Roma, Archivio Capitolino, Fondo Orsini, Serie I, 341/1, fol.32. 29  nicknamed as 'Stimolato' ('the Stimulated One'), and Giovanni Battista Tittonio (or Titoni) were all Olimpici.Marco Stecchini was a poet from Bassano near Vicenza, and Annibale Dalla Torre was a knight of Malta.However, Angelo Ingegneri's presence among them is striking.Ingegneri was a nobleman who was born and died in the Serenissima and was linked to various academies including the Olimpica, where he was welcomed with the nickname of 'Negletto' ('the Neglected One').He actively participated in the discussions over which performance should inaugurate the Teatro, a prize which ended up going in favour of Sophocles' Edipo tiranno.Ingegneri acquired experience as the choragus of Edipo tiranno, 33 and was thus a great dramatic authority even before the publication of his dramatic treatise Della poesia rappresentativa (On Representative Poetry, 1598), in which he praised his own rendition of Edipo tiranno. 34In view of Ingegneri's significance, it was important for Calderari to have him read the play before publication.La schiava is dedicated to Muzio Gonzaga and Fulvio Pasi.Muzio, a member of the famous noble Gonzaga family, became a knight of Malta in December 1559 and defended Malta during the great siege of 1565. 35Fulvio Pasi, who originated from the ancient noble Pasi family from Bologna, became a knight of Malta on 27 October 1576.He was the captain of a papal galley, captain and sergeantmajor in Hungary against the Turks in 1595, as well as a papal ambassador.He obtained the commenda of Lucca before his death in Bologna in 1598. 36Angiolello, the author of one of the paratextual poems connected to La Mora, returns in these paratexts too.Two new figures which appear in connection with La schiava are Niccolò Rossi and Giasone De Nores.Of these, Rossi was a Vicentine author and an Olimpico.He wrote two Discourses on comedy and on tragedy, both of which were published in Vicenza. 37Perhaps it is no coincidence that these Discorsi and La schiava were printed by the same dalla Noce, who mostly published local and occasional books, and who also published several Rime by Maganza and Rava. 38Rossi takes Calderari's Armida as the example of comedy: Since, in the past few days, the excellent and very reverend lord friar Giovan Battista Calderari, knight of Malta, judged me worthy of seeing one of his noble comic poems, which he titled Armida, and since he saw that it contained the most noble parts that constitute, as is fitting, such a poem […] I will […] show how the lord knight Calderari in this honoured composition of his has observed with much regard all the precepts described both by Aristotle and by other famous authors. 39quick survey of Ingegneri's and De Nores' treatises shows that they did not cite Calderari, presumably because they did not hold his comedies in high regard.Rossi did, though he clearly set his work in the Vicentine context by claiming to spread the knowledge included in his Discorsi among the Vicentine nobility. 40e Nores is a different case.While all the interlocutors who wrote paratexts to La Mora and La schiava were connected to Calderari through the Accademia or the order of the knights of Malta, no such links seem to exist in the case of De Nores.Rather, Calderari may have deliberately sought out the opinion of this established Venetian intellectual, who hailed from a noble family in Venetian Nicosia (Cyprus).De Nores studied at the University of Padua, which was also part of the Serenissima, and after the Ottoman conquest of Cyprus in 1570 he and his family fled to Venice.A fierce supporter of the Venetian government, he became part of the establishment there and befriended many Venetian nobles.De Nores was also linked to Venetian academies: he joined the Accademia Pellegrina, founded in 1549 by Venetian patricians and frequented by prominent figures like Pietro Aretino or Lodovico Dolce, and he took part in the 1573 inauguration of the Paduan Accademia dei Rinascenti.Concerning drama, De Nores reflected on Aristotle's Poetics and passionately debated with Guarini on his Pastor fido (The Faithful Shepherd, 1590), a pastoral tragicomedy.He also wrote a discourse on drama in 1586 and a treatise on poetics in 1588. 41nother interlocutor seems to be Muzio Manfredi.De Nores mentions that 'in admiring [La schiava] I do not yield at all to lord Mutio Manfredi.' 42 39 'Avendomi i giorni passati l'illustre e molto reverendo signor Fra Giovan Battista Calderari, Cavalier di Malta, fatto degno di vedere un suo nobil poema comico nomato da lui l'Armida, e scorto avendo in quello essere le più nobili parti che a constituire così fatto poema si convengono […] farò […] vedere come il signor cavalier Calderari in questa sua onorata composizione abbia serbati con molto risguardo tutti i precetti descritti e da Aristotile e da altri famosi auttori'.Niccolò Rossi, 'Discorsi intorno alla comedia', in Weinberg (ed.), Trattati di poetica e retorica del Cinquecento, Vol. 4, 27-57: 30. 40 Manfredi was a descendant of the lords of Faenza and took part in the battle of Lepanto in 1571.In the 1580s, he befriended Angelo Ingegneri and became an Olimpico.He was a candidate-author for the Teatro's inaugural play, but his Semiramis was rejected.When he saw the Olimpici's judgement in 1588, he was furious, also with Ingegneri, who was part of the commission and held opposing views.Manfredi wrote a dramatic treatise in response, which was finished in 1591 but which was never published and of which no trace remains. 43He greatly promoted his Semiramis, writing many letters and inserting as many as forty-seven congratulatory compositions in the 1593 edition dedicated to the Cardinal Farnese. 44alderari's last play Armida, as we can deduce from Rossi's Discorsi, was passed on to Rossi by Calderari to read, who took Armida 'as the subject for this discourse of ours' 45 to illustrate how to compose the perfect comedy.Decio Calderari dedicated the work to Giulio Thiene, marquess of Scandiano since 1580.46 The Thienes were a noble family from Vicenza, who presumably had links with the Calderari family: four of Calderari's Rime had been published in Rava, Maganza and Marco Thiene's collection of poems.47 Moreover, the 'magnificent' Giulio Thiene, who was probably the dedicatee of the book, became an Olimpico 'by acclamation' in November 1584 for his collaboration on the Edipo tiranno.48 THE PARATEXTS OF LA MORA (1588)   In his dedicatory letter to Ghellini, Calderari explains that his body was 'very indisposed' because of gout.After fifteen years filled with danger while fighting for 'my religion of Malta', finding himself idle at home and loving drama, he decided to compose some comedies now that Vicenza has a 'very noble theatre'.49 It is interesting to note that the Teatro Olimpico had constructed a fixed frons scenae.This construction, as Stefano Mazzoni has argued, ensured the Theatre was suited for tragedy alone.50 Nonetheless, Calderari explicitly states that he wished to compose works worthy of the Olympic stage.Many interlocutors, moreover, seem to presume that it was possible to stage a comedy in the Olimpico. Caderari clearly sought to make himself favourable among the Olimpici by asking their opinions and producing poetry and drama, two genres with which the Olimpici were occupied.
Calderari now took the modern side of the debate on drama -the traditional heart of dramatic paratexts according to Bossier and Scheffer -by announcing that he has rewritten the highly esteemed Eunuch of Terence.He made sure that La Mora was 'amply adorned, both with new concepts and with new sentences, as it seems that our language demands'. 51In this, Calderari hoped that the comedy would suit the Teatro Olimpico and be of moral use to its spectators.He emphasizes the possible performance of the play, in line with the growing importance of mises-en-scene in the late Cinquecento: You know how difficult it is to find a new and perfect subject.You also know that the noble scenes do not allow for mediocrity, and especially in a theatre of such excellent architecture as ours is.Considering this, it pleases me to say that I have written this comedy, which features honourable gentlemen and other characters of importance, who with visible greatness would greatly serve the view of the spectators in representing it. 52owing that Calderari would, as Angiolello's letter in La schiava implies, lament his plays not being performed, it is striking that in dedicating his first comedy to Ghellini he sought to persuade Ghellini to perform La Mora.The fact that many of his gentlemen friends approved of La Mora strengthened his confidence in printing it.
All poems included in La Mora indeed at least mention his achievements as a poet.For example, Angiolello stresses how a young Calderari followed Mars, and how he now 'the good and the beauty of the ancient books/renew[s] in an erudite, easy and clear style'. 53Angiolello's words may indicate that Calderari's 'translation' and re-elaboration of Terence, with its clear and easy style, was particularly suited to a broad audience.In describing the fame that Calderari had acquired for Venice in his soldiering days, Angiolello asks Apollo to grant him the same strength in his dramatic endeavours: Oh, restore, Apollo, the former strength to your son, so that he may kindle the gentle hearts with words, and with works of true honour. 5452 'Ben sapete quanto sia malagevole il ritrovar soggetto novo e perfetto.Sapete anchora che le nobili scene la mediocrità non ammettono, et massimamente in teatro di così eccellente architetura come è questo nostro.A contemplatione del quale pur mi giova dire che è stata da me scritta questa comedia dov'entrano cavalieri honorati et altri personaggi di conto, i quali con apparente grandezza molto servirebbono alla vista degli spettatori nel rappresentarla'.Ibid., fol.a2v. 53'Il buono e 'l bello de l'antiche charte/rinovi in dotto stil, facile e piano'.Ibid., fol.a4r. 54'Deh, rendi, Apollo, il pristino vigore/al figlio tuo, che i gentil cori accende/con parole, e con opre al vero honore'.Ibid., fol.a4r.
Similarly, the third and fourth sonnets accentuate Calderari's former military exploits.Ingegneri says that, now fate has robbed Calderari of his military career, he should compensate his debt with the muses: with the sweet style, with which you honour the scene, you show, in moderating the bitter sorrow of your pain which hurts your limbs and even more your heart: for, if nothing true can be understood by me, I still see that you, in his other works as well as in Eunuchus, have defeated Terence. 55gegneri describes Calderari as honouring the scene with his 'sweet style' and surpassing even Terence.Likewise, Tittonio begins his sonnet by praising Calderari's former life.After defending Malta and pillaging Egypt, Tittonio says, La Mora, having been written 'among the perils of the sea', shows Calderari's 'rare talent'.Tittonio further juxtaposes Calderari's military past with his poetic present, comparing him to Caesar: whereas Caesar has explained the art of war to us, you, with gracious prose and learned verses, as Plautus and Menander [did], reveal to man how the sweet is harmful, the bitter useful. 56e other three poems lay greater focus on Calderari's dramatic exploits.Bellinzona begins, rather than ends as Tittonio did, by highlighting Calderari's talent at explaining better than others 'in writing/the human errors, the anger, the peace, the crying,/the laughter, rejoicing, the grief, of blind lovers/of women and servants, the flattery and skill.'He then goes on to praise Calderari's intelligible writing and the lucid mirror that he holds up to his audience, describing how 'every age, every condition and every sex' should behave: From your comical speeches the explicit way to live, and clear and vibrant examples, take woman, man, servant, lord, young and old man. 5755 'Col dolce stile, onde la scena honori,/segni in temperar del mal l'amaro assentio,/ch'a te le membra, e vie più 'l core offende:/che, se nulla del ver per me s'intende,/ti veggio ancor negli altri suoi lavori,/qual ne l'Eunuco, haver vinto Terentio'.Ibid., fol.a5r. 56Respectively 'tra i perigli del mar', 'raro ingegno', and 'tu, con leggiadre prose e dotti carmi,/qual già Plauto e Menandro, a l'huom discopri/comm'è dannoso il dolce, util l'amaro'.Ibid., fol.a5v. 57Respectively 'in carte/gli humani error, l'ire, le paci, i pianti,/i risi, il gaudio, il duol, de' ciechi amanti,/ di donne e servi, le lusinghe e l'arte', 'ogni etade, ogni stato et ogni sesso', and 'Da' tuoi comici detti il modo espresso/di viver prende, e chiari esempi e vivi,/donna, huom, servo, signor, giovine e vecchio'.Ibid., fol.a4v.
Thus, Bellinzona concentrates on what he sees as comedy's aim: teaching people how to behave properly.In the fifth poem, Stecchini praises the poetic quality of Calderari's work, almost comically describing how the ancients are overcome by his splendour: He said to Plautus: 'Now we have lost, for Vicenza has another, who gives to the theatres a greater light of the gentle tale.' 58 The sonnets focusing on Calderari's military life (1-3-4) and those focusing on his qualities as an author (2-5) are inserted in alternating order.The penultimate sonnet, however, seems to build up to the final poem.This long poem by Della Torre centres on Calderari's work and especially on the Accademia and Teatro.Della Torre defines La Mora as an elevated subject that is worthy only of the admirable Accademia Olimpica and its Theatre, which he compares to the divine Mount Olympus.In describing the Teatro and Accademia Olimpica so highly ('to your undefeated valour/no limit nor end shall be prescribed') and in asserting that Calderari's work is worthy only of the Olimpici, Della Torre represents La Mora as meriting the highest praise.Fame will push Calderari's scenes upwards to Olympus, with only the stars to block their ascent. 59he last two poems strongly connect Calderari and his work with the Accademia Olimpica.They place Calderari at the centre of their compositions in such a way that it is clear that he is not just functional to the Olimpici (he will bring them fame) but also a celebrated author in his own right.By inserting their poems into his book, Calderari tied his writings closely to the existing fame of the Olimpici.This strategy also endows both himself and his comedies with some splendour.The fact that the comedy is dedicated to Ghellini, then prince of the Olimpici, is perhaps not accidental, since La Mora is so much preoccupied with the image of both the poet and the Academy.
THE PARATEXTS OF LA SCHIAVA (1589) La schiava's dedicatees, 'the lord commander friar Mutio Gonzaga and the lord captain friar Fulvio Pasi, knights of Jerusalem', 60 are described as 'two of the most dear friends and lords which I had in our religion of Jerusalem'. 61alderari asserts their erudition and good character: both are well-versed in 58 'Quei disse a Plauto: "Hor noi perduto habbiamo,/ch'altro ha Vicenza, ch'a' teatri dona/di favola gentil lume maggiore"'.Ibid., fol.a6r. 59 letters, good courtiers, politicians, and soldiers.Then he describes how they were involved in La schiava's creation from the beginning: Both witnesses and spectators of La schiava before it was born: therefore, reading it carefully you will remember various things, and various past events which occurred between us in previous and confidential conversations, as we rested from the harsh exertions of the raids and the dangerous navigations, during which we continually trained, and you will likewise enjoy reading it in the present, reading it perhaps with the thought of those pleasures which we used to enjoy in those days for our pastime. 62is description tells us that the author had already discussed the comedy with his dedicatees during their years at sea.Calderari's dedicatory letter is about twice as long as the one to Ghellini in La Mora.Interestingly, besides repeating some themes (his return to Vicenza and idle lifestyle, the theatre's construction, his decision to write drama, and his friends' approval of La Mora), Calderari elaborates and underlines his concern for clarity, the value of comedy, and poetics. 63ore than in his dedicatory letter to La Mora, where he focused on cultivating a modern style and language 64 and only briefly mentioned the scenic representation of virtuous characters, Calderari now openly defends the dramatic art and thus his writings.Indirectly, this also implies a defence of the Teatro, to whose construction the Calderari brothers contributed: Having seen constructed here a magnificent and sumptuous theatre, in which the young people of this city are not lightly exercised in virtue, I set my mind to work (which was after all lively in every matter to which I applied it) to write stage works, not to acquire fame, for I never was ambitious, but rather to find pleasant relief to my grave and importunate indisposition. 65 one move, Calderari defends not only the Teatro's grandeur (which is 'magnificent and sumptuous') but also the scenic arts.According to the clergy, drama and especially comedy corrupted people and led them to 62 'Ambedui della Schiava inanzi ch'ella nascesse testimonii et spettatori: onde, leggendola voi accuratamente vi si anderanno rammentando varie cose, et varii accidenti passati, nelle antiche e strette nostre conversationi occorse, mentre noi riposavamo dalle aspre fatiche dei corsi et dalle perigliose navigationi, nelle quali continuamente insieme gli anni passati ci essercitavamo, et goderete altrisì al presente con l'animo forse de que' piaceri leggendola che solevamo per nostro diporto godere in quel tempo'.Ibid., fols.A3v-A4r. 63Ibid., fols.A4r-A5r. 64On authorial commentaries on language, see Brian Richardson, 'Self-Commentary on Language in Sixteenth-Century Italian Prefatory Letters', in Francesco Venturi (ed.), Self-Commentary in Early Modern European Literature, 1400-1700 (Leiden: Brill, 2019), 135-64. 65'Veduto fabricato qui un magnifico e sontuoso teatro, nel quale alle virtù si essercita non leggiermente la gioventù di questa città, posi l'animo mio (che pur in ogni affare fu vivace dove egli si framettessi) a scrivere opere sceniche, non per riportarne lode, che di ciò non fui ambitioso giamai, ma per trovare più tosto alleviamento piacevole a questa grave et importuna mia indispositione'.Calderari, La schiava, fols.A2v-A3r.
internalize the immoral behaviour which they observed on stage.In the Counter-Reformation period, when Calderari wrote, this negative judgement became more pertinent in light of the rise of commedia dell'arte.Yet, Calderari turns this idea around in a classic argument often adopted by cultured theatre professionals, such as the Andreini family, by stating that theatre can teach the young how to behave properly. 66Further on in his letter, Calderari claims that comedy can even be a 'limpid mirror of our lives, and [the comedy on stage has the] effect of showing the vices in others, so that with such an example others then should correct and purge themselves of these [vices]'. 67We have seen both of these ideas earlier in Bellinzona's poem among the paratexts to La Mora.Calderari clearly praises the comic genre in La schiava, and in doing so, he focuses much more on the active role that the audience should play in this process.Conversely, in La Mora the audience was a more passive observer: 'I have written this comedy, which features honourable gentlemen and other characters of importance, who with visible greatness would greatly serve the view of the spectators in representing it.' 68Moreover, unlike in La Mora, in La schiava, he does not shy away from name-dropping to make a point: he mentions the ancient Greek philosophers Aristotle and Demetrius of Phalerum for having promoted a clear and comprehensible style.Such a 'soft style' 69 may facilitate his aim of having his audience profit from his work.Another aspect of cultural mediation is his invitation to his audience to discover his hypotexts.In this regard, he seeks to delight his readers by referring to varied literary models, which he put together as the topos demanded: 'like the talented painters in their paintings are accustomed to do.' 70 Calderari's greater preoccupation with dramatic theory in La schiava thus becomes clear, while in La Mora he focused on performative and self-laudatory aspects.We find more evidence of this difference in viewpoint by considering the letters Calderari inserted into his works.First of all, in La schiava's paratexts Calderari enters into dialogue with Angiolello, De Nores, Rossi, and indirectly with Muzio Manfredi, the Olimpico whose proposal for the Teatro's inaugural play was rejected.Manfredi is mentioned by De Nores in his dedicatory letter as an admirer of La schiava.De Nores, Rossi and Manfredi were all occupied with dramatic theory and may thus be considered experts of drama.This may account for De Nores' and Rossi's positions among the three letters (1-2).Moreover, the three inserted letters by Angiolello, De Nores' and Rossi's all at least mention some poetic elements.Their contents further demonstrate the emphasis on poetic aspects that can be found in La schiava's paratexts.De Nores' letter in particular, which is the most important one since it is the first inserted letter, discusses a poetic opinion on La schiava.These three letters and Calderari's dedicatory letter suggest that Calderari was interested in making poetics a theme of his second comedy's paratexts.
Somewhat in contrast with this implied and ambitious goal, Rossi and Angiolello both refer to the local Vicenzan theme.Angiolello in particular laments that the Olimpici rather perform foreign plays and reintroduces the theme of staging: But I hope that when the Olimpians read and consider this very beautiful and artful comedy, and, in a word, without adulation (God knows), very divine comedy, they will not miss the occasion to represent it in the Olimpico, a very famous and in our time truly marvellous theatre. 71giolello's letter suggests that the Olimpici never staged La Mora.Since he complains that the Olimpici pay little attention to local productions and hopes that they will find La schiava worthy of producing, it is likely that, up to the point when he writes his letter for La schiava, La Mora had never been staged.I have indeed found no proof that this work was staged in Stefano Mazzoni's or Gino Nogara's works on the Teatro Olimpico. 72However, as one of the Academy's fathers, Angiolello promises to urge the Olimpici to honour 'one of their very honourable and meritorious fellow city dwellers, and themselves, with the performance of such an erudite, witty and graceful work'. 73gain, a reciprocal connection is implied: a magnificent theatre deserves a magnificent comedy, and vice versa.Angiolello himself judges La schiava to be a very worthy play and communicates the minor alterations which he believes to be necessary, clearly on the request of Calderari: 'I will sincerely tell you my opinion to obey you'. 74a schiava is acclaimed by Rossi to be a most beautiful comedy, which is fit to compete with all ancient and vernacular plays and become known for all eternity.For him Calderari is worthy of praise throughout all of Vicenza: 71 'Ma io spero che se gli Olimpici leggeranno et considereranno questa bellissima et artificiosissima, et per dire il tutto in una parola senza adullatione (sallo Iddio), divinissima comedia, non lascieranno l'occasione di rappresentarla nel'Olimpico, famosissimo et veramente a' nostri tempi maraviglioso teatro'.Ibid., fol.A7v. 72 Interestingly, two things are clear from Rossi's letter: first, that Calderari explicitly asked his opinion; and second, that Rossi knows that Calderari had also asked De Nores' opinion.Moreover, the letter shows that Rossi has read De Nores' opinion or that Calderari has referred it to him, and that he is aware of Calderari's intention to insert De Nores' judgement into the drama: And because your most illustrious lordship particularly seeks my opinion regarding the qualities of this very noble comedy, although it seems an excessive thing to do since you have such ample witness of them by the very witty and excellent lord Giasone De Nores, who adds to [the comedy] his very great judgement, however, to give you some satisfaction I will tell you with brevity that this comedy contains the most noble parts that should constitute such a poem, so that it will be highly appreciated among the others. 76ssi even deems his praise to be superfluous, since Calderari has already received De Nores' opinion.
Judging from Rossi's letter, De Nores was held in high esteem by his contemporaries.He is, moreover, the only reader who seems to lie outside Calderari's direct sphere of connections, although the Olimpico Manfredi is a mutual acquaintance since he is mentioned by De Nores: 'in admiring [La schiava] I do not yield at all to lord Mutio Manfredi.' 77 Ingegneri was possibly known by both figures as well: he was Manfredi's friend, superintended the Teatro's inaugural play and was the author of a work entitled Della poesia rappresentativa. 78In any case, we can deduce that De Nores was explicitly sought out by Calderari.His letter is indeed much less personal.It is not thematically linked to Vicenza like the other two, and it is the only one written from Padua rather than Vicenza.Moreover, it exclusively underlines theoretical aspects, as the following excerpt shows: 75 'Mi rallegro […] con la nostra città percioché, s'ella prima si gloriava di haver la palma del poema tragico per la Sofonisba del dottissimo conte Giovan Georgio Trissino, hora la si prenderà parimente per lo poema comico, mercé della Mora, della Schiava et dell'Armida, suoi nobilissimi parti'.I am satisfied with the plot, peripeteia and remarkable anagnorisis.The captain plays his part excellently, but above all I like the discourse Caterinicca and Giovanna had with Teresa to inform her of the way in which she must behave herself upon entering the occupation of the courtesan.I am also greatly delighted in seeing them utter many beautiful proverbs suitable for the situation and natural in their place, not artificial with exaggeration, for the reason that the proverb is typical for persons [that are] vile and prone to comedy, just as grave sentences are typical of illustrious persons and of tragedy. 79 Nores concludes by indicating those features that Calderari should amend, such as the personalities of the characters, because, according to the author of the Ars poetica, Horace, these should be consistent.Calderari's printer, Agostino dalla Noce, explicitly adds a note below De Nores' letter, letting the reader know that 'the instructions of this very excellent lord have been remedied with much diligence by the author, as one can see whilst reading'. 80The printer's comment, which was perhaps added sometime during the print run, may have been included on Calderari's request and/or it might also have been a way of the printer to show his professionalism. 81e Nores' importance becomes clear from this addition, his status outside Calderari's sphere of influence, and from the care that Calderari takes to emphasize poetic elements in his dedicatory letter.Calderari evidently thought very highly of him and wished to show his adherence to him and his Venetian culture.
missed out on his chance to publicize him after his death through paratextual material in Armida, and he is not cited in either Ingegneri's or De Nores' treatises.Nonetheless, his comedies remain a precious object of study; they allow us to uncover a surprising network of interconnected authors.Many of these authors either pertain to the knights of Malta or to the Olimpici.However, Calderari deliberately sought out the opinions of experts such as Rossi, Ingegneri, and above all De Nores, whose poetic judgement is placed in the spotlight by dalla Noce's comment.This favour shown towards a foreign Venetian intellectual and his savoir-faire coincides with the evolution in Calderari's publications.La Mora's paratexts are mostly concerned with creation of the image of the author and of the Olimpici.Calderari can also draw fame from being connected to the Theatre.But apart from hints that wish for a modern theatre and the educational value of performance, Calderari makes no poetic comments.This changes in La schiava: here, his self-praise as the best Vicenzan comic author elevates him, and he also engages with De Nores and makes poetics the focal point of his dedicatory letter.He defends drama and its educational value.In his view, his audience should actively participate and be educated, and his readers should discover his literary models.He names models for dramatic poetics and inserts letters that clearly hint at the fact that Calderari has asked for poetic advice regarding the quality of his work.Indeed, the inserted letters by De Nores, Rossi and Angiolello underline the importance of poetics.The issues that Calderari discusses in his dedicatory letters, such as the moral value of drama, are classical issues for dramatic authors.His paratexts, however, clearly show traces of the interplay between an author, his network, and his poetic ideas: which themes does he include in his paratexts, which interlocutors does he choose from which environment, and in what tone does he set his discourse?Through these paratexts, Calderari clearly represents himself as a part of the military context of Malta, a grand Vicenzan poet, and finally as a scholar of theatre who is able to juggle poetic discourse and is worthy of being discussed with the great intellectuals of the Venetian sphere in his time.
Stella, 'Dal prò fiorio d'amore', 341; see also Mossi, Studio sui codici de Le rime rustiche di Braghin Caldiera di Forabusi da Bolzan.The manuscript can be found in the Paduan Biblioteca Comunale; however, this particular sonnet was left out in the manuscripts BE 333 and BE 64 from the Biblioteca Bertoliana of Vicenza.For a recent overview of the literature on these manuscripts, see Stella, 'Dal prò fiorio d'amore', 338.