Bücher veröffentlicht von Italica Press

"Aymeri of Narbonne" tells the story of Aymeri, son of one of Charlemagne's paladins, who alone accepts the great emperor's challenge to reconquer Narbonne in Languedoc from the Saracens. Epic siege and battle, betrayal, and acts of individual heroism evoke all the elements of the great age of French chanson de geste epitomized in the Song of Roland. Unlike Roland and many of its imitators - tales that breathe the air of military culture and the crusade - Aymeri of Narbonne takes a step forward, toward the age of the Romance, with a second plot that is no less important than great battles and Christian-Moslem conflict. Aymeri is advised by his court that he must seek and marry a noble princess. His quest eventually takes him across the Alps to Pavia, there to meet and woo Hermenjart, princess of Lombardy. On the way, the heroic epic takes a detour into the realm of self-discovery and social satire: of Italian merchants and German knights, and French obtuseness to the rules of courtly behavior and of civil life. But the real focus of the tale soon turns to the lovely - and courageous - Hermenjart. No passive object of desire or chivalric quest, the princess of Pavia becomes a character every bit as dynamic as her male suitor and his companions. Forthright about the status and prospects of a woman in "chivalrous" France, she long refuses many suitors and only welcomes Aymeri's advances when she is convinced of his sincere respect and love - and her own status. The couple goes on to high adventure and a long, triumphant life. This first English translation, by Michael A.H. Newth, employs a strict but natural verse. His introduction gives the tale its historical context and offers a solid review of its antecedents, authorship, genre and poetics. Newth also addresses the Crusade and Christian-Moslem relations, the problem of the "other" in medieval literature, gender roles and the continuing relevance of the chansons. Includes introduction, notes, bibliography.

The rugged landscape of Baronia on Sardinia sets the scene for this novel of crime, guilt and retribution. This novel presents the story of the Pintor sisters - from a family of noble landowners now in decline - their nephew Giacinto, and their servant Efix, who is trying to make up for a mysterious sin committed many years before. Around, below, and inside them the raging Mediterranean storms, the jagged mountains, the murmuring forests, and the gushing springs form a Greek chorus of witness to the tragic drama of this unforgiving land.Deledda tells her story with her characteristic love of the natural landscape and fascination with the folk culture of the island, with details about the famous religious festivals held in mountain encampments and the lore of the "dark beings who populate the Sardinian night, the fairies who live in rocks and caves, and the sprites with seven red caps who bother sleep."Introduction by the Sardinian ethnographer, Dolores Turchi.

Contemporary Italian Women Poets introduces English-reading audiences to the diversity of contemporary women's poetry in Italy during the past five decades. It includes twenty-five authors whose work has been published since World War II: poets from different generations and regions, some with international acclaim, others known primarily to those within women's literary circles.THE POETS who appear are:Mariella Bettarini, Cristina Campo, Anna Cascella, Patrizia Cavalli, Elena Clementelli, Rosita Copioli,Biancamaria Frabotta, Luciana Frezza, Vera Gherarducci, Margherita Guidacci, Armanda Guiducci, Jolanda Insana, Vivian Lamarque, Gabriella Leto, Dacia Maraini, Daria Menicanti, Alda Merini, Giulia Niccolai, Luciana Notari, Rossana Ombres, Piera Oppezzo, Amelia Rosselli, Gabriella Sica, Maria Luisa Spaziani and Patrizia Valduga. DUAL-LANGUAGE POETRY. Introduction, notes on the poets, bibliography & index of first lines.