'Versi alla luna'. Una silloge quasi sconosciuta donata a Leopardi

Abstract

In Naples August 1836, Giacomo Leopardi was given a book 'Versi alla luna di moderni autori italiani' from Prospero Viani from Reggio Emilia (1812-1892) in which he found two of his own poems. The book was conceived by Viani and his friend and fellow poet Agostino Cagnoli in Reggio Emilia, then known as Reggio di Lombardia. Viani and Cagnoli inserted several of their own verses and the completed book was printed in Parma by the printer and publisher Pietro Fiaccadori. This is the first example of Viani’s long admiration of Leopardi, of whom he edited the 'Saggio sopra gli errori popolari antichi' in 1846, 'Epistolario' in 1849 and each subsequent edition until the fifth in 1892.