BARBIERI, GIUSEPPE. - Preacher, b. at Bassano veneto in 1774 and d. at Padova in 1852. He was a Benedictine monk and professor at the University of Padova, where he succeeded Cesarotti in the chair of Latin and Greek eloquence.
An orator of wide renown, he introduced into the pulpit a profane note in his picturesque-naturalistic descriptions, drawing above all upon Buffon’s Storia naturale. In his warm speech one perceives clear influences of French writers and preachers, such as Pascal, Bossuet, Fénelon, and Massillon, with whom he was very familiar. In the Orazioni quaresimali (Milano 1836) there is an echo of his poetic compositions, especially of the Stagioni, in which he indulged the fashion associated with Thompson and St-Lambert. His love for his country and for the people brought him censures and persecutions. He received enthusiastic applause and severe criticism in the cities where he went to preach, particularly in Firenze.