Nietzsche sotto Saturno. La conoscenza di sé e la vanitas nello specchio della melanconia

The article’s theme is the connection between Nietzsche’s thought and life with the tradition of melancholy studies (from Aristotle to Starobinski). In addition to collecting various biographical proofs of this relationship, which derive primarily from the epistolary, the philosophical connection between the problem of melancholia and Nietzsche’s theoretical proposal is examined. The topic of self-knowledge, typical of the reformed melancholic paradigm, also proves to be a cornerstone of Nietzsche’s philosophy. Furthermore, the famous passage FW 341 is interpreted in the light of the problem of vanitas and thus against the background of the melancholic paradigm.