Tasso - Gerusalemme Liberata - 1853

Foscolo and the Modernity of the Tasso: From the Heroic Poem to Inner Drama
This 1853 Florentine edition of Torquato Tasso's 'Jerusalem Delivered,' published by Felice Le Monnier, represents one of the highest moments in the modern reception of the poem, thanks to the inclusion of Ugo Foscolo's famous Critical Discourse. It is not merely an exegetical commentary but a true founding act of Italian Romantic criticism, through which Foscolo reimagines Tasso as a tragic and modern author, an anticipator of the anxieties of the nineteenth century. From this perspective, 'Jerusalem Delivered' is removed from a purely classicist or Counter-Reformation reading and transformed into a great poem of inner conflict, moral tension, and the fracture between heroic ideals and individual conscience. This edition thus stands among the most significant testimonies of Tasso's nineteenth-century fortune, as well as one of the main channels through which Foscolo canonized the poet as an exemplary figure of the modern intellectual.
Market value
The 19th-century editions of Le Monnier of the Jerusalem Delivered, accompanied by Ugo Foscolo's critical discourse, generally fall within a market range of 200 to 400 euros. Examples in an elegant, contemporary binding and well-preserved, like the present one, are particularly sought after by book collectors for their historical-critical as well as literary value. Interest is heightened by the central role of Foscolo's text in the history of Italian criticism.
Physical description and condition
Contemporary in full dark leather, with a nervured spine decorated with rich gold floral motifs and a gilt title label. Slight wear to the headbands and edges of the spine. Pages with widespread browning, foxing, and some stains, consistent with the period. In ancient books, with a multi-century history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pp. (4); 20; 460; (6).
Full title and author
Jerusalem Delivered
Florence, Felice Le Monnier, 1853.
Torquato Tasso
With Ugo Foscolo's Critical Discourse.

Context and Significance
The Critical Discourse by Foscolo is one of the foundational texts of modern literary criticism in Italy. Far from both academic erudition and the normative philology of the eighteenth century, Foscolo offers a deeply ideological and historical reading of Tasso's poem. Tasso is interpreted as a poet of crisis, torn between creative impulse and moral discipline, between the freedom of imagination and the constraints imposed by history, religion, and power. In this light, Jerusalem Delivered becomes not only a Christian epic poem but also a great allegory of the modern artist's condition, anticipating central themes of European Romanticism. The stable inclusion of the Discourse in this edition definitively marks the transformation of Tasso into a Romantic author ante litteram and helps redefine the national literary canon in an ethical and civil sense.

Biography of the Author
Torquato Tasso was born in Sorrento in 1544 and died in Rome in 1595. He is one of the greatest poets of Italian literature. With Jerusalem Delivered, he created a poetic model that blends chivalric epic, Christian spirituality, and deep psychological introspection, exerting a lasting influence on European literature.
Ugo Foscolo was born in Zante in 1778 and died in London in 1827. A poet, writer, and critic, he was a central figure of early Italian Romanticism. Through his critical essays, he significantly contributed to the modern reinterpretation of the classics, transforming them into tools for historical, political, and moral reflection.

Printing history and circulation
The Le Monnier edition of 1853 is part of the broad 19th-century editorial project aimed at disseminating Italian classics through authoritative and accessible editions, often accompanied by high-profile critical interventions. Foscolo's Discourse, already known and circulating in an autonomous form, is here organically associated with the text of Jerusalem Delivered, fostering a unified reading and decisively contributing to the formation of the post-unification national literary canon.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Ugo Foscolo, Discussions on the poem of Torquato Tasso.
Lanfranco Caretti, Studies on Torquato Tasso.
Alberto Asor Rosa, Italian Literature of the Nineteenth Century.
Felice Le Monnier's editorial catalogs, 19th-century editions of Italian classics.