Giovanni Rosini (24 June 1776 – 16 May 1855) was an Italian writer and art historian.

Biography

Born in Lucignano in the Val di Chiana. His father was a doctor. While Giovanni was an infant, the family moved to Livorno, where he lived till the age of 12 years. In Livorno, he studied Latin under the Abbott Ragni and literature under a canon Fortini . When his father was named royal vicar of Ponte a Sieve, Giovanni entered the seminary in

Fiesole Fiesole () is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, on a scenic height above Florence, 5 km (3 miles) northeast of that city. It has structures dating to Etruscan and Roman times. ...

, where he studied rhetoric under Bazzi and Traballesi until 1791. He then studied philosophy in Florence under the professor and monk Rossi. In Florence, he acquired the support of Lorenzo Pignotti. In 1798, he was chosen to be an editor of the complete works of Melchiorre Cesarotti. He received further commissions to help edit classic works. He was selected to be Professor of Eloquence at the

University of Pisa The University of Pisa (, UniPi) is a public university, public research university in Pisa, Italy. Founded in 1343, it is one of the oldest universities in Europe. Together with Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa and Sant'Anna School of Advanced S ...

. In 1808, discussions were started to renew the

Accademia della Crusca The (; ), generally abbreviated as La Crusca, is a Florence-based society of scholars of Italian linguistics and philology. It is one of the most important research institutions of the Italian language, as well as the oldest Academy#Linguisti ...

, and including Rosini. In 1813, he traveled to Paris. He soon began to write a history of Italian painting, published in 1839-1854 under the title ''Storia della pittura italiana esposta coi monumenti'' with numerous engravings. The history spanned from the age of Masaccio to that of Appiani. Rosini proved very prolific and successful as author and editor. He also wrote a biography of the sculptor

Antonio Canova Antonio Canova (; 1 November 1757 – 13 October 1822) was an Italians, Italian Neoclassical sculpture, Neoclassical sculptor, famous for his marble sculptures. Often regarded as the greatest of the Neoclassical artists,. his sculpture was ins ...

(Pisa 1823). He also wrote popular novels based on historic figures, such as a three volume story based on the story of the ''Monaca di Monza'' (

The Nun of Monza Sister Virginia Maria (born Marianna de Leyva y Marino; December 4, 1575 – January 17, 1650) was an Italian nun. She gave birth to two children fathered by a local aristocrat, and had connived in the murder of another nun to cover up the affai ...

), Marianna de Leyva y Marino, in 1833, a four volume work, titled ''

Luisa Strozzi Luisa Strozzi, also known as Luigia, was a Florentine Renaissance noblewoman, daughter of the prominent banker Filippo the Younger and of Clarice de' Medici, granddaughter of Lorenzo the Magnificent Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici (), known as L ...

'', in 1853, a novel on

Ugolino della Gherardesca Ugolino della Gherardesca (March 1289), Count of Donoratico, was an Italian nobleman, politician and naval commander. He was frequently accused of treason and features prominently in Dante's ''Divine Comedy''. Biography In the 13th century, the ...

. Honors followed his success. In 1840, he was granted the Cross of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

of France; in 1841, the Cross of Santi Maurizio e Lazzaro; in 1847 the civil order of Merit by the Grand-Duke of Tuscany and a 600 lire stipend as a member of the Order of Santo Stefano. He was editor of a 25 volume edition of major Italian historians: ''Collezione di ottimi scrittori italiani'', including historical works by

Donato Giannotti Donato Giannotti (27 November 1492 – December 1573) was an Italian political writer and playwright. He was one of the leaders of the short-lived Florentine Republic of 1527. He subsequently wrote theoretical works on republicanism. After th ...

, Pier Francesco Giambullari, Dino Compagni, and Camillo Porzio. He was buried in the Camposanto of Pisa.Nuova Enciclopedia Popolare Italiana ovvero Dizionario Generale
5th edition, Volume 20, Turin (1864); pages 120-122.

Selected works

''The Nun of Monza''
(translated in English), Volume 1, James Duffy 7, Wellington Quay, Dublin, 1850.
Luisa Strozzi, Storia del Secolo XVI
Felice Le Monniera, Florence (1850).
Storia della Pittura Italiana
Volume 5, Epoca terza de Giulio Romano al Baroccio; Niccolo Capurro; Pisa (1845).
History of Painting in Italy illustrated by its monuments
Volume 3 (translated), Pisa (1850)
La Poesia, la Musica, e la Danza, Versi
Tipi Bodoniani, Parma (1796)
Saggio sugli amori di Torquato Tasso e sulle cause della sua prigionia
Presso Niccolo Capurro, Pisa (1832)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosini Giovanni 1776 births 1855 deaths Writers from Florence 19th-century Italian historians 19th-century Italian male writers Italian art historians Academic staff of the University of Pisa Writers from the Grand Duchy of Tuscany