Rovani e il rapporto inter-iconico con Gli ultimi giorni di Pompei

The simultaneous publication of two illustrated novels in Italy (Cento anni by Giuseppe Rovani in 1868-1869 and The Last Days of Pompeii by Ed-ward Bulwer-Lytton in 1870) highlights that a large part of the public of the time still preferred past-time stories duly documented, also from the visual point of view. However, the timing was not the only convergence between the two books. Rovani had read Bulwer-Lytton in the translation by the ad-mired Francesco Cèusani and had appreciated the British writer so much that not only did he redeem him in the Preludio to his most important novel. From him, he also draws ideas and narrative formulas for his own work. This ar-ticle intends to investigate the inter-iconic relationship that arises from both books in their illustrated version, focusing, in particular, on the question of their historical setting. Finally, two different ideas of catastrophe distinguish both books. However, the conviction that the past exerts its influence on the present remains.