The Rhetoric of Anti-Rhetoric.

Pietro Aretino and the Myth of ‘Natural’ Writing

Author(s)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18352/inc28252

Keywords:

Pietro Aretoni, Rhetoric, Anti-Rhetoric, Sperone Speroni, Pietro Bembo

Abstract

The contribution proposes a reflection on Pietro Aretino's style and poetics, in particular his criticism of rhetoric. A criticism as recurrent as it is instrumental. Despite posing as a champion of anti-rhetoric and professing a rejection of “beautiful” style in favour of “effective” style, his contemporaries long looked to the writer as a model, however unique and as such inimitable. All this was punctually and repeatedly confirmed by unequivocal declarations of acknowledged masters such as Bembo, Speroni, and Caro, or by dedications of literati such as the “polygraphs” Dolce and Sansovino who saw in Aretino a true leader.

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Author Biography

  • Paolo Procaccioli, University of Tuscia

    Paolo Procaccioli, formerly of the University of Tuscia, has conducted research on Dante exegesis and on fifteenth- and sixteenth-century vernacular literature, with particular attention to the novella, irregular literature, epistolography, publishing, art criticism, and the Farnese family. He has published studies on Cristoforo Landino, Pietro Aretino, Ortensio Lando, Anton Francesco Doni, Francesco Marcolini, Lodovico Dolce, Girolamo Ruscelli, and Cesare Ripa, and has prepared critical and annotated editions of their works. He is a co-founder of the interuniversity research groups “Cinquecento plurale”, “Archilet reti epistolari”, and “Carteggi”. He is a full member and a member of the Savio Collegio of the Accademia dell’Arcadia, as well as a corresponding member of the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti.

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Published

2026-09-12

Issue

Vol. 41 No. 1 (2026)

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Paolo Procaccioli

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Procaccioli, P. (2026) “The Rhetoric of Anti-Rhetoric.: Pietro Aretino and the Myth of ‘Natural’ Writing”, Incontri. Rivista europea di studi italiani, 41(1), pp. 65–79. doi:10.18352/inc28252.