Carlo Dionisotti (; 9 June 1908 in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

– 22 February 1998 in London)Conor Fahy
Obituary: Professor Carlo Dionisotti

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

, March 5, 1998. Accessed November 22, 2016 was an Italian literary critic, philologist and essayist. An alumnus of

Turin University The University of Turin (Italian language, Italian: ''Università degli Studi di Torino'', UNITO) is a public university, public research university in the city of Turin, in the Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont region of Italy. It is one of the List ...

and a lifelong friend of

Arnaldo Momigliano Arnaldo Dante Momigliano (5 September 1908 – 1 September 1987) was an Italian historian of classical antiquity, known for his work in historiography, and characterised by Donald Kagan as "the world's leading student of the writing of history ...

, he shortly lectured at

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

before moving to

Bedford College, London Bedford College was founded in London in 1849 as the first higher education college for women in the United Kingdom. In 1900, it became a constituent of the University of London. Having played a leading role in the advancement of women in highe ...

, where he held the post of Professor of Italian from 1949 to 1970. His most significant work, ''Geografia e storia della letteratura italiana'' (1967), is a collection of essays contesting

Francesco De Sanctis Francesco de Sanctis (28 March 1817 – 29 December 1883) was an Italian literary critic, scholar and politician, leading critic and historian of Italian language and literature during the 19th century. Biography De Sanctis was born in the so ...

' unitary perspective on the development of

Italian literature Italian literature is written in the Italian language, particularly within Italy. It may also refer to literature written by Italians or in other languages spoken in Italy, often languages that are closely related to modern Italian, including ...

and pointing out instead how local influences shaped the production of major Italian authors.

Awards and honours

*Member of

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

, from 1964 *Fellow of the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

, from 1972 *

Feltrinelli Prize The Feltrinelli Prize (from the Italian "Premio Feltrinelli", also known as "International Feltrinelli Prize" or "Antonio Feltrinelli Prize") is an award for achievement in the arts, music, literature, history, philosophy, medicine, and physical a ...

, 1982 *

Viareggio Prize The Viareggio Prize ( or ) is an Italian literature, literary prize, first awarded in 1930. Named after the Tuscany, Tuscan city of Viareggio, it was conceived by three friends, , Carlo Salsa and Leonida Repaci, to rival the Milanese Bagutta Priz ...

, 1989, for the essay ''Appunti sui moderni. Foscolo, Leopardi, Manzoni e altri''

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20081005134516/http://www.letteratura.it/dionisotti/ Italian essayists Italian male essayists Italian literary critics Writers from Turin 1908 births 1998 deaths 20th-century Italian male writers Fellows of the British Academy Italian male non-fiction writers 20th-century Italian essayists Academics of Bedford College, London 20th-century Italian philologists Italian emigrants to the United Kingdom {{Italy-writer-stub