Latin Literature

The course is composed of three parts. It is about "luxury in Roman culture (luxuria)". The general purpose of the course is to provide an overview of the literary culture and language of ancient Rome.

Module A - Language (Prof. M. Rossetti) This module is devoted to the Latin language, with the aim of consolidating fundamental morphosyntactic structures in accordance with level A2 of the Latin Language Certification. The focus will be on improving comprehension of texts in the original language through the analysis of sentences and short passages by Latin authors. Particular attention will be paid to the syntax of participles, gerunds, and gerundives, as well as to subjunctive clauses and to accusative and infinitive clauses.

Module B - Vocabulary and Roman Culture (Prof. M. Rossetti) This module aims to build a working vocabulary of Latin words and expressions, in order to enhance linguistic and metalinguistic skills and to foster awareness of the legacy of Latin in modern languages and cultures. Students will read and contextualize (from a lexical perspective) prose and poetic passages by Latin authors, and targeted exercises will be offered to reinforce a basic vocabulary. This module also contributes to the development of language skills in line with level A2 of the Latin Language Certification. In addition, the module deepens some of the historical and literary contents introduced in Module C. A central topic of discussion will be the concept of luxuria, a key notion for understanding Roman culture. Difficult to render in a single modern equivalent, luxuria in the Latin world refers to a kind of excess, whether in wealth, bodily pleasures, adornment, or, more broadly, a loss of moderation.

Module C - Literature (Prof. S. Stucchi) This module is designed to provide students with a general framework of the history of Latin literature, from its origins through to the 4th century AD. The principal literary genres will be introduced through selected thematic explorations, with readings of significant texts in translation.


Students who are not attending are required to contact the teacher before the course begins. However, please note that the syllabus for attending students applies also to non-attending ones.