Many of Shakespeare's plays have been proven to
be borrowed by Italian authors, such as:
Da Porto, Bandello, Aretino, Ariosto
In his Italian plays he was able to depict a truthful
detailed description of the country
Welcome to: Shakespeare & Florio, Guide to Italy
 
From Shakespeare's plays 106 scenes are set in Italy
in which may be found over 800 references to Italy in general
400 references to Rome
52 to Venice
32 to Naples
25 to Milan
23 to Florence
22 to Padua
20 to Verona
Beyond this, may be found incidental but precise references to:
Genoa, Mantua, Pisa, Ferrara, Liza Fusina,
Villa Franca di Verona and Messina.
And many others.
What most of Shakespeare's scholars
have addicted as a wrong depiction of the country
Richard Paul Roe confirmed through a long journey he took in Italy
Shakespeare's precise eye for Italian detail
by identifying all the places of Shakespeare's plays.
For Roe, there's a secret Italy hidden in the plays of Shakespeare
It's an ingeniously described Italy that has neither been recognised
nor even suspected
save by curious few.
It's exact, it's detailed, and it's brilliant.
For Roe, Shakespeare's method was this:
pepper his plays with frequent minor and precise touches of local colour.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
In Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare writes about Porta Palio
The sycamore trees that can be found through the archway
Old Freetown, the great Medieval Scalier castle at Villafranca in Verona
The townhouse of the Montague Montecchi family in Verona
and the St. Peter's Church
In Two Gentlemen of Verona
the writer, along with the creative word punning game
between Panthino, Proteus and Launce
describes the canal system of Milan
the St. Gregory's well, Pozzo di San Gregorio
and many other secret corners of the city.
In the Taming of the Shrew
Shakespeare writes about the respectable hostelry
Lucentio's lodging place with an open space
or plaza in front
and the Paris church called St. Luke's near the port and hostelry
there are also lines that reveal specific knowledge
the playwright had about one of Italy's
important banking practices.
Bergamo, a city from Medieval times until now
devoted to the manufactures of textiles
is included as well
and what other Shakespeare's scholars have labeled as a mistake
on the contrary reveal the playwright knew
that Tranio's father could indeed have been a sailmaker there
In the Merchant of Venice
Shakespeare describes the Rialto
and the line "Hebrew of my tribe"
reveals the playwright's awareness of the differences
among Jews according to their origins in the city.
Shylock refers to the different nations of the Jews in Venice
In giving Shylock the comment he makes about Tubal
the playwright has disclosed that he knew
about the nations of the Ghetto
Hardly everyday knowledge for an English man
who had never been beyond his native shores,
or met a known Jew.
The author also knew about the Jewish clothing in Venice
He refers to it in Act I, Scene III,
when Shylock, past insults
reveals the gaberdine, gabbano
a loose, large cloak
The line 'Our Sinagogue' reveals
that the author knew that there was
a synagogue for every Jewish nationality in the ghetto
The author also makes references
to Portia's Belmonte
and the 'tranect', traghetto, a ferry
with one word describing both the thing
and the action that would be found at Fusina.
In Othello Shakespeare makes references to the gown
the specific garb that all senators in Venice
were required to wear in public.
He also makes other specific references to
Venice places like Sagittary, being Frezzeria
still existing today.
or clogs, zoccoli, chopines
the typical shoes that women wore in Venice
A Midsummer Night's dream is not set in Athens
as some Shakespeare scholars have speculated
But in Sabbioneta
and Roe has discovered it by cracking the code
of three small elements
Little Athens is the second name given to the city
The Duke's oak is La Quercia del Duca
and The Temple is La Chiesa dell'Incoronata
All of these three buildings are located in Sabbioneta
and still exist today.
In All's Well that Ends Well the author was ingenious
and devious at double meanings
and had a quirky way of alluding places in Italian cities.
Also, the war cited in the play
is indeed the Tuscan war in 1555.
The Porta Romana is the southern entrance to Florence
from the via Romana
the principal road in between Florence and Rome
It is the gate through which Bertram entered the city
with his cavalry on the victorious return from Siena.
In Much Ado about Nothing
the author alludes at the pleached alley of Messina
and in some conversations, specially those of Hero, Margaret and Ursula
the author simulates a singularly Italian-style master-servan interaction.
Such an easy banter in Elizabethan England
would never have been tolerated
Incorporating such a singularly Italian behaviour in his story
would lend get more credence to a play set in Italy
The Tempest is set in Vulcano
The island of wind and fire
with its hot mud pools
where the drunken Trinculo lost his bottles
the valley of Monsters
the Horse's Grotto
The Chattering Caves
many of which are habitable
the yellow sands of which Ariel sings
the fumaroles, the deep nook,
make this isle a unique place in the world.
Thanks to Richard Paul Roe only recently
a new fundamental step has been done
to understand Shakespeare, his world, and his plays.
All these evidences, and many more
accurately written in his book "The Shakespeare Guide to Italy"
made Richard Paul Roe realise that the playwright
had a peculiar practice
in writing his Italian plays
and he discovered throughout his adventures in Italy
that his suspicious were confirmed
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This book demonstrates that for the ten Italian plays
the 'imaginary' settings of Shakespeare
have presented both specific and strikingly accurate
details of the country.
For the last 500 years
all of the playwright's descriptions of Italian places
have either gone unrecognised as been true
or have been dismissed as mistaken.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Even the great doyenne of Stratfordian scolarship, Edmund Chambers
conceded that
 
 
 
 
 
Richard Paul Roe's travel goes from Verona to Milan
for Romeo and Juliet and Two Gentlemen of Verona
from Pisa to Padua for The Taming of the Shrew
in Venice for The Merchant of Venice and Othello
in Sabbioneta for A Midsummer Night's Dream
in Florence for All's Well that Ends Well
in Messina for Much Ado About Nothing
Throughout  Sicily for The Winter's Tale
and in the magic isle of Vulcano for The Tempest
carefully revealing that all the places
the author refers to in his plays
are real, and not figment of Shakespeare's imagination.
the only question is: how could, the man from Stratford,
more than any other author ever
know so much about Italy?
A good beginning to solve this conundrum
would be if Shakespeare scholars tried to add
John Florio as the source for Shakespeare's knowledge.
But what John Florio has to do with Italy and Italian cities?
John Florio was born in London in 1553
his father, Michelangelo Florio,
was an Italian franciscan friar who converted to protestantism
he was a pastor in both England and Switzerland
he travelled across Italy his whole life:
Rome, Naples, Messina, Venice,
Verona, Mantua, Milan
and the works of John Florio
his First Fruites, Second Fruits,
as well as his dictionaries
were stictly linked to his father Michelangelo
who knew very well the Italian towns
the Italian dialects, and proverbs
Michelangelo Florio was the source
of John's knowledge of Italian culture and Italian language.
Furthermore, the British library, in its website,
has written many articles about the connection
between Shakespeare and Florio.
They explain how, in The Merchant of Venice,
Shakespeare attempts to reconcile the different worlds
of courtly love and commerce, as Florio does
in The First Fruits
Florio, in fact, writes a lot about Venice in his works
"How to speak with a gentlewoman"
in his First Fruits
is a conversation that quickly leads to Venice
They plan to see of the city lives up to its reputation as a ‘sumptuous’ place
full of '‘fayre women’ and ‘good things’ of all sorts.
Florio collected many terms concerning Venice
in his Italian-English dictionary/encyclopedia ‘World of Wordes’
He used the Venice term 54 times
all detailed manners, customs and traditions about the city.
some examples are:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
A detailed impressive description of the city
and the proof that Florio knew Venice very well
In his Italian-English encyclopedia
he also knows particular details of other Italian cities
in total of 324 terms concerning Italy
its customs and traditions.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
What a good source of material for Shakespeare
to settle his plays in Italy!
Of course, Florio's dictionary is Italian-English
kind of hard for Will from Stratford
to read all the terms in Italian
and find the exact one he needed for his Italian plays
That's why John Florio is important for Shakespeare
to understand his world and his plays
The British Library
also explains how Ben Jonson
in his 'Volpone'
used Venice settings as well
and provides a merciless portrayal of a money-mad society
and that Florio most certainly helped Ben Jonson in writing Volpone
with the language and Italian details in the play
The British Library, in their articles,
asserts that in Florio’s Italian-English dictionary/encyclopedia, A World of Wordes,
the definition of Volpone is giving as
"an old fox, an old reinard, and old craftie,
slie, subtle companion, sneaking, lurking wily deceiver"
All of which sum up the character of Volpone perfectly.
Another important Italian influence for Shakespeare
is Commedia dell'Arte
The influences of Commedia dell'arte in Shakespeare
and in the Chamberlain's men are unquestionable
In the second part of the video
we'll talk about the connection between Shakespeare and  Commedia dell'arte
Ruzzante, and much more...
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
