For Borges, who loved Ariosto's poem as much as the Divine Comedy and the Arabian Nights, the Orlando Furioso was made of the stuff of dreams.
It's a fascinating read. It must be said, however, that while chasing his dreams Ludovico Ariosto never forgot the grit and gore of his own time, when the wars in Italy, with the devastating power of firearms, tore the Old World apart and brought destruction, rapes and unprecedented cruelty and violence upon the population.
Fonte: Italy24