«Oltre i regni ov’è perpetua state» : ‘impressioni’ latine e bibliche nella Gerusalemme liberata, 17.94.5, 8

This paper aims at pointing out some parallels between Tasso’s Gerusalemme liberata and Latin and Biblical models that may have influenced the poet either directly or indirectly. The analysis especially focuses on geographical elements of Tasso’s eulogy of Alfonso II of Este. On the one hand, at 17.94.5 the description of North African ‘eternal summer’ evokes Vulgate Is. 18.6 whose prophetic context fits Tasso’s vision of Alfonso II’s future glory. On the other hand, at 17.94.8 the unknown spring of the river Nile whose discovery by Alfonso II is a triumphal conclusion of the eulogy may refer to a variety of Latin sources of inspiration including Claudian and Avienus.