OVERVIEW

The course provides an in-depth study of key figures, themes, and texts in the history of literary Italian.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to explore both broader themes and individual case studies in the history of the Italian literary language, with particular emphasis on selected cases that are significant both in their own right and from a methodological perspective.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

a) demonstrate knowledge of the linguistic and stylistic features of Ossi di seppia by Eugenio Montale and Le avventure di Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi;

b) carry out linguistic and stylistic analyses of passages from Le avventure di Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi and texts from Ossi di seppia by Eugenio Montale, with particular attention to vocabulary and intertextuality.

PREREQUISITES

To benefit fully from the course, students are expected to possess the following foundational skills and knowledge: basic notions of the history of the Italian language and historical grammar, as well as familiarity with the essential bibliography of the discipline. In summary, these are the competencies typically acquired in any undergraduate course in the history of the Italian language.

TEACHING METHODS

Lectures.

Students with disabilities or specific learning disorders (SLD/DSA) can find information on how to request support services, compensatory tools, dispensatory measures, and other specific accommodations in the document available at: https://unige.it/disabilita-dsa/modulistica

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The course is divided into two parts. Students taking the 9-credit (9 CFU) examination will attend both parts; those taking the 6-credit (6 CFU) examination will attend only the first.

6 CFU: Vocabulary and Intertextuality in Early Montale (Ossi di seppia)

This section will examine the lexical peculiarities of Montale’s early poetry and its intertextual networks especially where these can be traced to contemporary prose and prose of the immediately preceding period.

3 CFU: Language and Style in Collodi’s Le avventure di Pinocchio

This section will explore the interplay between thematic aspects and the distinctive linguistic and stylistic features of this “capolavoro scritto per caso” (Pancrazi).

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

For attending students (Item 1 for the 6-CFU course; Items 1 and 2 for the 9-CFU course):

1) - Eugenio Montale, Ossi di seppia (qualunque edizione)

- Paolo Zublena, Lingua e metrica, in Montale, a cura di P. Marini e N. Scaffai, Roma, Carocci, 2019, pp. 169-191;

- dispensa a cura del docente su lessico e intertestualità del primo Montale.

2) - Carlo Collodi, Le avventure di Pinocchio, a cura di G. Alfano, Milano, BUR Rizzoli, 2022

- Ornella Castellani Pollidori, La lingua di Pinocchio, in Introduzione a Carlo Collodi, Le avventure di Pinocchio, edizione critica a cura di Ornella Castellani Pollidori, Pescia, Fondazione nazionale Carlo Collodi, 1983, pp. LXIII-LXXXIV.

- dispensa a cura del docente su lingua e stile di Pinocchio.

The handouts and any additional readings will be made available to students via Teams and Aulaweb.

Non-attending students are required to contact the professor.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

First semester: October 6, 2025

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Oral exam.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Acquired knowledge about course's themes and argumentation skills will be evaluated in the oral exam.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Students who have not taken a three-year course exam in History of the Italian Language or another course from the L-FIL-LET/12 sector must agree on an alternative programme with teaching staff.

Students who have valid certification of physical or learning disabilities on file with the University and who wish to discuss possible accommodations or othercircumstances regarding lectures, coursework and exams, should speak both with the instructor and with Prof. Elisabetta Colagrossi (elisabetta.colagrossi@unige.it), the School's disability liaison.