Antonia, or about «Crazy Thought»

Abstract

This contribution aims at drawing an ideal portrait (and as far as possible a real or at least a realistic one) of Antonia Caprara, the woman loved by Boiardo, laying at the centre of his Amorum libri – his canzoniere d’amore. Through the examination of this text, a mosaic of the maiden’s extrinsec and and intrinsic beauty is offered, with an emphasis upon her sentimental evolution: at first a fervent and corresponded lover of the Count of Scandiano, she suddenly and tragically becomes a traitor and, finally, falls in love again, until the loving relationship ends. An admirable creature for better or worse, Antonia Caprara emerges from the paper patterns with which beloved women are portrayed to become, well ahead of time, both a carnal and an angelic heroine.

Keywords

• boiardo
• caprara
• ritratto