Terza Rima in Early Print: Notre Dame Graduates at Chicago’s Newberry Library
While Notre Dame’s Hesburgh Library contains a truly handsome collection of rare Italian books, the Newberry Library in nearby Chicago offers unique study opportunities for scholars and students interested in manuscripts and early printed editions. To complement the advanced studies of the Italian graduate program, Professor Rebecca Bowen led an excursion to the Newberry Library on Saturday 18th April, 2026.
Together with the Newberry’s Instruction and Outreach Librarian, Dr Nora Epstein, students from the graduate programs in Italian Studies and the Medieval Institute examined a series of incunables and early printed editions containing texts in terza rima (the rhyme scheme popularized by Dante’s Divine Comedy). Often neglected by the critical tradition, these texts are at the center of Bowen’s Romance Literatures and Languages course, “After Dante: Poetic Imitation and Innovation in the Fourteenth Century” (ROIT 63020).
Drawing on their coursework, the group analyzed rare early editions of Petrarch’s Trionfi alongside imprints of Federico Frezzi’s Quadrireggio and Fazio degli Uberti’s Dittamondo. They discussed the role of page design in the presentation and transmission of the text and catalogued marks of ownership, binding histories, professional illuminations and other additions to the printed page carried out by readers from the fifteenth century to the present day.
The participants were particularly impressed by the curator’s deep knowledge about the collection, the chance to examine up close some of the rare early modern books studied in their coursework, and the possibility to interact directly with the historical editions discussed in class. Overall, the visit highlighted the outstanding cultural and scholarly resources available in the Notre Dame area and opened up avenues for future research, introducing participants to specific opportunities for further study and deepening students’ engagement with the textual and material culture of early modern Italy, with a particular focus on terza rima in early print, an area neglected in current scholarship.
This visit would not have been possible without the support of the Center for Italian Studies and the Newberry Consortium. Thank you for supporting our research!
Cover picture (from front left): Prof. Rebecca Bowen (Romance Literatures and Languages), Elsie Lou (Medieval Institute), Salvatore Riolo (Italian Studies), Maddi Grossman (Italian Studies), Alessandro Matone (Italian Studies), Camilla Canonico (Italian Studies), Elisa Bisson (Italian Studies), Giorgia Buscema (Italian Studies), Dillon Hughes (Italian Studies), Roberto Luraschi (Italian Studies).
Originally published by at italianstudies.nd.edu on April 27, 2026. Republished at medieval.nd.edu on May 04, 2026.