Il nonno di Calpurnia e la conclusione dell'epistolario di Plinio il Giovane

Lucius Calpurnius Fabatus, the grandfather of Pliny the Younger’s third wife, is one of the primary recipients of Pliny’s letters, second only to Tacitus. The main information about his figure is gleaned from an epigraph that celebrates his equestrian career, a brief mention in Tacitus’ Annales, and, most significantly, from Pliny’s correspondence. It is evi- dent from this that he was a resolute and occasionally blunt individual with whom Pliny had developed a relationship of reverent affection. This contribution traces the evolution of the relationship between Pliny and his grandfather-in-law, also by examining references to other members of Calpurnia’s family scattered throughout the correspondence, ultimately leading to the formulation of some hypotheses about the overall structure of the correspondence and the publication of the so-called “tenth book” of the Letters.