Margaret Meserve

This study of Italian news printing from its origins in 1470 to the sack of Rome in 1527 examines a broad array of Renaissance printed news texts in both Italian and Latin, in verse and in prose, which either relay information or comment more obliquely on contemporary events. The study explores the literary strategies Renaissance authors used to interpret the news of their day. It also traces connections among authors, printers, readers, and states seeking to control the flow of information at a time of political, social, and religious flux. Ultimately, the project attempts to redefine our understanding of printed political discourse in early modern Europe by locating its origins earlier and farther south than previously imagined.