« Cantar di gesta in rima ». L’Ariosto, i cantimpanca e la diffusione a Ferrara della materia di Francia

Throughout the 16th century, Ariosto’s Orlando furioso was immensely popular, both in print and in oral recitations. Its stanzas were sung everywhere, especially by the cantimpanca, itinerant performers whose cantari were among Ariosto’s main models, and whose repertoires of street performances and chapbooks soon abounded in excerpts and imitations of the Furioso. This article reassesses some known facts and examines new evidence, focusing on the role of the charlatan publisher Nicolò Zoppino and on a little bibliographical finding that might suggest his direct collaboration with Ariosto.