Ligurian:
# Freirigo Gazzo (1845–1926)

O Freirigo Gazzo (1845-1926), in religion Paddre Angelico, un cappussin ch’o l’aiva passou infançia e zoentù inte l’Argentiña, o l’é stæto un di pöchi scrittoî visciui tra Eutto e Neuveçento, ançi l’unico, ch’o l’à tegnuo o zeneise in conto de lengua e no de dialetto. Beseugna intende inte sto senso a seu traduçion integrale da Diviña Comedia de Dante, segondo quello ch’o dixe lê mæximo: portâ torna a-a luxe do giorno e ricchesse do zeneise, sensa anâ à çercâ di atri parlæ, e à sto fin servîse de tutte e poscibilitæ da nòstra lengua antiga, moderna, popolare e letteräia, de tutte e seu varietæ, espedienti, de seu libertæ e i seu driti, in mainea de mostrâ a vastitæ e a potensa do «ligure idiòma». E, de fæto, inta seu verscion do poemma dantesco se peu attrovâ a poula rustega, comme quella da lengua letteräia e aulica, comme quella de l’entrotæra, à segonda de neçescitæ. A-i seu tempi, o Gazzo, con ëse inta condiçion de un pensatô solitäio, o no l’à attrovou guæi nisciun ch’o gh’anesse apreuvo, stante che i intellettuali e e gente de commando inta Zena d’aloa gh’aivan ciù fito inta testa l’idea de parteçipâ à construe unna patria commun, l’Italia, da-o ponto de vista letteräio e lenguistico ascì. Ma a-a giornâ d’ancheu saieiva fòscia l’oa che chi scrive in zeneise o piggesse torna in man l’euvia do cappussin e i critëi che l’an ghiou; s’accorziëscimo aloa che, pe unna gran partia, ne peuan vegnî ben ancon oua, inta re/creaçion de unna moderna lengua letteräia e giornalistica. Lenguista de varsciua, o Gazzo o l’aiva compilou ascì di diçionaietti de lengue e dialetti amerindi, destinæ à servîghe inte miscioin, che son anæti perdui, unna Grammatica do zeneise, e ben ben de traduçioin da-e ciù importante lettiatue europee, compreisa a verscion completa de l’Orlando Furioso, ch’a repiggiava o lou, stæto comensou da-o Viçenso Dartoña do XVI secolo, e a ô portava à destin. Tutti travaggi che no son mai stæti pubricæ, e che meitieivan d’ëse missi à l’önô do mondo, se foïse poscibile.

O Gazzo o l’à fæto un muggio de traduçioin da de lengue europee; mettemmo chì coscì a seu verscion de l’avvoxou sunetto do Quevedo pe-a mòrte do Ducca de Osuna, ch’o l’é tegnuo pe un di cai d’euvia da poexia spagnòlla, a quæ sangrienta luna a ghe paiva mai tanto memorabile a-o J. L. Borges.

English translation:
# Federico Gazzo (1845–1926)

Federico Gazzo (1845-1926), in religion known as Father Angelico, a Capuchin who spent his childhood and youth in Argentina, was one of the few writers who lived between the 19th and 20th centuries, indeed the only one, who considered Genoese a language and not a dialect. His complete translation of Dante’s Divine Comedy must be understood in this sense, according to what he himself says: to bring to light once again the riches of the Genoese language, without looking for other languages, and to this end to make use of all the possibilities of our ancient, modern, popular and literary language, of all its varieties, expedients, freedoms and rights, so as to show the vastness and power of the “Ligurian idiom”. And, indeed, in his version of Dante’s poem, one can find rustic words, like those of the literary language, and courtly ones, like those of the hinterland, as needed. In his time, Gazzo, as a solitary thinker, found hardly anyone to follow him, as the intellectuals and ruling class in Genoa at the time were rather absorbed by the idea of participating in building a common homeland, Italy, also from a literary and linguistic point of view. But nowadays it might be time for those who write in Genoese to take up the work of the Capuchin and the criteria that guided him once again; we would then realise that, to a large extent, they can serve us even now, in the re/creation of a modern literary and journalistic language. A gifted linguist, Gazzo had also compiled dictionaries of Amerindian languages and dialects, intended to serve him in his missions (which have been lost), a grammar of Genoese, and many translations from major European literatures, including the complete version of Orlando furioso, which took the work started by Vincenzo Dartona in the 16th century and completed it. These are all works that have never been published and would deserve to be brought to the world’s attention, if possible.

Gazzo performed numerous translations from European languages; we present here his version of Quevedo’s famous sonnet on the death of the Duke of Osuna, considered one of the masterpieces of Spanish poetry, whose “sanguine moon” seemed so memorable to J. L. Borges.