638 linda l. carroll
father belonging to one of the most illustrious families of the patriciate,
a family for whom ruzante had written at least two works. her academic
career was chosen by her father as the means by which to repair the
family reputation.34
Il SettecentoEarly Development of Realism
a move toward sobriety and order characterized much of the literature
and theater of the early 18th century, reinforced by the wave of patriotic
spirit generated by French aggression toward italian states. a revival
of arcadia emphasized restraint and the use of Latin models while
proclaiming Catholic orthodoxy. an interest in documented historical
fact and everyday life was growing, epitomized by the work of Ludovico
antonio Muratori, who published volumes of historical documents and
favored realistic characters from various walks of life for comic theater. in
1744, the printshop of the seminary of Padua published galileo’s complete
works.35 While Venice retained an important role in the publishing
industry through much of the century, censorship increased, resulting in
many books having false or no publication data.36
the strict application of aristotelian rules to tragedy had by then alien-
ated the theater-going public, as had the excessive emotionalism of melo-
drama, while the Commedia dell’arte had exhausted its inventiveness.
French tragedy and Molière’s comedy filled the void, italian audiences
attracted by their greater naturalism. Luigi riccoboni, of Venetian origin,
undertook the reform of the italian theater with the staging of tragedies
characterized by a more realistic style and more edifying values. the genre
was developed further by riccoboni’s patron scipione Maffei of Verona in
his Merope and Flaminia, with the encouragement of apostolo Zeno. One
of the most important literary and theatrical figures of the period, Zeno
collected theatrical texts including the great miscellany Marciana ital. Xi,
34 Francesco Ludovico Maschietto, Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia (1646–1684): The
First Woman in the World to Earn a University Degree, ed. Catherine Marshall, trans. Jan
Vairo and William Crochetiere (Philadelphia, 2007).
35 dante nardo, “gli studi classici,” in SCV 5.1 (1985): Dalla Controriforma alla fine della
Repubblica. Il Settecento, pp. 227–56.
36 giuseppe Ortolani, “appunti per la storia della riforma del teatro nel ’700,” in gino
damerini, ed., La riforma del teatro nel Settecento, e altri scritti (Venice, 1962), pp. 3–37, for
Muratori p. 5; giorgio Pullini, “il teatro fra polemica e costume,” in SCV 5.1, pp. 277–307.