Lorenzo Da Ponte Italian Library

Various Authors
Edited and with an Introduction by Donald Beecher

In this second volume of Renaissance Comedy, Donald Beecher presents six more of the best-known plays of the period, each with its own introduction, readi ng notes, and annotations … More →

Giovanni Boccaccio
Translation by Michael Papio

In the Fall of 1373, the city of Florence commissioned Giovanni Boccaccio to give lectures on Dante for the general population. These lectures, undeniably the most learned of all the early commentaries, … More →

Leone Ebreo
Edited by Rossella Pescatori
Translation by Damian Bacich and Rossella Pescatori

First published in Rome in 1535, Leone Ebreos Dialogues of Love is one of the most important texts of the European Renaissance … More →

Bartolomeo Scappi
Translated with Commentary by Terence Scully

Bartolomeo Scappi (c. 1500-1570) was arguably the most famous chef of the Italian Renaissance. He oversaw the preparation of meals for several Cardinals and was such a master of his profession … More →

Cesare Beccaria
Foreword by Bryan Stevenson
Introduction by Alberto Burgio
Edited by Aaron Thomas
Translation by Aaron Thomas and Jeremy Parzen

The most significant essay on crime and punishment in Western civilization, On Crimes and Punishments was first published in Italy in 1764 … More →

Various Authors
Edited with an Introduction by Donald Beecher

A rich and multi-faceted aspect of the Italian Renaissance, the comedy has been largely overlooked as a cultural force during the period … More →

Raffaele Borghini
Translation by Lloyd H. Ellis Jr.

Raffaello Borghini’s Il Riposo (1584) is the most widely known Florentine document on the subject of the Counter-Reformation content of religious paintings. Despite its reputation … More →

Paolo Mantegazza
Introduction and Notes by Nicoletta Pireddu
Translation by David Jacobson

Physician, anthropologist, sexologist, traveler, novelist, and politician, Paolo Mantegazza is probably the most eclectic figure in late nineteenth-century Italian … More →

Antonio Pigafetta
Edited by Theodore J. Cachey, Jr.

On August 10, 1519, five ships departed from Seville for what was to become the first circumnavigation of the earth. Linked by fame to the name of its captain, Magellan, much of the expedition is … More →

Benedetto Croce
Introduction by Remo Bodei
Translation by Hiroko Fudemoto

Croce’s most enduring study undoubtedly is his work on aesthetics… In recent times, we have witnessed a more dispassionate analysis of his ideas … More →

Carlo Cattaneo
Edited with an Introduction by Carlo G. Lacaita and Filippo Sabetti
Translation by David Gibbons

Carlo Cattaneo (1801-1869) was widely regarded by his contemporaries as a gifted public intellectual and a leading figure in the republican … More →

Pietro Aretino
Foreword by Alberto Moravia
Introduction by Margaret Rosenthal
Translation by Raymond Rosenthal

The first erotic book in the Christian world to be written in the vernacular, Aretinos Dialogues are a series of humorous and bawdy conversations between two sharp-tongued women … More →

Aldo Palazzeschi
Translated and with an Introduction by Nicolas J. Perella

Aldo Palazzeschi (1885-1974) is arguably the major twentieth-century Italian writer who has been most neglected by the English-speaking world. Born in Florence and trained as an actor … More →

Lauro Martines
Translation by Murtha Baca

Six of the best short stories of the Italian Quattrocento—including a rare gem by Lorenzo de Medici—are collected here by scholar Lauro Martines and accompanied by six lively essays which provide a gateway … More →

Pellegrino Artusi
Foreword by Michele Scicolone
Introduction by Luigi Ballerini
Translation by Murtha Baca and Stephen Sartarelli
Watercolors by Giuliano Della Casa

More than a collection of recipes, Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well, first published in Florence in 1891, is a literary classic … More →