This paper considers the presence of Virgil first in Pascoli’s Carmina and then in his Italian production,
in order to juxtapose the two extremes of Pascoli’s creation characterized by the presence of Italian and
Latin; thus it responds to the need for an organic analysis of his production setting aside the linguistic
boundaries. In the Latin poems Virgil is present as auctor and character, while in the Italian works the
presence of Virgil, though less recurrent, is no less significant. One example is the poem I due vicini, where a
textual debt can be detected with the fourth book of Virgilian Georgics where the poet describes the role of
Senex Corycius: this figure inspires the second section of this poem, as well as passages of prose and one of
the Carmina. A synchronic analysis of ll. 1-2, 16-17 and 22-32 of I due vicini is followed by the diachronic
analysis of Pascoli’s papers relating to the poem.
