Salvatore Quasimodo, one of the greatest Italian poets of the twentieth century, continues to be talked about 900 years after his death. In fact, a Taranto of original writings of del hermetic poet, dating back to 1967. The mayor of Taranto gave the news of the extraordinary discovery, Rino Melucci. As the mayor of Taranto stated to Ansa: "the thrill of seeing those handwritten texts, the thrill of seeing the imprint of that same hand, imprinted on the paper to guarantee the authenticity of that intellectual work, was as strong as the bond that unites us to our history». The Nobel Prize for literature (1959) he stayed in the Apulian capital during his studies for the translation of the epigrams of the Greek poet Leonidas of Taranto (work later published in 1968). The discovery of the manuscripts took place in Acclavio library, during some interventions of reorganization of the texts.
Salvatore Quasimodo: brilliant poet and great translator of Greek lyrics
Quasimodo was one of the greatest translators of the Greek lyrics of the '900. Some of his colleagues attributed the winnings of the Nobel Prize not so much to his poetic skills, as to those of a fine translator. An example can be found in the anthology Italian poetry of the 900s di Edoardo Sanguineti (1969). The Genoese poet and critic wrote about Quasimodo: "His truest original contribution to the poetry of our century is not to be recognized in the creative production, but in the translations from the Greek lyrics, which are one of the most significant documents of the entire hermetic season.". Apart from controversy, Quasimodo's great contribution to literature is undeniable. Poems like "And it is now evening","Now that the day comes" or "Submerged oboe”Are extraordinary examples of Quasimodo's talent as a poet. Furthermore, "The moon has gone down", Poem by Sappho translated by the Sicilian poet is a sign of his excellent qualities as a translator.
The city of Taranto will show the world the original transcripts by Salvatore Quasimodo found in the Acclavio library in the coming months. As the mayor of Taranto recalled again: "the municipal administration, the operators of museum and city library officials are already working to make the recovered transcripts available soon". Of course the emergency Covid-19 it will slow down these operations, but once finished, Quasimodo's writings will be able to attract many new tourists to the already wonderful Ionian city.
