TEMI E FORME DELLA CONSOLATIO NELLA PRODUZIONE VOLGARE DI BOCCACCIO

This dissertation offers an in-depth analysis of the consolatory function of literature in the works of Giovanni Boccaccio, with particular focus on the Decameron and his vernacular writings. It begins by acknowledging, as already evident in the Genealogiae deorum gentilium, Boccaccio’s belief in the power of storytelling to soothe afflicted souls—a concept that permeates his entire corpus, especially within paratextual elements (such as prologues and epilogues), where the author often outlines the purpose and intended audience of his works in an exegetical tone. Unlike most 20th-century scholarship, which emphasized general protreptic themes or focused solely on the ethical-philosophical aspect of consolatio, this study systematically explores for the first time the rhetoric of the logos paramythikos in Boccaccio’s work—namely, the structures and mechanisms of classical consolatory discourse, creatively reinterpreted by the author. The research identifies a unique rhetorical system, blending elements of consolatio de exilio, consolatio de morte, and an innovative form of consolatio amoris, previously unformalized in Latin literature. In Boccaccio’s oeuvre, romantic suffering becomes a legitimate subject for philosophical and rhetorical reflection on pain. This development is indirectly inspired by models such as Cicero (especially the Tusculanae Disputationes) and Ovid (Remedia amoris), from whom Boccaccio borrows exempla and rhetorical strategies, often recontextualizing them. The study shows how Boccaccio adapts Stoic and rhetorical tools to a new subject—love—acknowledged not merely as a disruptive perturbatio, but as a true existential pathos. Through a detailed topoi-based analysis, the dissertation reconstructs the recurring features of Boccaccio’s consolatory discourse, including nec primus nec solus, the mutability of fortune, companionship in grief, and the exemplary function of storytelling. These motifs appear both in paratexts (notably the prologues of the Filocolo and Decameron) and within narrative sections, where they form genuine sermones consolatorii. The Decameron is examined in detail, particularly its prologue, interpreted as a dual consolatory discourse: addressed both to a sorrowful auctor consoled by friends in the past, and to an audience of lovesick women, the intended recipients of the emotional relief provided by the tales. The consolatory power of the Decameron lies not only in its blend of utile et dilettevole, but also in its meta-literary function, where storytelling serves as an alternative to philosophical argumentation, easing pain through narrative immersion.The dissertation also considers cases where consolatio fails, such as the Comedia delle Ninfe Fiorentine and Elegia di madonna Fiammetta, in which literature intensifies rather than mitigates emotional distress. These texts enact a palinode of the consolatory paradigm, challenging the very notion of literature’s therapeutic value. In conclusion, the dissertation proposes a reinterpretation of consolation in Boccaccio as an autonomous rhetorical mode, one that transcends traditional genre boundaries. It offers a new lens through which to view the relationship between literature and pain, between exemplum and personal experience, and between classical tradition and humanistic innovation.