Metamorfosi di un mistero: Savinio e Apuleio

The object of this research concerns the reception of Apuleius’ Metamorphoses in the 20th century Italian literature and, more precisely, the relationship between Apuleius and the Italian writer Alberto Savinio (1891-1952). This topic has been considered from an interdisciplinary perspective, in order to integrate the point of view of Italian studies with that of Latin philology. On the one hand, this research explores the way in which Alberto Savinio has read and “rewritten” the text of Metamorphoses during a long period of his multifaceted literary career, from the middle of the nineteentwenties until the end of the nineteen-forties. The aim of the analysis is to understand the reasons which led Savinio to reflect on important issues of his time, which concern, for instance, the problem of evil in its relationship with human nature, through his interpretation of Apuleius’ work, as well as the philosophical and aesthetical results of his elaboration. On the other hand, we have come to grips with Savinio’s reception of this ancient text together with a set of problematics and conceptual devices that permits a more thorough comprehension of the Apuleian work in itself. This research investigates the function of metalepsis – a concept first identified by Genette – in Metamorphoses’ novel, elucidating its pivotal role for the construction of meaning. Furthermore, it shows how this concept allows us to deal in a more attentive way with some issues of a text-critical nature, in particular concerning the prologue (with the problem of speaker’s identity) and the authorial sphragis at the end of the novel.