ABSTRACT
This focuses on adaptations of the Homeric epics in the maggio epico tradition of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, with particular attention to Il ritorno di Ulisse by Francesco Chiarabini, La guerra di Troia by Mario Pellegrinotti, and La caduta di Troia by Davide Borghi. The epic maggio is one of Italy’s few popular traditions based largely on canonical texts and performed in standard Italian rather than dialect. Maggio scripts, whether anonymous or bearing the name of an author, are often reworked by the capomaggio to better fit his preferences and the company’s exigencies. The greater emphasis on Ulisse’s successful efforts to regain his rightful place at home is in line with the traditional maggio’s interest in staging a battle between good and evil in which the former eventually triumphs. In response to Ulisse’s censure of his actions and Menelao’s proposal to return Criseide, Agamemnone capriciously decides to instead appropriate Achille’s female companion.
