I dubbi di Alcibiade: Guicciardini, le Prose, la Storia (ancora sui quesiti grammaticali)

Abstract. – This essay revisits Guicciardini’s linguistic writings, focusing specifically on the so-called grammatical ‘doubts’ or ‘queries’, now preserved in the Francesco Guicciardini Archive (XVII ins. 31), which form part of the extensive preparatory materials for the posthumous edition of the Storia d’Ita- lia (1561). Following an introduction that summarizes the philological aspects and the current state of the art, the essay examines these notes as a reflection of the mature Guicciardini’s linguistic – and indeed, intellectual – attitude. Guicciardini’s approach is investigated both iuxta sua principia and, through differential and contrastive analysis, in relation to the linguistic ideas of his con- temporaries. After clarifying the importance of these ‘doubts’ as detailed and valuable evidence of the long process of the reception of Pietro Bembo’s Prose in the Tuscan-Florentine area, the conclusion emphasizes the methodological affinity between Guicciardini’s grammatical and historiographical (and not just historiographical) approaches. The overall aim is to gain a better understand- ing Guicciardini’s place in the questione della lingua.