Poesia in provincia : carmi epigrafici dalle Alpi occidentali

Some rare examples of Latin verse inscriptions have been found in the mountains and foothills region between Italy and France. If the historical importance of these documents is well known, their literary value had not yet been put in full light except for the inscription from Albenga (CLE,893), linked with the work of Rutilius Namatianus. By the help of an intertextual analysis, supported by the digital archive Musisque Deoque and mainly by its Epigraphica section, it is possible to investigate the elements of literariness in the quoted CLE,893 (an honorific inscription for Flavius Constantius), in the CLE,19 (dedicated to the god Silvanus) from Aime (Graian Alps) and in CLE,783 (an epitaph for Regina) from Pagno (CN). The poetical merits of these anonymous authors are evaluated from their inclusion in an authoritative tradition, from their harmony with the general climate of the contemporary literary scene, as well as from the success of their poetic language in comparison to the texts of later times.