EUTOPIA-SIF – Post-Doctoral Fellowship | Science and Renaissance plays. The example(s) of Giovanni Battista Della Porta

Giovanni Battista Della Porta (1535-1615) was a prominent Neapolitan writer and natural philosopher, famous for his intriguing scientific experiments and for his plays, which served as a model for 17th-century dramatists. This research will centre on two of his comedies, Lo Astrologo (1606) and La Furiosa (1609), in which Della Porta discusses the scientific culture of the time. The plays thus become an instrument of meditation on nature and its secrets, but they are also part of a comic tradition that Della Porta reworked, showing the same experimental attitude as in his theoretical reflections. The objective of this project is to develop a digital annotated edition of Lo Astrologo and La Furiosa. Furthermore, I will publish two related academic articles and an online database. The latter will provide a comprehensive listing of each 16th and 17th-century printed edition of Della Porta’s plays, accompanied by detailed bibliographical and location information. This will offer an overview of the circulation of the plays written by one of the most prolific Renaissance dramatists and philosophers.