Abstract

The article investigates the relation between the experience of the so-called Vignaiuoli, the group of burlesque poets who gathered in 1530s Rome, and the hegemonic Petrarchist code at the time. Pointing out their program of opposition to highbrow literature (by contrasting their cabbage crowns to laurel ones, alleged naturalness to professional poets' artifice, and so on), as well as their opening up of poetry to new subject matters, the article will demonstrate the political implications of the Vignaiuoli's experience, beyond the traditional label of anti-Petrarchism.