R. Tesi, Un caso particolare di nominazione "in eodem genere gentis": "le genti / del bel paese là dove 'l sì suona" (If XXXIII 79-80)

This article offers a new interpretation of the famous passage from If xxxiii 79-80, which is usually extrapolated from the context where it appears and quoted as a proverbial saying concerning Italy. Based on the classification of the vulgaria Ytalie spoken by similar groups of people (DVE I ix 4), this paper argues that the micro-context should be read as a designation of the auctor’s birthplace. Furthermore, this article examines an equally famous passage from RVF (son. 146, 13- 14), where Petrarch refers to one of his two beloved places (the formulaic «bel paese» refers to Provence and the Rhone Valley, where Laura was born).