Rebuilding post-Revolutionary Italy

Co-Winner of the Modern Language Associations Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for Italian Studies, 2018. The rediscovery of the thought of Giambattista Vico (1668-1774) especially his New science is a post-Revolutionary phenomenon. Stressing the elements that keep society together by promoting a sense of belonging, Vicos philosophy helped shape a new Italian identity and intellectual class. Poet and philosopher Giacomo Leopardi (1798-1837) responded perceptively to the spreading and manipulation of Vicos ideas, but to what extent can he be considered Vicos heir? Through examining the reasons behind the success of the New science in early nineteenth-century Italy, Martina Piperno uncovers the cultural trends, debates, and obsessions fostered by Vicos work. She reconstructs the penetration of Vico-related discourses in circles and environments frequented by Leopardi, and establishes and analyses a latent Vico-Leopardi relationship. Her highly original reading sees Leopardi reacting to the tensions of his time, receiving Vicos message indirectly without a need to draw directly from the source. By exploring the oblique influence of Vicos thought on Leopardi, Martina Piperno highlights the unique character of Italian modernity and its tendency to renegotiate tradition and innovation, past and future.