Un viaggio senza tempo: il De navigio suo (carm.10, 9) di Venanzio Fortunato

Venantius Fortunatus’ De navigio suo (carm. 10, 9), the description of a journey made by the poet from Metz to Andernach along the Moselle and Rhine rivers, has a lot of spatial information but it absolutely contains no time reference. The poet does not offer any information about the overall duration of the journey nor of its various stages; he does not place the journey in a particular season, nor does he include any of its stage into a specific part of the day. Temporal uncertainty also characterizes Venantius’ other odeporic poems, even if it is not typical of the previous Latin odeporic poetry. Except when its transience is considered, as a matter of fact, time seems to be a meaningless dimension in Venantius’ poetry, especially in relation to the past and the chronology of events. Venantius’ poetry, actually, is very related to circumstances and characters of the present, although with recurring openings towards the future and eternity, especially in the expression of wishes and prayers.