An unedited testimony about Domizio Calderini (1471)

The paper analyses and returns in a critical edition the Donatio causa mortis of Margherita, daughter of the quondam Domenico de Turri, mother of the humanist Domenico Calderini, better known by his literary name of Domizio (1444/1445-1478). In the document, drawn up in Torri del Benaco on 17 April 1471 by the notary Domenico de Menegoli, the humanist is established by proxy as heir of the donor and is registered as notary. The information acquired from the study of this document is brought into line with the reconstruction of Calderini’s main biographical events in the 1470s, in the light of the wider historical and literary background to which the humanist himself can be traced, which is still elusive at times, especially as regards his relations within the context of his origins in the area of Benaco and his connections with the “civiltà delle lettere” of 15th century Verona.