Augusto Mancini (2 March 1875 – 18 September 1957) was an Italian

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as ...

, Hellenist and politician.

Life

Mancini was born in Livorno. In 1895 he graduated in letters from Pisa University in 1895 and began teaching at the Liceo Machiavelli in

Lucca Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957. Lucca is known as ...

, which he soon adopted as his home town. He was appointed lecturer in

ancient Greek literature Ancient Greek literature is literature written in the Ancient Greek language from the earliest texts until the time of the Byzantine Empire. The earliest surviving works of ancient Greek literature, dating back to the early Archaic Greece, Archa ...

in 1898 and succeeded Giovanni Pascoli in the chair of Greek and Latin grammar at

Messina Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 in ...

in 1902, remaining there until 1907 when Pisa University gave him the chair in ancient Greek literature (again replacing Pascoli), which he held until 1948. He was president of Lucca's academy for sciences, letters and arts and a member of the

Accademia dei Lincei The Accademia dei Lincei (; literally the "Academy of the Lynx-Eyed", but anglicised as the Lincean Academy) is one of the oldest and most prestigious European scientific institutions, located at the Palazzo Corsini, Rome, Palazzo Corsini on the Vi ...

. He did not limit his studies to classical philology but also studied authors of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...

and Risorgimento eras. He was one of the first members of Lucca's Green Cross (Croce Verde), serving for many years as its president - they set up a scholarship in his name after his death and also named one of their new ambulances after him in 1957. A keen supporter of the ideas of Mazzini, the Domus Mazziniana in Pisa was set up on his initiative and he became its first president. A convinced republican, he was part of the Italian Republican Party until 1913, when he left it after disagreeing with its abstentionist policy. He became a candidate for the

Italian Radical Party The Italian Radical Party ( it, Partito Radicale Italiano), also known as the Historical Radical Party (''Partito Radicale storico''), was a radical, republican, secularist and social-liberal political party in Italy. History Since 1877, th ...

for the college of Borgo a Mozzano in the Italian general election of 1913, but was defeated by the cleric Tomba. He tried again in the 1915 election with the support of the left in Lucca and was elected after his rival's win was annulled for fraud. He became a supporter of interventionism in the years after World War One and broke with the socialists. Re-elected to parliament in 1919 and 1921, he entered the

Social Democracy Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to prom ...

party after the radicals split. He soon became a target for

fascists Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

in Lucca and was forced to withdraw from all public office. After the assassination of

Giacomo Matteotti Giacomo Matteotti (; 22 May 1885 – 10 June 1924) was an Italian socialist politician. On 30 May 1924, he openly spoke in the Italian Parliament alleging the Fascists committed fraud in the recently held elections, and denounced the violence ...

, he and other anti-fascists from Lucca formed a secret committee which re-emerged during the

Italian resistance The Italian resistance movement (the ''Resistenza italiana'' and ''la Resistenza'') is an umbrella term for the Italian resistance groups who fought the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationists of the Italian Socia ...

era. The fascist regime arrested and imprisoned him from 5 January to 14 May 1944 and he became a point of reference for the democrats in Lucca, being appointed the first president of the city's clandestine National Liberation Committee. At the end of the Second World War, he took part in three legislatures, took part in the leadership of the

Consulta Nazionale The National Council (''Consulta Nazionale'') was an unelected provisional legislative assembly set up in the Kingdom of Italy after the end of World War II. It fulfilled the roles of parliament until regular elections could be held. It first sat ...

and also became the first freely-elected reader at Pisa University from 8 June 1945 to 31 October 1947. He then became a professor emeritus, though he still taught in the 1947-1948 academic year. He was retired for reaching the maximum age on 1 November 1950 and then made a professor emeritus by presidential decree on 29 January 1951. Returning to the Republican Party, in 1953 he was a candidate for the senate elections of 1953 but did not win his seat. He died in Lucca on 18 September 1957 from a brain hemorrhage.

References

Bibliography

* Donato Morelli, ''Augusto Mancini, Memorie dal carcere.'', Quaderni della Nuova Antologia, XXVII, Le Monnier, Firenze, 1986. * Roberto Pizzi, ''Mancini, studioso pronto al confronto con la società'', in Metropoli, Lucca, n. 20 del 26/5/2000. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mancini, Augusto 1875 births 1957 deaths People from Livorno Italian Republican Party politicians Italian Radical Party politicians Social Democracy (Italy) politicians Deputies of Legislature XXIV of the Kingdom of Italy Deputies of Legislature XXV of the Kingdom of Italy Deputies of Legislature XXVI of the Kingdom of Italy Members of the National Council (Italy) Politicians from Tuscany Hellenists Italian philologists Academic staff of the University of Pisa Italian resistance movement members