Fra Arcadia e Trasformati : la poesia a Milano alle soglie dei Lumi

In the mid 50s of 18th Century the poetic production in Milan went through a transition phase. While the Arcadian principles were still alive (Frugoni’s "Canzonette Anacreontiche" were published in 1757), the Accademia dei Trasformati, established in 1743, started to embrace the Enlightenment and its suggestions, as shown by the blank hendecasyllables of Parini’s "Sopra la Guerra" and Beccaria’s fragment on Lisbon earthquake, as well as by the meetings organized to discuss social and civil topics. With perfect timing, "Versi sciolti di tre eccellenti moderni autori" (Algarotti, Bettinelli, Frugoni), Bettinelli’s effort to present new poetic forms, were reprinted in Milan in 1758. This essay examines this cultural turning point, also through the relationships with the Roman Arcadia, which, after the failed attempt to convert the Accademia dei Trasformati in an Arcadian colony (1745), had limited the presence of authors from Milan and Lombardy in the official collection of "Rime degli Arcadi".