were fi nally edited from the four extant manuscripts
(with critical apparatus) by Barana (1921) and again
by May (1930). May’s edition includes an ample com-
mentary on Giacomino’s culture and sources. The text
established by Contini (I960) and R. Broggini was the
fi rst edition based on a genealogical presentation of tile
manuscripts and is therefore, strictly speaking, the only
critical edition available as of the present writing.
In De Babilonia infernali (335), the poet clearly
identifi es himself as “Iacomino da Verona—de l’Orden
de Minori.” This poem and De Jerusalem celesti are fol-
lowed, in V and S, by fi ve other religious poems. Mus-
safi a was inclined to attribute these fi ve to Giacomino
as well, on the basis of linguistic (Old Veronese) and
cultural (Franciscan), though not metrical, affi nities.
The most relevant of these poems is the one titled Dela
caducità della vita umana, “On the transience of human
life” (Contini 1960, Vol. 1, 653–666). The question
whether the selection was made to include works of
the same author or simply of the same genre cannot
be decided.
There has been much speculation about Giacomino’s
life, but little is known for sure. He was a Franciscan
friar from Verona who lived in the Veneto, in a city other
than his own (possibly Venice) during the mid-thirteenth
century. Judging from the musical expertise he shows
in Jerusalem, he might have been a magister cantus in
his convent.
Giacomino represents heaven and hell as two cities;
this was a quite common view during the Middle Ages,
and it also turns up in the topography of Dante’s Inferno
(the city of Dis) and, at feast fi guratively (as metaphors
and similes), in his Paradiso. In this instance, however,
the reference may well be to imperial Rome rather than
to Jerusalem. Drawing mainly on biblical sources,
Franciscan visions, and the repertoire of preachers,
Giacomino produces a vivid, if naive, picture of the
Christian after life; he also resorts to fi ctitious examples
and comparisons in order to evoke a sense of marvel in
his readers (Jerusalem, 165–168; Babilonia, 35–36).
Jerusalem is, as one might expect, more descriptive;
Babilonia tends to be more dramatic. In Jerusalem,
crystal, silver, gold, and precious stones are combined
with the vernal delights of the locus amoenus (pleas-
ant place) in order to build up the heavenly city, from
which all earthly miseries and dangers are banned. The
angels and the blessed, in splendid attire, gather around
the throne of God (unpretentiously visualized as Jesus
Christ) and sing his praise in the most melodious way,
while being directed by Jesus himself (170). At the end
of the poem, particular attention is given to the glory
of Mary: in a courtly vein, she is introduced as a digni-
fi ed chatelaine surrounded by her champion knights, to
whom she graciously offers fragrant wreaths, dazzling
palfreys, and well-deserved coats of arms (285–316).
As an urban landscape, Giacomino’s hell in Babi-
lonia is the terrifying opposite of his paradise. Bronze,
iron, and steel are the metals that make up its walls and
even its sky. The fi re is blazing, the stench unbearable.
The watchmen perched on the main gate do not let any
inmate escape but are eager to lay hands on newcomers.
The reader discovers many of these horrors through the
experience of a newly arrived sinner, and both reader
and sinner are bound to be appalled by the rigor of
divine justice. Swarms of hyperactive, sadistic, raving
devils torture the damned with great inventiveness while
making sarcastic comments about the futile laments of
their victims. Two unforgettable highlights are a sinner
roasted on a spit by chef Balzabù and then presented
in spicy sauce to the king of hell, who predictably
fi nds the meat only half-cooked and sends it back to
the fi re (117–136); and a shocking debate between a
father and son who fi ercely blame each other for their
damnation.Further Reading
Barana, E. La “Gerusalemme celeste” e la “Babilonia infernale”
di Giacomino da Verona, secondo la lezione dei quattro codici
conosciuti. Verona, 1921.
Contini, Gianfranco, ed. Poeti del Duecento. Milan: Ricciardi,
1960, Vol. 1, pp. 625–652; Vol. 2, pp. 842–843.
De Sanctis, Francesco, and Gerolamo Lazzeri, eds. Storia della
letteratura italiana dai primi secoli agli albori del Trecento.
Milan: Hoepli, 1950, pp. 132–136 and 219–237.
Dionisotti, Carlo, and Cecil Grayson, eds. Early Italian Texts,
2nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell, 1965, pp. 153–161. (Originally
published 1949.)
May, Esther Isopel. The “De Jerusalem Celesti” and the “De
Babilonia Infernali” of Fra Giacomino da Verona. Florence:
Le Monnier, 1930.
Mussafi a, A. “Monumenti antichi di dialetti italiani.” Sitzungs-
berichte der k. k. Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien,
Philologisch-historische Klasse, 46, 1864, pp. 113–235.
Ozanam, Antoine-Frédéric. Documents inédits pour servir à
l’histoire littéraire de l’Italie depuis le VIIIe siècle jusqu’au
XIIIe. Paris: Lecoffre, 1850, pp. 291ff.
Rossi, Aldo. “Poesia didattica e poesia popolare del Nord.”
In Storia della letteratura italiana. Vol. 1, Le origini e il
Duecento, ed. Emilio Cecchi and Natalino Sapegno. Milan:
Garzanti, 1981, pp. 377–383.
Schrage, Mark. “Giacomino da Verona: eine Übersicht zur
forschungslage.” Letteratura Italiana Antica, 3, 2002, pp.
278–298.
Ruggero StefaniniGIACOMO DA LENTINI
(13th century)
Little is known about the life of the thirteenth-century
poet Giacomo da Lentini. His fame as one of the most
important notaries at the court of Frederick II was so
fi rmly established that Dante refers to him simply as the
Notaro, and in the codices Giacomo’s name is usuallyGIACOMINO DA VERONA