Saverio Scrofani – GR

Introduction by R. Nicolì

This digital edition reproduces, within the POLYSEMI Library, the first seventeen letters included in Viaggio in Grecia by Saverio Scrofani, which consists of sixty letters. They have been copied from the text published by Edizioni dell’Ateneo (Rome, 1965) and philologically edited by Claudio Mutini.^[1]

The author was born in the province of Ragusa in 1756 and belonged to a simple family that entrusted a maternal uncle, the bishop of Syracuse, with Saverio’s education, hoping he could become a priest. However, disappointing his family expectations, Scrofani lived a quite immoral and troubled life, and devoted to gambling and worldliness. Nevertheless, he has never neglected his studies focused on economy and specific agricultural topics, so as to be extremely prolific in writing the results of his research. He belonged to that generation of intellectuals who, despite being educated within the principles of the Enlightenment, had to disseminate his writings in the changed context of Reforming Absolutism. Περισσότερα “Saverio Scrofani – GR” →

Mario Praz – GR

Introduction by R. Nicolì

This digital edition, within the POLYSEMI Library, reproduces two chapters (the first named Preludio alla Grecia and the last entitled Sul Jonio in volo) of Viaggio in Grecia by Mario Praz, published by Shakespeare and Kafka in 1991.^[1]

The author,^[2] a man of many intersecting talents, is considered one of the greatest Anglicists and the most eclectic literary critics in the twentieth century. The vastness of his works – the complete bibliography of his writings is made up of over 2,600 entries^[3] – is almost unique in Italian literature. Περισσότερα “Mario Praz – GR” →

Tommaso Porcacchi di Castiglione – GR

Introduction by R. Nicolì

The author of L’isole più famose del mondo descritte da Thomaso Porcacchi da Castiglione arretino was born in Val di Chiana in 1530 and came from a very poor family. He had the opportunity to be educated on humanistic culture thanks to Duke Cosimo I who allowed him to settle in Florence. There he published his first literary works on Virgil: a biography of the author and the translation of The Aeneid Book IV. His life radically changed when he moved to Venice where he met and married the poet Bianca d’Este and came into contact with Gabriele Giolito de’ Ferrari, who published works in vernacular. The author translated Greek and Latin works for the publisher and revised other texts but, in particular, he intervened as a scientific consultant^[1]. In Venice he also wrote volumes on various subjects, showing his wide culture that ranges from geography to history and from archaeology to ethnology. Furthermore, Tommaso Porcacchi was responsible for the 16^th century editions of Boccaccio’s Laberinto d’amore, Guicciardini’s Storie fiorentine, and Bembo’s Rime. Περισσότερα “Tommaso Porcacchi di Castiglione – GR” →

Ούγκο Φώσκολο

Συγγραφέας: Foscolo, Ugo Foscolo

Ημερομηνία Γέννησης: 6 Φεβρουαρίου 1778, στη Ζάκυνθο

Φύλο: Άρρεν

Βιογραφία: Ο Foscolo γεννήθηκε στη Ζάκυνθο στα Ιόνια Νησιά. Ο πατέρας του Andrea Foscolo ήταν ένας φτωχός Βενετός ευγενής και η μητέρα του Διαμαντίνη Σπάθη ήταν Ελληνίδα. Το 1788, μετά το θάνατο του πατέρα του, ο οποίος εργάστηκε ως ιατρός στο Σπαλάτο, στη σημερινή Κροατία (Σπλιτ), η οικογένεια μετακόμισε στη Βενετία και ο Foscolo ολοκλήρωσε τις σπουδές που ξεκίνησε στη Σχολή της Δαλματίας στο Πανεπιστήμιο της Πάντοβα. Μεταξύ των καθηγητών του στην Πάντοβα υπήρξε ο Abbé Melchiore Cesarotti, του οποίου η έκδοση του Ossian ήταν πολύ δημοφιλής στην Ιταλία και επηρέασε τα λογοτεχνικά γούστα του Foscolo. Ο ίδιος γνώριζε τόσο τη σύγχρονη, όσο και την αρχαία ελληνική γλώσσα. Η λογοτεχνική του φιλοδοξία αποκαλύφθηκε στην εμφάνιση του 1797 της τραγωδίας του Tieste. Περισσότερα “Ούγκο Φώσκολο” →

Francesco Cusani – GR

Introduction by R. Nicolì

This digital edition for the POLYSEMI Library reproduces some sections of Francesco Cusani’s text, La Dalmazia Le Isole Jonie e la Grecia (visitate nel 1840), published in two volumes in Milan by Tipografia Pirotta in 1847. The selected parts, copied from the period original text^[1], are related to the project area of the Ionian Islands, the subject of the first seven chapters of the second volume. Περισσότερα “Francesco Cusani – GR” →