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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Lettura di Serpenti e teschi

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This article analyses a few pages written by Italo Calvino which the author included in a group of three short stories entitled I viaggi di Palomar. Serpenti e teschi is typical of the last Calvino: a concise and witty anecdote which opposes two characters: an erudite scholar who explains to Palomar the polysemy and complex symbolism of the architecture and decoration of the ruins of Tula (Messico); and a schoolmaster who describes the statues and the ornaments of the façades but stops short of telling his pupils the significance of the monuments: “one doesn’t know the meaning of all this” is the schoolmaster’s conclusion. The two antagonistic positions expressed by the characters reflect Calvino’s hesitation between interpretation (a text is a literary code which refers to another code which itself etc.) and description (the mere registration of what can be perceived). One would think that Calvino sides with the learned scholar (who is Palomar’s friend): not so sure thinks the author of the article.