Ateneo - UPO

Communication and the workshop.
On literary communication and, in particular, on Collodi, Pinocchio and the «pinocchiate».
Gabriele d'Annunzio's Craft.

For the general section, the reference title is: Luciano Curreri, Lucia Rodler (eds.), Communicating Literature: A Lively ABC, illustrated by Giuseppe Palumbo, Le Monnier Università / Mondadori Education, Milan, 2026, 220 pp. For the monographic section, the reference title is: Luciano Curreri, *Play it again, Pinocchio. Essays on the history of ‘Pinocchio stories’, Moretti & Vitali, Bergamo, 2017. The reference textbook is: Roberto Carnero, Giuseppe Iannaccone, Literature, the Present, the Future, Treccani Giunti TVP, Florence, 2025.

1) The teacher will prepare a dossier containing the texts to be discussed in class; this will be made available at the Copisteria Lisa copy shop in Vercelli (Via Galileo Ferraris 76) prior to the start of the course. A notice will be posted on the DIR platform – in the section dedicated to the course – once the dossier is available.2) Students must also read one of the following works by D’Annunzio in its entirety: Il piacere (recommended editions: Garzanti Grandi Libri, edited by Ilvano Caliaro; or Rizzoli BUR, with notes by Enrica Gambin); Le vergini delle rocce (recommended editions: Rizzoli BUR, with notes by Nicola Di Nino; or the critical edition for the Edizione Nazionale delle opere di d'Annunzio-Il Vittoriale, edited by Nicola Di Nino, the latter downloadable from the National Edition website: https://edizionedannunzio.wordpress.com/edizioni-pubblicate-in-volume/); Il Fuoco (recommended editions: Oscar Mondadori, edited by Niva Lorenzini; or the critical edition for the Edizione Nazionale delle opere di d'Annunzio-Il Vittoriale, edited by Gioele Cristofari, the latter downloadable from the National Edition website: https://edizionedannunzio.wordpress.com/edizioni-pubblicate-in-volume/); Fedra (recommended editions: Oscar Mondadori, with notes by Pietro Gibellini; Mondadori, with notes by Tiziana Piras; or the critical and annotated edition for the Edizione Nazionale delle opere di d'Annunzio-Il Vittoriale, edited by Edoardo Ripari, the latter downloadable from the National Edition website: https://edizionedannunzio.wordpress.com/edizioni-pubblicate-in-volume/); Notturno (recommended edition: Garzanti Grandi Libri, edited by Elena Ledda); Cento e cento e cento e cento pagine del libro segreto di Gabriele d’Annunzio tentato di morire (recommended edition: Rizzoli BUR, edited by Pietro Gibellini).3) Additional readings for further study (recommended but not mandatory): Gianni Oliva, D’Annunzio e la malinconia, Milan, Bruno Mondadori, 2007; Francesca Suppa, Il fanciullo: sulla genesi di un testo programmatico, in «Archivio d’Annunzio», vol. 1, June 2014, link open-access: https://edizionicafoscari.unive.it/media/pdf/article/archivio-dannunzio/2014/1/il-fanciullo-sulla-genesi-di-un-testo-prog/art-10.14277-2421-292X-12p.pdf; Maria Rosa Giacon, Gabriele d’Annunzio «grande plagiario al cospetto di Dio», in «Archivio d’Annunzio», vol. 5, October 2018, link open-access: https://edizionicafoscari.unive.it/media/pdf/article/archivio-dannunzio/2018/5/art-10.14277-AdA-2421-292X-2018-05-004_2OnTtGF.pdf; Cristina Montagnani, Pierandrea De Lorenzo, Come lavorava D’Annunzio, Rome, Carocci, 2018; Maria Belponer, L’eredità di Ovidio in Giovanni Pascoli e Gabriele d’Annunzio, in «Archivio d’Annunzio», vol. 6, October 2019, link open-access: https://edizionicafoscari.unive.it/media/pdf/article/archivio-dannunzio/2019/6/art-10.14277-AdA-2421-292X-2019-06-005_tri2d7g.pdf; Elena Maiolini, Stato, problemi, applicazioni critiche della filologia dannunziana, in «Archivio d’Annunzio», vol. 6, October 2019, link open-access: https://edizionicafoscari.unive.it/media/pdf/article/archivio-dannunzio/2019/6/art-10.14277-AdA-2421-292X-2019-06-007_oten1gH.pdf; Cecilia Gibellini, Tra estetica e politica: le Città del silenzio di Gabriele d’Annunzio, in Le città italiane nelle letterature del XX secolo, Conference Proceedings (Kragujevac, Faculty of Philology and Arts, December 7, 2019), Kragujevac, 2021, pp. 75–87; Pasquale Guaragnella, Su La città morta, Tragedia, in «Archivio d’Annunzio», vol. 8, October 2021, link open-access: https://edizionicafoscari.unive.it/media/pdf/article/archivio-dannunzio/2021/1/art-10.30687-AdA-2421-292X-2021-01-001_EaclRog.pdf.4) Additional materials, including those from the D'Annunzio Philology Laboratory, will be uploaded to the DIR platform during the course; it is therefore advisable to check the platform regularly.

The first aim is to revitalise literary communication, which still exists, even though there are those who have sought to marginalise it, separating it from the ethical, social and political imagination, and from the knowledge and skills needed to live in a world that is changing but which remains ours: a shared world. The second is to re-examine Carlo Collodi (Lorenzini), The Adventures of Pinocchio and the specific textual ‘derivatives’ known as «pinocchiate», which allow us to appreciate a series of ‘minor texts’ that closely trace and recount that complex history which, beginning in the late nineteenth century, came to encompass the entire twentieth century and extend into the twenty-first.

The course aims to develop the fundamental methodological tools for the study of the Italian language and literature through direct engagement with the verse and prose works of Gabriele d'Annunzio. The learning objectives are structured across two levels. Basic level: Historical and cultural contextualization of D'Annunzio and his work; knowledge of his major works; and the ability to read, paraphrase, analyze, and comment on the texts examined during the course. Advanced level: Acquisition of skills in philology (workshop on philology and textual variants) and intertextual analysis (identifying key sources and the mechanisms of their reworking); stylistic analysis (lexis and syntax; metrics and rhetoric); and bibliographic orientation (utilizing the primary tools of D'Annunzio scholarship).

Teaching format: lectures: 1,2 CFU (30 hours of lessons); self-study: 4,8 CFU.
Lecture-based teaching involves interaction with and amongst students (group reading of the ‘pinocchiate’; workshop on philology and textual variation).

Basic literary-historical, linguistic-stylistic and critical knowledge.
Historical-literary, linguistic-stylistic and basic metrics knowledge.

Lectures followed by discussions; reading and commenting on texts in the classroom, with questions; web-based teaching if necessary; workshops on manuscripts and critical editions.

Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via the Staff Sviluppo e Coordinamento Carriere e Servizi alle Studentesse e agli Studenti, consulting the University webpage: https://uniupo.it/it/servizi/servizi-studentesse-e-studenti-condizione-di-disabilit%C3%A0-e-dsa. Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted the University Staff, can refer to the teacher in charge of the course to define the examination modalities, concerning academic aspects.

The teacher Cecilia Gibellini will make teaching materials available via the the university's online platform (DIR), to which students are invited to register before the start of lessons. Students unable to attend the majority of classes are asked to contact the teacher (cecilia.gibellini@uniupo.it) for general guidance on exam preparation and information regarding supplementary readings.

For the purposes of the syllabus and the exam, the teacher Luciano Curreri makes no distinction between students who attend classes and those who do not.

LC - The final assessment consists of an oral examination, which will focus on the following points: 1. Assessment of knowledge of the aforementioned and assigned text, Luciano Curreri, Lucia Rodler (eds.), Comunicare la letteratura. Un vivace Abc, accounting for 50 per cent of the exam mark; 2. Assessment of the skills required to analyse and interpret Pinocchio and the «pinocchiate» based on Luciano Curreri, Play it again, Pinocchio. Essays for a History of the «pinocchiate», Moretti & Vitali, Bergamo, 2017, and a reading of at least three «pinocchiate», accounting for 50 per cent of the exam mark. To pass the exam, students must provide at least a satisfactory response to each of the two points.

CG - The exam consists of a two-hour written test designed to assess the student's knowledge and ability to apply that knowledge to the course texts. Specifically, the test will comprise three open-ended questions, structured as follows:1) A question assessing knowledge of D'Annunzio's biography, poetics, and major works (chronology, composition history, structure, themes, and formal characteristics); examples: D'Annunzio's early narrative works, spanning Verismo and Symbolism; the reworking of classical myth in D'Annunzio's tragedies; the origins and characteristics of the «prose di ricerca»). [30% of the exam grade]2) A question assessing the ability to reconstruct the textual development of a passage by D'Annunzio and to comment on authorial variants, based on the examination of an autograph draft with the aid of a critical edition. [30% of the exam grade]3) A question assessing the ability to paraphrase, contextualize, and interpret texts, as well as to formulate reasoned critical judgments: paraphrase, analysis, and commentary on a passage selected from the texts studied during the course. [40% of the exam grade]To pass the exam, students must provide satisfactory answers to all three questions, demonstrating knowledge of D'Annunzio's biography, poetics, and major works – at least regarding their key aspects – as well as the ability to correctly paraphrase and contextualize the course texts and comment on them using appropriate terminology. A broader knowledge of the syllabus content – demonstrated by the ability to draw connections between different texts and substantiate them with precise references – will result in a grade above the minimum passing level. To achieve an excellent grade, students must demonstrate the ability to present their knowledge independently – going beyond the material covered in class – by drawing comparisons with other primary texts and the relevant critical scholarship, and by formulating well-reasoned critical judgments. In text analysis and commentary exercises, achieving an excellent grade requires enriching the literal explanation and contextualization of the text with observations regarding philological aspects (textual development, authorial variants), intertextuality (sources and how they were reworked), and stylistic elements (lexis, syntax, and rhetorical figures).

The possible mark ranges are: 18–22; 23–26; 27–30; 30 with distinction.
The final mark is calculated as a weighted average of the marks for the individual modules, determined jointly by the two lecturers.

LC - General section: Communicating literature; Carlo Collodi (Lorenzini); Pinocchio (or, from the most ‘communicated’ character to the most ‘excommunicated’ character); The importance of ‘minor texts’; Monographic section: The «pinocchiate» in the name of Pinocchio; Play it again, Pinocchio; On the trail of a ‘Futurist’ Pinocchio: a Pinocchietto variation on the European War; «Above forests of outstretched arms». Fascist «Pinocchiate» (1923–1944); Are the fascist «pinocchiate» tales of Italy?; Adventure as an antidote to a propaganda-driven identity? Three «pinocchiate» by Salgari from 1928; Pinocchio and the puppets. A wooden tale between past and present; The very last «pinocchiata»? Il popolo di legno (2015) by Emanuele Trevi.

CG - Introduction to the analysis of poetic texts.Biography.From Verism to Symbolism: early narrative works.Aestheticism and Symbolism: early poetry collections, Il piacere.From «Prose di romanzi» to «Prose di ricerca».The turn to theatre.The Laudi period: Maia, Alcyone, Elettra.D'Annunzio's shadow in twentieth-century poetry.Workshop on D'Annunzio philology.

LC - n order to attain the knowledge and skills corresponding to the ‘sufficient’ level, students are required to demonstrate: (KNOWLEDGE) an understanding of the diverse forms and characteristics of literary communication; (SKILLS) the ability to analyse and interpret literary texts (Pinocchio and the «pinocchiate» in particular), linking historical, literary and linguistic elements to ethical and political ones; (TRANSVERSAL SKILLS) the ability to present knowledge, information and opinions relating to the texts and issues covered clearly and effectively, using appropriate language and terminology. To achieve a more advanced level, students must demonstrate: an independent perspective on the topics covered in class, combined with a critical capacity for analysis and synthesis.

CG - To achieve a satisfactory level of knowledge and competence, students are required to demonstrate:(KNOWLEDGE)familiarity with the key biographical milestones, poetics, and works of D'Annunzio, including their relationship to the European cultural context of the late 19th and early 20th centuries;knowledge of the chronology, compositional history, structure, themes, and formal characteristics of the major works covered during the course;knowledge of the author's writing and of his text-development methods through the study of autograph drafts and critical editions;(COMPETENCE)the ability to read, paraphrase, and contextualize the texts examined during the course, situating them within their genres and connecting biographical, ideological, and literary elements;(TRANSFERABLE SKILLS)the ability to present knowledge, information, and opinions regarding the texts and issues discussed clearly and effectively, using appropriate language and terminology.To achieve an advanced level, students are required to demonstrate:(KNOWLEDGE)familiarity with the principal tools of philology and criticism regarding D'Annunzio;(COMPETENCE)the ability to comment on texts from an intertextual perspective, recognizing key sources and echoes and analyzing how they are reworked;the ability to examine texts from a stylistic standpoint, analyzing vocabulary, syntax, and rhetorical devices;the ability to discuss interpretive issues, including in light of critical scholarship;the ability to use critical editions of D'Annunzio's works to reconstruct the texts' development and examine authorial variants;(TRANSFERABLE SKILLS)the ability to formulate critical, well-reasoned judgments about the texts, drawing comparisons with other primary texts and critical scholarship independently – going beyond the material presented in class.