Petrarca, Boccaccio e i fiumi superbi

The essay deals with some verses of the Canzoniere where Petrarch uses the syntagm fiume superbo (Rvf 66, 13-15 and Rvf 180, 9). Ancient sources, both literary and lexicographical, suggests that superbo, referring to a river, indicates the abundance of water, as Marco Santagata argued some years ago. Influenced by Petrarch, Boccaccio used the association of superbo to a river in De montibus and in the Dantean Esposizioni. It is possible that the common reflection of Petrarch and Boccaccio about the syntagm fiume superbo dates to the 1350s, when Petrarch had provided his friend with fundamental sources in order to complete Latin erudite works.