APPENDINI, FRANCESCO. – Born in Poirino, Piedmont, on 6 Nov. 1769. Joined the Piarists on 15 Apr. 1787. Sent at a young age to Ragusa, he made that city his second homeland, which he ennobled with his virtues and works, together with his brother Urbano, also a Piarist. One of the most notable merits of A. was having promoted Slavic erudition and literature, which up to his time had been much neglected. In 1802 he published the Notizie storico-critiche sulle antichità storia e letteratura de’ Ragusei, a valuable work which, apart from certain flaws deriving from the period in which it was written, is and will remain one of the few sources for the literary history of that city. He also compiled an Illyrian grammar and promoted the translation into Italian and the reprinting of our classics. He corresponded with distinguished scholars of Illyrian literature, such as Kopitar, Šafařík, and Müller.
When the republic fell into French hands in 1808, he managed to ingratiate himself with General Marmont, the governor, and obtain benefits for his Order. He wrote many biographies of distinguished Ragusans, the Memorie spettanti ad alcuni illustri di Cattaro (Ragusa 1811), a critical examination of the question regarding the birthplace of St Jerome (Zara 1833), and an interesting unpublished study on Petrarch.
After the death of his brother Urbano, director of studies in Dalmatia with residence in Zara, he took up that position by order of the government, but died shortly thereafter on 30 Jan. 1837.