Velud fulgor meridianus. La «Vita» di papa Gregorio IX. Edizione, traduzione e commento

The official biography of Gregory IX (1227-1241), handed down anonymously from the Liber Censuum of the Roman Church and unfinished, is a significant testimony to the history of the thirteenth-century papacy. His confrontation with Emperor Frederick II of Staufen, his relations with the religious movements of his time, his policy towards the Patrimony of St. Peter's and the city of Rome, his artistic patronage and life in the curia are narrated in a lofty and magniloquent Latin. Despite the richness of its contents, this source has often been approached with a certain diffidence, mainly due to the circumstances of composition and the ostentatious factiousness of the anonymous author, an open supporter of the pontiff. The edition, the first Italian translation and the historical commentary are preceded by an introduction that aims to shed light on the problems related to the genesis and purpose of the work within the pontifical historiographical tradition and the contemporary curial production.