Rime di Gherardo De Angelis ultimamente in miglior forma ordinate

8vo (157x108 mm). [24], 98, [2] pp. Title page printed in red and black with engraved vignette in the center. Later wrappers. Ownership entry inked out on the title page. Small marginal tear to the blank outer margin of the first three leaves, some occasional foxing, a good, genuine copy.

Rare edition, edited by the author, with a new preface by Lorenzo Brunasso. The collection contains two poems (pp. 4 and 23) in praise of G.B. Vico.

Gherardo de Angelis was born in Eboli in 1705. Educated at the Jesuit schools in Naples and under the guidance of private tutors, he began writing poetry - mostly of an autobiographical nature - at a young age. In Naples, he also met G.B. Vico, whose lectures he attended and who introduced him to the city's literary circles. In particular, De Angelis attended the gatherings held at the home of the Marquise Angiola Cimino, which Vico frequented with his daughter Luisa, and became part of that circle of friends and admirers of the Neapolitan philosopher, including writers, professors, and preachers who often met at his residence.

In 1725, De Angelis published in Naples a first volume of his early poems, Rime, which was praised by Vico in a famous letter (Lettera inedita di G.B. Vico a G. De Angelis sopra L'Indole della vera poesia, in: “Scelta miscellanea”, Naples, 1783, vol. 1, p. XXXVIII). In 1726, he published a second volume in Naples; a third small volume also appeared in Naples in 1727. He then prepared a new edition, in which he selected poems from the previous volumes and added new ones; the collection was prefaced by a letter to the reader by G.B. Vico (Rime scelte, Florence, 1730). Other editions followed, all edited by the author himself; the last of these, Rime giovanili scelte, was published in Naples in 1752. De Angelis's poetic output, which he himself categorized in the preface to the Florentine edition as dedicatory, pastoral, amorous, subjective, allegorical, and in memory of Angiola Cimino, does not deviate from the Arcadian tradition, except in his autobiographical compositions and in the verses dedicated to Vico and Muratori, which are full of realism and sincere affection.

In 1728, he joined the Congregation of the Family of Jesus Christ, known as “of the Chinese,” which had just been founded by Abbot Matteo Ripa for the formation of young clerics, devoting himself entirely to the study of theology and preaching. He continued to preach until 1765, when, due to illness, he withdrew to the cloister of the monastery of S. Maria della Stella. He wrote fifty prayers, which were published on several occasions. He was a member of the Roman Arcadia and the Accademia della Stadera. He died in Naples in 1783 (cf. C. Cassani, De Angelis, Gherardo, in: “Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani”, vol. 33, Rome, 1987, s.v.).

This edition opens with a lengthy preface titled Della perfetta poesia  by Lorenzo Brunasso, Duke of San Filippo, which, going beyond the celebratory occasion, clearly demonstrates his adherence to the essential guidelines of Arcadian poetics. Brunasso, an Arcadian known by the name of Teopisto Carmideo and a member of the academies of Cosenza, Rossano, and Messina, was one of the most representative figures of early 18^th-century Neapolitan culture, distinguishing himself particularly in the field of tragedy (cf. A. Quondam, Brunasso, Lorenzo, duca di San Filippo, in: “Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani”, vol. 14, Rome, 1972, s.v.).

Italian Union Catalogue, IT\ICCU\CFIE\010130; B. Croce-F. Nicolini, Bibliografia vichiana, Naples, 1947, I, p. 105, no. 15.

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