Giulio Cesare Croce
Encyclopedia
Giulio Cesare Croce was an Italian writer
, actor/producer of cantastoria
and enigma
writer.
The son of a blacksmith and a blacksmith
himself, after the death of his father, his uncle continued his cultural education. He never had any particular patron but was still able to gradually leave the family business to pursue his passion: story telling. He had an enormous success and was able to travel to fairs, markets, patrician houses, and the Italian courts. His presentations were complemented by a violin
. His prolific literary production was contingent upon his own transcriptions of his shows.
He was married twice and had 14 children. He died in poverty.
To be a literary man in his period meant living at court, having patrons, or else being left to one's own devices for financial purposes. Croce was never a true literary man in the strictest sense of the word since he preferred laymen audiences to the court. In fact, he was principally a story teller and a blacksmith and most likely wrote for his own personal satisfaction. As such, his stories and inspiration come from the lower class, from the audiences at the market, who, if able to read, bought his works. This is in stark opposition to many contemporary authors who were inspired by the whims of their patrons..
, Bertoldo was a popular story among the people of his time. Bertoldo is a story that had various versions in the Middle Ages
taking place in the court of the king Alboin
in either Verona
or Pavia
depending on the version. In its most organic version, that of Croce (Le sottilissime astutie di Bertoldo, 1606), Bertoldo is from Roverè
. Some of its raunchy language was softened, as was the edge of revenge against the powerful commoner in some of the other variations. One of his sources for the story were the Dialogus Salomonis et Marcolphi.
To his first Bertoldo , Croce wrote a sequel called Le piacevoli et ridicolose simplicità di Bertoldino, 1608, (about the son of Bertoldo, in the charge of his mother Marcolfa). Later (1620), the abbot Adriano Banchieri
wrote another sequel called Novella di Cacasenno, figliuolo del semplice Bertoldino. Since then the work of Croce is often published along side under the title Bertoldo, Bertoldino e Cacasenno from which three films were inspired under the same title in: 1936, 1954 and 1984 (the last by Mario Monicelli
).
In Bertoldo, Croce may have show his secret aspirations, the crude lout and the self taught, the presence at court was his hope for his future with which he hoped to solve his problems. The liberty of thought and action that Bertoldo had at court may show Croce’s desire to live vicariously through his character by having a patron, like many of his counterparts, but without having to pay homage to them.
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, actor/producer of cantastoria
Cantastoria
Cantastoria comes from Italian for "sung story" or "singing history" and is known by many other names around the world. It is a theatrical form where a performer tells or sings a story while gesturing to a series of images...
and enigma
Riddle
A riddle is a statement or question or phrase having a double or veiled meaning, put forth as a puzzle to be solved. Riddles are of two types: enigmas, which are problems generally expressed in metaphorical or allegorical language that require ingenuity and careful thinking for their solution, and...
writer.
The son of a blacksmith and a blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
himself, after the death of his father, his uncle continued his cultural education. He never had any particular patron but was still able to gradually leave the family business to pursue his passion: story telling. He had an enormous success and was able to travel to fairs, markets, patrician houses, and the Italian courts. His presentations were complemented by a violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
. His prolific literary production was contingent upon his own transcriptions of his shows.
He was married twice and had 14 children. He died in poverty.
His life and choices
He had little formal training or teachers and can therefore be considered one of the most successful self-taught authors in Italian literature. Due to his choices, he was never fully part of the literary groups of his time.To be a literary man in his period meant living at court, having patrons, or else being left to one's own devices for financial purposes. Croce was never a true literary man in the strictest sense of the word since he preferred laymen audiences to the court. In fact, he was principally a story teller and a blacksmith and most likely wrote for his own personal satisfaction. As such, his stories and inspiration come from the lower class, from the audiences at the market, who, if able to read, bought his works. This is in stark opposition to many contemporary authors who were inspired by the whims of their patrons..
Bertoldo
One of the few of his more than 400 published works to be translated into EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Bertoldo was a popular story among the people of his time. Bertoldo is a story that had various versions in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
taking place in the court of the king Alboin
Alboin
Alboin was king of the Lombards from about 560 until 572. During his reign the Lombards ended their migrations by settling in Italy, the northern part of which Alboin conquered between 569 and 572...
in either Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
or Pavia
Pavia
Pavia , the ancient Ticinum, is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It is the capital of the province of Pavia. It has a population of c. 71,000...
depending on the version. In its most organic version, that of Croce (Le sottilissime astutie di Bertoldo, 1606), Bertoldo is from Roverè
Roverè Veronese
Roverè Veronese is a comune in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about 100 km west of Venice and about 20 km northeast of Verona...
. Some of its raunchy language was softened, as was the edge of revenge against the powerful commoner in some of the other variations. One of his sources for the story were the Dialogus Salomonis et Marcolphi.
To his first Bertoldo , Croce wrote a sequel called Le piacevoli et ridicolose simplicità di Bertoldino, 1608, (about the son of Bertoldo, in the charge of his mother Marcolfa). Later (1620), the abbot Adriano Banchieri
Adriano Banchieri
Adriano Banchieri was an Italian composer, music theorist, organist and poet of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. He founded the Accademia dei Floridi in Bologna.-Biography:...
wrote another sequel called Novella di Cacasenno, figliuolo del semplice Bertoldino. Since then the work of Croce is often published along side under the title Bertoldo, Bertoldino e Cacasenno from which three films were inspired under the same title in: 1936, 1954 and 1984 (the last by Mario Monicelli
Mario Monicelli
Mario Monicelli was an Italian director and screenwriter and one of the masters of the Commedia all'Italiana , three times nominated for Oscar.-Biography:...
).
In Bertoldo, Croce may have show his secret aspirations, the crude lout and the self taught, the presence at court was his hope for his future with which he hoped to solve his problems. The liberty of thought and action that Bertoldo had at court may show Croce’s desire to live vicariously through his character by having a patron, like many of his counterparts, but without having to pay homage to them.
Books and Comedies
He wrote more than 400 works alternating between Italian and the Bolognese dialectBooks
- Le sottilissime astuzie di Bertoldo
- Le piacevoli e ridicolose simplicità di Bertoldino, figlio del già astuto Bertoldo
- Descrizione della vita del Croce (autobiography in verse)
- I banchetti di mal cibati (on the plague of 1590)
- La sollecita e studiosa Accademia de' Golosi
- L'eccellenza e il trionfo del porco
- Le ventisette mascherate piacevolissime (dedicated to the venetian Berenice Gozzadina Gozadini)
Comedies
- La Farinella
- Il tesoro
- Sandrone astuto
- Sandrone astuto
- Il tesoro
- Cavalcata di varij lenguazi
- Sogno del Zani
- Dispute fra Cola et Arlechino
- Dai Dialoghi curiosi
- Vanto ridicoloso del Trematerra
- La gran vittoria di Pedrolino contra il Dottor Gratiano Scatolone
- La canzone di Catarinon
- Vocabulario Gratianesco
- Conclusiones quinquaginta tres sustintà in Franculin dal macilent Signor Grazian Godga...
- Sbravate, razzate e arcibullate dell'arcibravo Smedolla uossi...
- Disputa fra Cola Sgariatore, ed Arlechino da Marcaria sopra le lor prodezze
- Utrom del Dottore Graziano Partesana da Francolino