Locus amoenus nell’Hypnerotomachia Poliphili: strumento interpretativo del viaggio onirico sapienziale .......... 129

The aim of the article is to investigate the possibility of reading the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili through the interpretation of the description of the places contained in the novel. With reference to the tradition of the decsriptio locorum, three fragments of the Colonnian work has been analyzed. They refer to different stages of the oniric journey of Polifilo: the first one – to the cognitive incapacity due to the link to the irrational passionality of the protagonist, the second one – to his subsequent transformation in a man able to reason and the third one – to the experience of love and the final vision. The descriptive passion of Colonna, which seems to exceed any rational limit and traditional conventions, was noted by the scholars who studied his work. The analysis of the fragments seems to confirm the usefulness of this reading approach.