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Ut pictura poesis: strategie ‘intervisuali’ nei carmina figurata di Venanzio Fortunato

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Abstract

This article examines the ‘intervisual’ strategies in Venantius Fortunatus’s carmina figurata, analysing how the poet transforms Optatian Porphyry’s visual poetics from imperial panegyric to Christian devotion. Through close reading of the Holy Cross cycle (carm. 2.1‑2.6, 5.6), the study reveals how Fortunatus exploits the semantic overlap between lignum (wood/tree) to create complex visual metaphors. The analysis demonstrates systematic intertextual relationships with Optatian while highlighting Fortunatus’s innovations, including the 33 × 33 letter square matching Christ’s age. The paper introduces the concept of ‘intervisuality’ to describe how visual patterns transcend mere textual borrowing, creating new meaning through graphic form.


Open access | Peer reviewed

Submitted: June 19, 2025 | Accepted: July 15, 2025 | Published Jan. 21, 2026 | Language: it

Keywords Intervisuality • Venantius Fortunatus • Optatian Porphyry • Carmina figurata, Visual poetry

Copyright © 2026 Massimo Manca. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


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