Erudite marquis revitalised Italian drama
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| An 18th century portrait of Scipione by an unknown artist |
Dramatist Francesco Scipione, marchese di Maffei, was born
on this day in 1675 in Verona.
His most famous work was his verse tragedy, Merope, which
attempted to introduce Greek and French classical simplicity into Italian
drama. This prepared the way for the dramatic tragedies of Vittorio Alfieri and
the librettos of Pietro Metastasio later in the 18th century.
After studying at Jesuit colleges in Parma and Rome,
Scipione went to fight on the side of Bavaria in the War of the Spanish Succession. He saw action in
1704 at the Battle of Schellenberg, near Donauworth, when his brother,
Alessandro, was second in command at the battle.
In 1710, Scipione was one of the founders of an influential
literary journal, Giornale dei letterati, a vehicle for his ideas about
reforming Italian drama. He founded a later periodical, Osservazioni
letterarie, to promote the same cause.
Scipione spent time studying the manuscripts in the Royal
Library at Turin and arranged the collection of objects of art which Charles
Emmanuel, Duke of Savoy had brought from Rome. He also travelled extensively in
France, England, the Netherlands and Germany and received an honorary doctorate
from Oxford University.
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| The Scipione statue in Piazza dei Signori in Verona |
When Scipione’s verse tragedy, Merope, was first performed
in 1713, it met with astonishing success. It was based on Greek mythology and
the French neoclassical period, signalling the way for the later reform of
Italian tragedy. It was popular with the audience because of its rapid action
and the elimination of the prologue and the chorus.
In addition to Merope, Scipione wrote other plays, scholarly
works and poetry, and he also translated the epic poems, the Iliad and Aeneid.
Another of his major works is a valuable account of the
history and antiquities of his native city - Verona illustrata: A Compleat
History of the Ancient Amphitheatres and in particular that of Verona.
Scipione built a museum in Verona to house his art and
archaeological collection, which he bequeathed to his native city. He died
there at the age of 79 in 1755. A statue to him was later erected in Piazza dei Signori in Verona.
Travel tip:
The secondary school, Liceo Maffei, is named in Scipione’s
honour in the town of his birth, Verona. The city in the Veneto is famous as
the setting for Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet as well as for its Roman
amphitheatre, L’Arena di Verona in Piazza Bra, where opera and music concerts
are now regularly performed.
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| The Biblioteca Reale is housed inside the Royal Palace in Turin's Piazzetta Reale |
The Royal Library, Biblioteca Reale, in Turin, where
Scipione studied the manuscripts, is on the ground floor of the Royal Palace in
Piazzetta Reale. It was originally established to hold the rare manuscripts
collected by members of the House of Savoy.