Girolamo Ruscelli, Gaspara Stampa e il contesto di pubblicazione delle Rime della poetessa

This study examines the editorial context of the publication of Gaspara Stampa's Rime in 1554. It argues that Girolamo Ruscelli was a key figure in assembling Stampa's collection, since he was the owner and editorial manager of the Pietrasanta printing house that issued the Rime. It also argues that by doing so, Ruscelli aimed at enriching his book catalogue with poetry by women, in order to ride the wave of the very popular new trend of women's writing, which from the publication of Vittoria Colonna's Rime onwards was flourishing and gaining traction in the publishing market. Lastly, the paper analyzes Ruscelli's position in the Venetian literary context of the mid-16th century as it emerges from an important though little-studied work, the Diporti by Girolamo Parabosco. In fact, this book clearly shows how Ruscelli was perceived by his contemporaries as an editor with a great interest in promoting women and their intellectual achievements. [Publisher's text]