Abstract

The article focuses on the Italian translation (Geneva, 1557) of De statu religionis et rei publicae commentarii by Johannes Sleidanus (Strasbourg, 1555). It argues that it was widely read both in Italy and among Italian religious refugees. This was the case because it offered a history of the Reformation written in a plain-style vernacular from a protestant perspective. Moreover, it came at a time when the Reformation was already a distant event, knowledge of which was mediated in Italy only by Catholic polemical literature. The article reflects on the identity of the anonymous translator (possibly Scipione Calandrini, who was at that time Girolamo Zanchi’s secretary in Strasbourg). Furthermore, it shows the work’s popularity among european protestants interested in learning Italian.