La lettera di Bembo inviata a Maria Savorgnan pubblicata nell'antologia di Paolo Gherardo (1544) e la tradizione del quarto volume dell'epistolario dell'autore

Bembo’s Letter to Maria Savorgnan Published in the Anthology by Paolo Gherardo (1544) and the History of the Fourth Volume of Bembo’s Letters · In view of the publication of a four-volume edition of his letters, Pietro Bembo subjected them to a careful and detailed revision and rewriting process. This article discusses Bembo’s revision work by offering an analysis of a littleknown draft of a letter he wrote to his then-lover Maria Savorgnan, which was published for the first time in 1544, while the author was still alive but without his approval, in the collection of letters edited by Paolo Gherardo and printed in Venice. By means of this specific case study, this article also provides an opportunity to reflect in more detail on the publishing history and printed tradition of the fourth volume of Bembo’s posthumous letters, published in Venice by Gualtiero Scotto in 1552, which collects in particular the letters written by the Venetian humanist to his female correspondents.