Al fonte di Bandusia (da Orazio)

This paper analyzes Gabriele D'Annunzio's early poem "Al fonte di Bandusia" (included in the "Tradimenti" appendix of his youthful collection 'Primo vere'), which stands as a close paraphrastic rewriting of Horace's famous ode 3,13. Through a comparative textual examination, the study demonstrates how D'Annunzio adopts the structural architecture and specific alliterations of the Latin model while profoundly altering its inner psychological and spiritual tension. While Horace approaches the sacred spring with loving wonder and a sense of pious resignation before the ritual sacrifice of the young goat, D'Annunzio infuses his verse with an aggressive, proud, and almost rancorous tone. Furthermore, the author highlights how D'Annunzio pointedly shifts the gender of the spring to the masculine ('il fonte') as an alter ego of his own poetic persona, transforming Horace’s comforting natural mystery into a dark pagan abyss of death and ritual cruelty. Ultimately, the paper illustrates the complex dialogue between the two authors, showcasing a young D'Annunzio who is already a master of refined Latinisms and creative variatio, yet determined to impose his own confrontational vitalism onto classical antiquity.