Il testo ricorrente. Morfologia storica e semiotica della forma-almanacco (XVI-XIX sec.)

The doctoral thesis aimed to conduct a diachronic and synchronic analysis of exemplary occurrences of the almanac genre, spanning four distinct centuries (XVI-XVII-XVIII-XIX). The work sought to develop a model for the formal description and semiotic analysis of the textual genre in question, from its roots within the Renaissance prognosticating genre to its most recent codification. The ultimate goals of the project include revitalizing the study of the genre according to an intertextual and genealogical model, which goes beyond merely describing individual case studies to constructing a historiographical conceptualization with a formal dominance in which they can be situated. The reasons for this chronological bracket, further clarified throughout the exposition, are justified by the fact that the modern almanac finds among them its origins and fortunes, starting from previous declinations related to astrological discipline and towards a much more varied and thematically heterogeneous dimension of use. The approach undertaken, rooted in narratology and semiotics, aims for maximum focus on the formal aspects of the genre in question, typically overshadowed, both in discourse (enunciative typologies and ensuing persuasive strategies) and semio-narrative, with the ultimate goal of highlighting the communicative specificity of the almanac genre and, consequently, its socio-cultural role and fortune, notwithstanding its vastly different historical incarnations. The selection criterion followed, due to the critical perspective adopted, is qualitative rather than quantitative: the analysis aims to demonstrate its assumptions not based on the widest possible number of occurrences but starting from the comparative close reading of some exemplary cases that, diachronically, are best suited to reveal the decisive structural nodes in the constitution of its formal paradigm. As for the research locations, it primarily found support and a suitable field of investigation in the Italian library heritage (specifically in the Central Library of Florence and the Augusta Library of Perugia), which, although not always able to provide adequate cataloging and preservation of this type of texts, whose series are often incomplete, lost, or dispersed across multiple locations, continues to offer a largely unexplored set of occurrences. In addition to this resource, the contribution of some private conservation funds has been essential, especially the Barbanera 1762 Foundation of Spello, whose rich almanac heritage, since 2015 honored with the prestigious title of "UNESCO Memory of the World," finds in the course of this argumentation more than one confirmation. Finally, apart from the valuable resource provided by the world of antiquarian bookshops, it is worth noting the support for research provided by the digital collections of some of the major European libraries, including the National Library of France, the British Library, and the Sächsische Landesbibliothek in Dresden, especially in the identification and evaluation of certain specific exemplars presented.