Presente storico e presente elegiaco nella Fiammetta di Boccaccio

This article considers Boccaccio’s use of verb tenses in Elegia di Madonna Fiammetta, with specific reference to the present indicative. A distinction is made between the use of present tenses referring to actions or thoughts that occur at the same time as Fiammetta writes, after Panfilo’s departure (presente-presente), and the use of the historical (or narrative) present indicating past situations that Fiammetta recalls in her memories. The last section examines the use of the historical present in Ovid’s Heroides, the most important literary source for Boccaccio’s Elegia, suggesting a possible comparison between the two works from this specific perspective.