“Comme t’ha fatto mammeta”: The Classical Literary Topos of the descriptio puellae in a Neapolitan Classical Song

Abstract

This article surveys the literary topos of the descriptio puellae in Classical literature as a source for its later recreation in the classical Neapolitan song "Come facette mammeta" (1906). The subject

knows two main modalities: one more erotic and the other more idealized. The analysis begins with a Greek epigram (AP 5.132) by the poet Philodemus of Gadara and with an elegy by Ovid (Am.1.5.17-26), which became the classical model in European letters. In Philodemus’ and Ovid’s treatments, the sensual description of the girl leads to the act of love. On another note, the description of the beloved, in an idealized manner which we call blazon, has precedents in Latin poetry (Catullus, Propertius) and was cultivated in the Renaissance from Petrarch on (Canzoniere 90). In the song “Come facette mammeta”, the beloved is imagined having been created by her mother from certain ingredients. The description focuses on three physical attributes: the color of her body (a blend of white and red), the mouth (likened to strawberries and sweet spices), and the hair (compared to gold). This song, while generically evoking the libidinous descriptions of Philodemus and Ovid, and the idealized treatment by Petrarch, has been directly inspired by Propertius (2.3.9-28).