Guido Cavalcanti: The Other Middle Ages

Guido Cavalcanti's legacy consists of some fifty poems, of which his "Canzone" on the nature of love, "Donna me Prega" (A lady asks me) is the most famously difficult and complex.

The poem is important not only because it sheds light on fundamental intellectual debates during the time of Dante, but also because of its influence on generations of poets and philosophers.

In this study, Maria Luisa Ardizzone examines "Donna me Prega" and its role in Cavalcanti's poetic practice,and places it in the context of ancient and medieval science and philosophy.

The book deals with issues that are part of the intellectual history of Europe in the 13th century.

Cavalcanti's work is re-read by reconstructing the debate of ideas in which it participates - the new model of poetry Cavalcanti constructs is one of the foci of this book.