Plato, Xenophon, Cicero

Right form the first lines of The Cortegiano, in the letter of dedication to Miguel da Silva that introduces the work, Castiglione indicated with extreme clarity which were the models that had inspire him. His texts follows the codification of the image of the perfect gentleman, and form this point of view, structurally, he activated and applied the same argumentation strategies used in three absolute works of art form classical Greek and Latin civilisation: the Republic by Plato, the Ciropedia by Xenofont, the De oratore by Cicero. From these cornerstones of ancient culture Castiglione claimed legitimisation for writing a text that, though pursuing a utopian objective (perfection), had nonetheless an explanatory purpose (as perfection, if it cannot be reached, can at least be taught).

This is an issue of strategic relevance, not only because here the author, with a high conscience of self, specifically assimilated his work to three classical texts, which had traditionally been thought to be unreachable. But also because, by means of this assimilation, he ratified the epistemological layout of the dialogue: the fictitious conversations, having as their theme the definition of the perfect courtier, were not idle, as the ideal that in this manner was proposed, had the objective of suggesting and activating in the reader a form of behaviour that the would be capable of following.

The three classical inspirations lead us to expect a model work:  a work that indicates to its readers the model that they, in the practice of their daily relationships, must strive for, at least with approximation, making an effort that by definition will never end. The work has a realistic historical matrix (connected to the experiences of its author at the court of Urbino), onto which he grafted the utopian and prophetic components: the target indicated to the readers (the perfect courtier) is deduced, by sublimation and distillation, from real events.