Between Court and Olympus: The Myth of Paris in the Sonnet of Fabritio Caroso

Abstract

Through a commented translation, this article examines the sonnet Se ne la selva Idea…, dedicated to the Princess of Sulmona and preceding the dance Villanella Balletto, one of the 80 poems included in Il Ballarino (1581), by Fabritio Caroso da Sermoneta (c. 1526/1531 – after 1605), one of the most important dance masters of the Italian Renaissance. More than simple choreographic manuals, his works intertwine music, etiquette, and poetry, presenting almost every dance preceded by laudatory sonnets dedicated to noble ladies. The reading of the sonnet demonstrates how Caroso, by integrating poetry and dance, transforms mythological narratives into instruments of courtly exaltation. Through the use of imagery and references to Greco-Roman mythology — especially the Judgment of Paris, the rivers of the Trojan landscape, and divine figures — he projects the addressee onto a symbolic and heroic plane, thereby condensing values and sensibilities of the sixteenth century. Thus, the proposed analysis not only highlights the poetic function in Caroso’s treatises, but also contributes to a broader understanding of the dialogue between literature, performing arts, and court culture in the Renaissance