Convivial Humanism: Giovanni Pontano (1426-1503) on the Art of Living Together

This thesis examines the art of the literary banquet as it was practised and theorised by the fifteenth-century humanist, Giovanni Pontano (1426-1503) and his academy in Naples. Formed by men attached to the Aragonese court of Naples, the Accademia Pontaniana assembled regularly over the course of half a century for evenings of conversation, readings, and music, accompanied by food and wine. Drawing on Pontano’s treatises, dialogues, and poetry, this study surveys the scholarly and creative activities that Pontano and his circle pursued during their convivial gatherings. The first chapter considers the history of literary banqueting in the fifteenth century from the perspective of classical reception, surveying the efforts by humanist communities like the Accademia Pontaniana to re-enact the ancient philosophical ritual of the symposium. The thesis examines Pontano’s views on the social, educational, and psychological benefits of conviviality (Chapters 2-4), the status of the banquet as a setting for the production of poetry, music, and theatre (Chapters 5-6), and its religious character (Chapter 7). The epilogue draws some conclusions about the influence of the Accademia Pontaniana and the role of convivial coteries in the intellectual culture of the Renaissance.