Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.21857/m3v76t23gy
Didacus Pyrrhus on Urban and Suburban Area of Renaissance Dubrovnik
Vedran Stojanović
orcid.org/0000-0002-9469-3738
; The Institute for Historical Sciences in Dubrovnik, Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Dubrovnik, Croatia
Abstract
This article examines four works by the Portuguese poet Didacus Pyrrhus dedicated to the city of Dubrovnik. Although these texts have often been treated primarily as valuable sources for reconstructing the cultural and intellectual life of the Republic of Ragusa
in the second half of the sixteenth century, this study adopts a different interpretative lens. By approaching the works within the framework of imagology and situating them in the tradition of urban encomia (laudationes urbium), the article explores how Pyrrhus constructed an image of Dubrovnik and its surrounding landscape.
Beyond their descriptive value, Pyrrhus' poems offer a subtle reflection of his integration into the social and cultural life of Dubrovnik, where he resided for five decades. His works reveal a conscious effort to suppress his foreign identity and assimilate into the local community, evidenced by his praise of prominent individuals, religious and civic symbols. Of the works analysed, Ad Paulum provides the most vivid and structured vision of both urban and rural landscapes, while others, such as De urbe Rhacusa and De illustribus familiis, are more concerned with hagiographic and genealogical themes. Together, these texts form a complex literary portrayal of Dubrovnik before the 1667 earthquake, offering a largely overlooked narrative source that enriches our understanding of early modern urban representation and identity formation.
Keywords
Dydacus Pyrhus; Dubrovnik (Ragusa); 16 Century; laudationes urbium; image of urban space
Hrčak ID:
337496
URI
Publication date:
5.11.2025.
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