La cultura letteraria di Antonio Minturno

This essay analyzes the figure and work of Antonio Sebastiano Minturno, a sixteenth-century humanist and literary theorist, highlighting the role of his reflections in the history of Renaissance poetics. The essay reconstructs the intellectual context in which he was formed, between Naples, Rome, and Sicily, and the influence both the Aristotelian tradition and Italian humanist culture had on him. Ample space is given to an analysis of De poeta (1559), a treatise in which Minturno affirms the dignity of poetry as moral and civil knowledge, founded on the imitation of the classics but oriented towards ethical and pedagogical purposes. The texts on which he based his humanistic education demonstrate how Minturnian poetics, while inspired by ancient models, was profoundly attentive to the needs of his time, marked by the confrontation between literature, religion, and society. In conclusion, the arguments put forward highlight the importance of Minturno as a hub between Humanism and the Counter-Reformation, as well as a figure capable of combining tradition and innovation in reflecting on the function of literature.