| Summary: | This thesis sets out to analyse the image of the city in the writings of Giovanni Raboni, in both his own poetry and his translations of Baudelaire. Raboni makes frequent references to Manzoni, not as the author of I promessi sposi, but of Storia della colonna infame, showing particular interest in the plague and the Lazzaretto. While Raboni’s writing looked to the future, it was firmly rooted in every aspect of post-war Milan, which he compared to the Milan of the preceding generation. The thesis investigates the theme of cityscape in three different ways, focusing on the cross-fertilisation seen in Raboni the critic, Raboni the poet and Raboni the translator of poetry. It explores Raboni’s poetry and the evolution of the cityscape, drawing on the interaction of translation and urban studies and approaching the poetry through the lens of Russian formalism. Chapter 1 provides the context for a detailed analysis establishing Raboni as a Milanese poet and highlighting the importance of the urban setting and architecture through the framework of critics including Benjamin, Certeau, and Augé. Chapter 2 looks at the motif of walking through Porta Venezia, Raboni’s favourite area of Milan, closely analysing the use of space and time in his poèmes en prose ‘Piccola passeggiata trionfale’ and ‘Nell’ora, ormai, della cenere’ and drawing on insights provided by two of his essays. Chapter 3, through a close reading of a selection of Raboni’s poems, investigates the urban space in domestic and public areas including such typical elements of cityscape as houses, streets, cinemas, and squares. Finally, Chapter 4 considers Raboni’s work as a translator of Baudelaire’s Les fleurs du mal and looks closely at the interaction between Raboni the poet and Raboni the translator. Thus, the thesis shifts from a focus on Raboni’s own city of Milan to Baudelaire’s city, Paris.
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