**Devotional Little Song (Canzoncina Devota).** — A brief lyrical composition in honor of God, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the saints, or didactic in nature for the religious education of the people, serving as a successor to the *lauda*, whose production had faded by the end of the 15th century, though in the following century there were still notable reworkings, as in Serafino Razzi. Unlike the *canzone* or *canzonetta*, which typically treats a frivolous subject with either erotic or courtly spirit, the *canzoncina devota*, inspired by religious sentiment, has remained very much alive in Italian literary tradition.
To this day, however, it has remained almost unknown to scholars. While at least 200 collections of *laude* are known, coming from every region of Italy and several in rigorous editions, there exists not a single bibliographic survey, nor even an anthology of *canzoncine*, despite their great number and frequent artistic merit. The *lieder* and *cantiques* have fared better: for the Germans, among others, the collections of Kaspar A. von Mastiaux and F. Schlosser are recognized; for the French, A. Gastoué’s repertoire, though incomplete, is notable. With the decline of folkloristic studies and the disappearance of journals dedicated to popular literature, the *canzoncina devota*, which has four centuries of life behind it, still awaits its diligent explorer. The results of systematic investigations along the lines of G. Pitré and M. Barbi would not be inferior to those yielded by popular song, which has proven marvelous in the publications of F. Liuzzi.
The *canzoncina devota* is the descendant of the liturgical hymn, from which sprang the *lauda* of St. Francis, the earliest spiritual poet in the vernacular. From the Ambrosian iambic dimeter it took the agility of its rhythm, and from the *laudesi* the fervor and simplicity of diction, indulging in sonorous rhymes for musical notation. It featured regular strophes with identical verse order, predominantly seven-line stanzas, though not under the same name. Born in the Renaissance climate, it flourished in the 17th century and even more so during the Arcadian period. It was influenced by the coarse style of the Seicento and the Metastasian manner, yet never lost its popular character: the formal perfection was compensated by clarity of thought. In this respect, the *canzoncina devota* may be considered a precursor of wholesome Romanticism.
Initially, the title “spiritual lauds” predominated, especially in compilations curated in Rome and Naples by the disciples of St. Philip Neri, a pioneering force in this field. G. Animuccia published two volumes of polyphonic and homophonic lauds (1563 and 1570), suitable for gatherings of the Oratory and pious processions. In 1586, Verovio issued *Il diletto spirituale: canzonette*; in 1588, Sotto Langa collected spiritual lauds in three volumes. Later, Pier Matteo Petrucci, faithful to Philip Neri’s customs, printed *Poesie sacre e spirituali* (Macerata 1675; Florence and Jesi 1680), among which *Lodate Maria — o lingue fedeli* remains famous. Coforati titled his verses *Canzoni e laudi spirituali* (Florence 1675), and the Apulian Camerota (d. 1644) *Odi spirituali rustiche*.
18th-century authors employed a greater variety of titles, particularly in anonymous prints circulated by rural missionaries. Patrignani or *Presepio Presepi* called his poems *Cantici* (1709) and *Ventaruole* (1712); F. Pantaleoni, *Canzoni divote*; Marchese, *Canzoni e sonetti*; Castellani, *Cantici scritturali*. Among the titles encountered are: *Scelta di alcune laudi spirituali* (Rome 1718); *Raccolta delle laudi ed altre orazioni* (ibid. 1728); *Arpa di sacre laudi e divozioni* (4th ed., Naples 1749); *Canzoni spirituali ad uso delle missioni* (Trento 1754); *Canzonette ed ariette sacre e morali* (Vicenza 1786); *Sacre Canzoncine* (Naples 1788); *Raccolta di sacre poesie italiane più usate a recitarsi ed a cantarsi* (Rome 1789); and so on, to limit ourselves to a sampling. St. Alphonsus Liguori, in his ascetical works, which spread prodigiously, popularized the name *canzoncina*, which he first called “devout” and from 1750 onward “spiritual,” encompassing both monastic and popular forms. Various poets imitated him even in the 19th century, such as Caione, De Vivo, D’Ambrosio, Del Buono. Among these, Mattia del Piano stands out; though he titled his collection *Il freno della lingua ovvero laudi spirituali composte nell’idioma toscano e napoletano per lo popolo*, he wrote at the top of every page *Canzoncine spirituali*. The title has now passed into common and popular usage.
A significant group consists of community poetry, largely inspired by the Teresian tradition. Mystical themes are treated with straightforward poetic imagery that often recalls the vibrant canticles of St. John of the Cross. Amidst the faded mediocrity, there are brilliant and graceful passages, such as in the unpublished *Canzoniere* of the Venerable Sister M. Celeste Crostrosa, where the story of divine love in the soul is sung with candid fervor. The other *canzoncine*, forming an immense treasure, are truly popular, dashed off without artistic pretension, born of an immediate need among the uneducated masses, sometimes even in dialect. They arose among and for the humble people, composed essentially to be sung in unison to new or popular tunes, as in Sicily or along the Tyrrhenian coasts. Notable are the *Sette canzonette in aria marinaresca sopra le 7 principali feste di Nostra Signora* (Milan 1738) by Fr. G. Tornielli. Missionaries among the crowds—Franciscans, Jesuits, Lazarists, Pious Workers, Redemptorists—used them as a teaching tool, employing the *canzoncina* for catechesis, moral exhortation, and prayer. The first two elements were usually combined, while the third often emerged in joyful exclamations or supplicatory tones of an elegiac nature. Thus, devotional poetry, learned in church during a preaching course and absorbed into families, echoed in streets and fields, supplanting secular little songs. It aided memory in retaining a mystery of Christ, a prerogative of the Madonna, or recapitulating an entire sermon on the last things. For this reason, Fr. Segneri (d. 1694) condensed the principal doctrines of Christian teaching into a spiritual laud. Fr. Innocenzi (d. 1697), evangelizer of the Tuscan countryside, versified the entire catechism with effective simplicity and had it printed in 1681 in Macerata.
In appendices to devotional and doctrinal books distributed by missionaries in the 18th and 19th centuries, one finds the Creed, the Decalogue, the Sacraments, the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the mysteries of the Rosary rendered in little stanzas. Among liturgical antiphons, the *Salve Regina* inspired various poetic paraphrases, one of which, widely circulated in southern Italy by St. Francis de Geronimo (d. 1716), begins *Dio ti salvi, o Regina...*; another by Fr. D’Ambrosio, *Salve, del ciel Regina*, is still repeated by the people.
The *canzoncina devota* in Italy predates Protestantism, which exerted a broad influence on the religious folk songs of northern countries. It seems to have reached its peak in the 18th century not through academic poets (such as Savioli, Vigorelli, etc.), but through zealous apostles whose verses survive in modern florilegia, despite the silence of literary historians. Among these, the *canzoncine* of St. Alphonsus Mary de’ Liguori stand out for their spontaneity, freshness, and ardent sentiment, regarded by connoisseurs as minor masterpieces of popular poetry. *O bella mia speranza*, often set to music and sung in May, enjoys national fame; *Tu scendi dalle stelle* is known worldwide. These chaste verses, disparaged by G. Rossetti as mere metrical ejaculations, were properly appreciated by G. Gezelle, master of Flemish poetry, and imitated by S. Di Giacomo, who in *Cansonì e ariette nove* (Naples 1916) echoes Alfonsian rhythms and meters.
If criticism of these compositions is to be made according to the canons of modern aesthetics, only those prepared to understand religious sentiment and pious feeling can properly evaluate their art and poetic content.
In such a context, folklore offers fruitful material for illuminating obscure corners not only of the history of literature but also of Italian Catholic spirituality.