Abstract
The book La ‘meravigliosa’ passione by Giorgio Fulco, printed one year after his death, contains fifteen essays that mark a turning point in seventeenth- century literary studies, both generally and methodologically. The essay show eloquently that, however unpretentious and possibly unrewarding Fulco’s excavation of archives and libraries may have appeared, his main goal throughout remained a better understanding of seventeenth-century Italian literature. The first seven essays are entirely focused on Marino: for the first time, he came to be studied as a classic author and Fulco brought unpublished works and archival documents to light which significantly altered this author’s profile. The emergence of this unknown information brought focus upon pieces of documentary evidence in three main directions: manuscripts and rare editions of his works, the collection of art, and letters and further biographical information. The authors of interest in the other eight essays are investigated through this same method. These authors include Basile, Della Porta, Campanella, Marzio Milesi, Baldassare Bonifacio, and other minor figures. Fulco examines these new findings without ever neglecting of the larger cultural context to which they belong. Further, he does so with an eye to future research which can spring from his work and thus he passes on the baton to the generations to follow.