The Italian Market for Printed News and Information, 1470-1527

FAIN: FA-52586-06

Margaret Meserve
University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, IN 46556-4635)

A study of Italian news printing from its origins in 1470 to the sack of Rome in 1527, this book-length project examines a broad array of Renaissance printed news texts in both Italian and Latin, in verse and in prose, which either relay information or comment more obliquely on contemporary events. The book explores the literary strategies Renaissance authors used to interpret the news; it also traces connections among authors, printers, readers, and states seeking to control the flow of information at a time of political, social, and religious flux. Ultimately, the project tries to redefine our understanding of printed political discourse in early modern Europe by locating its origins earlier (and farther south) than previously imagined.