Ligurian:
# Ra Gerusalemme deliverà (sec. XVIII)

Do 1755 sciortiva à Zena, inte doî volummi, _Ra Gerusalemme deliverà dro Signor Torquato Tasso traduta in lengua zeneise_, unna verscion zeneise do cao d’euvia tassian, travaggio de unna squaddra de letteræ çittadin, diretti da-o poeta Steva De Franchi. A l’é unn’euvia coiosa e insòlita, apreuvo che i autoî n’an vosciuo realizzâ unna fiente traduçion da Gerusalemme, comme into secolo dòppo o paddre Freirigo Gazzo o l’avieiva traduto areo a Diviña Comedia, ma manco unna parodia, un stravestimento da rie, comme de za ghe n’ea inte varri parlæ italien. I letteræ setteçenteschi an vosciuo in cangio respettâ a sostansa e e intençioin e a struttua narrativa de l’euvia do Tasso, ma into mæximo tempo re-creâla da un ponto de vista «zeneise»; tutto o poemma cavalleresco o ven coscì rescrito comme o l’avieiva posciuo contâlo un zeneise de alantô. Inti traduttoî gh’ea ascì l’intendimento de imitâ e sobaccâ e traduçioin de za sciortie scin aloa inte di atri parlæ, comme se capisce da un sunetto prefatöio, ch’o dixe:

Comme dî che se e atre traduçioin, in bologneise (ro Dottô), in veneçian (Pantalon), in bergamasco (Xanni), in napolitan (Coviello), an cangiou o Tasso inte un buffon e an scheuvuo successo, a mascara zeneise do Capoâ, a no poeiva arrestâ in derê, bon comm’o l’é lê ascì de dî di gösci. À despeto de sta premissa, l’intonaçion còmica a ven feua solo che de semme in semme, inta Gerusalemme in zeneise, in arrestâ pe commun ben ben de d’ato de atre tentative semeggeive, tipiche de un dialettaliximo reflesso e tutto sommou no guæi interessante; in fæto, se peu dî che tutta l’opeaçion a se inscrive into complesso travaggio intrapreiso da-o De Franchi pe inricchî a lettiatua in zeneise de euvie valide e aggiornæ, inte unn’òttica d’exartaçion da patria zeneise. Inte unn’epoca de sostançiale descheita politica pe-a Repubrica de Zena, quæ o l’é stæto o secolo XVIII, çerti intellettuali aivan sentio a neçescitæ de recompattâ e classe soçiale in gio a-a nobilitæ, pe dâ fòrsa a-o sentimento patriòttico; inte sto senso chì, a lettiatua in zeneise a poeiva pai un instrumento adattou ben, pe l’uso identitäio che n’ea stæto fæto into corso di secoli. O De Franchi o l’à vosciuo ëse coscì o poeta da «Naçion zeneise», con fâse fautô fra l’atro de moderæ correçioin à un scistema politico e soçiale secolare e omai ruspo e frusto, a-o quæ o mescia de modeatiscime critiche inte seu comedie. Quella do De Franchi a l’ea unna conçeçion do Stato fortemente paternalista, ma o stile popolare, pe mainea de dî, into quæ o l’à espresso o no l’à mancou de influensâ numeroxi autoî, i ciù tanti anònimi e de inspiaçion giacobiña, che saieivan vegnui feua a-a fin do secolo. Quante a-a traduçion da Gerusalemme, a raxon politica a l’é da çercâse sorvetutto inte l’exartaçion do contributo portou da-i zeneixi a-a reconquista da Tæra Santa, in sciô quæ l’ea za scioio un muggio de lezzendie e tradiçioin, ligæ a-a figua do Ghiggermo Embriaco, «il duce ligure che pria / signor de’ mari corseggiar solia». Con respettâ rigorosamente o mæximo numeo de ottave de l’originäio, sette diversci poeti, Steva De Franchi, Ambreuxo Conti, Gaitan Gallin, Poulo Toso, Giacomo Guidi, Zane Aostin Gastaldo, Françesco Maria Viceti, an dæto a seu verscion di vinti canti da Gerusalemme Liberata, de vòtte con mantegnîse assæ aderenti a-o testo, de atre vòtte in asbasciâne i toin pe tegnîse fienti à un spiito ligure tutto concretessa e pratiçitæ, de vòtte ancon in creâ momenti de poexia neuvi areo.

Eive e ottave donde ven rievocâ a figua de Colombo (XV, 31–32) inta verscion de Ambreuxo Conti:

Into canto VII traduto da-o Steva De Franchi, a scimilitudine de anghille cattuæ inte valle do Comaggio a ven reisa ciù vexiña à l’espeiensa di zeneixi, con unn’ambientaçion riveasca, in reciammâse a-a tonnæa de Portofin.

Da-o canto XII (ott. 62–69) a mòrte de Clorinda, inta verscion de Poulo Toso, donde a dramatiçitæ da scituaçion a ven reisa correttamente, con fondo sentimento.

English translation:
# Ra Gerusalemme deliverà (18th cent.)

In 1755, the two-volume _Ra Gerusalemme deliverà dro Signor Torquato Tasso traduta in lengua zeneize_ was published in Genoa. It was a Genoese version of Tasso’s masterpiece Jerusalem Delivered, by a team of urban scholars, directed by the poet Stefano De Franchi. It was a curious and unusual work, since the authors did not intend to perform a faithful translation of the Jerusalem – as Father Federico Gazzo would translate the Divine Comedy in its entirety in the following century – but neither was it a parody, a burlesque disguise, as had already been done in various other Italian languages. Instead, the 18th-century scholars wanted to substantially respect the intentions and narrative structure of Tasso’s work, but at the same time re-create it from a “Genoese” point of view; the entire chivalric poem is thus rewritten as a Genoese person of the time might have told it. Nor did the translators lack the intention to emulate and surpass the translations that had already appeared in other Italian idioms up to that time, as can be seen from a prefatory sonnet, which states:

As if to say that if the other translations – into Bolognese (ro Dottô), Venetian (Pantalon), Bergamasque (Xanni), and Neapolitan (Coviello) – changed Tasso into a buffoon and were successful, the Genoese mask of Caporale could not lag behind, capable as he is of witty remarks. In spite of this premise, the comedic intonation only surfaces from time to time, in this Genoese version of Jerusalem Delivered, generally remaining far above other similar attempts, which were typical of a reflexive and generally uninteresting dialectalism. In fact, it can be said that the whole operation is part of the complex work undertaken by De Franchi to enrich the literature of Genoese expression with valid and up-to-date works, with a view to exalting the Genoese homeland. At a time of substantial political decadence for the Republic of Genoa, as was the 18th century, some intellectuals felt the need to recompose the social classes around the nobility, reviving patriotic sentiment. For this purpose, literature in Genoese seemed a particularly suitable tool, due to the identitarian use that had been made of it over the centuries. De Franchi thus wanted to be the poet of the “Genoese Nation”, advocating, among other things, moderate corrections to a now sclerotic secular, social and political order, to which he addresses moderate criticism in his comedies. De Franchi’s was certainly a strongly paternalistic conception of the state, but the supposedly popular style in which he expressed it did not fail to influence numerous authors, most of them anonymous and Jacobin-inspired, who would appear at the end of the century. As for the translation of the Jerusalem, the political motive is to be found, in particular, in the exaltation of the contribution made at the time by the Genoese to the reconquest of the Holy Land, on which a whole series of legends and traditions had already flourished, linked to the figure of Guglielmo Embriaco, “il duce ligure, che pria / signor de’ mari corseggiar solìa”. Seven different poets – Stefano De Franchi, Ambrogio Conti, Gaetano Gallino, Paolo Toso, Giacomo Guidi, Gian Agostino Gastaldi and Francesco Maria Viceti – gave their version of the twenty cantos of Jerusalem Delivered, strictly respecting the same number of octaves as in the original, sometimes keeping very close to the text, sometimes lowering the tone to remain faithful to a Ligurian spirit that is all concreteness and practicality, and sometimes again creating completely new pieces of poetry.

Consider the octaves – in Ambrogio Conti’s version – in which the figure of Columbus is commemorated (15, 31–32):

In Canto 7, translated by Stefano De Franchi, the similarity of the eels caught in the Comacchio valleys is portrayed closer to the experience of the Genoese, in a coastal setting, with reference to the tuna fishery of Portofino.

In Canto 12 (octaves 62–69) we have the death of Clorinda, in Paolo Toso’s version. The drama of the situation is properly portrayed, with depth of feeling: