Description
Book SynopsisGiovanni Pontano (14261503), whose academic name was Gioviano, was the most important Latin poet of the fifteenth century as well as a leading statesman who served as prime minister to the Aragonese kings of Naples. His Dialogues are our best source for the humanist academy of Naples which Pontano led for several decades.
Trade ReviewThe best possible tribute to Pontano is that his dialogues still make entertaining reading… A large part of this entertainment is Gaisser’s doing—this is as shrewd and effervescent a rendering as poor forgotten Pontano is ever likely to get. It’s another triumph for I Tatti, a benchmark of Pontano studies, and a required starting-point for all future textual scholars of his work. But it mainly makes readers think about the vanities of intellectuals and the joys of good raillery. It would be a shame if it found its way only into the hands of scholars and students, even though Pontano himself would probably have preferred it that way. -- Steve Donoghue * Open Letters Monthly *
