Antonio Porqueddu

Antonio Porqueddu (1743-1810), a religious who dedicated himself to writing, is a significant representative of Sardinian literature of the 18th century. He wrote “The treasure of Sardinia in the cultivation of berries and mulberries”, published in 1779 by the Royal Printing House of Cagliari.
The didactic poem, composed of 199 octaves divided into three songs and written in southern Sardinian (with Italian translation), also offers a large set of explanatory notes that contain multiple information regarding the uses, customs, popular traditions, proverbs, language and fauna of Sardinia. Porqueddu, in linguistic matters, stands against purism. It places itself in an absolutely autonomous position and uses the linguistic elements functionally with respect to the purpose it must achieve. He constantly mixes Logudorese with Campidanese and essentially makes a choice opposite to that of Madao, who instead tends to “clean up” the language and looks at the Latin model. In “Su Tesoru”, different languages and dialects are found on the same level with the main base of Sardinian, predominantly Campidanese. Porqueddu, like other intellectuals of that period, sees in his work the didactic tool for elevating populations civilized and ensuring economic and social progress for the island. Eighteenth-century Sardinian literature expresses a strong commitment in this regard and modern literary criticism tends to emphasize this aspect rather than the abstract qualitative and aesthetic value

of individual works.

Update

4/3/2025 - 19:10