BUONAFEDE, APPIANO. - His real name was Tito Benvenuto; born at Comacchio on 4 January 1716 into an ancient and noble family, he entered the Celestine Order at the age of 18, taking the name Appiano. From 1740 he was professor of Theology at Naples; he was subsequently secretary of a monastery in Apulia, then abbot of the monasteries of S. Stefano (1755) and of S. Giovanni Battista (1758) in Bologna, and afterwards procurator of the Order at Rome; in 1777 he was elected general and settled on the Murrone; in 1780 he returned to Rome; he died on 17 December 1793.
A man of acute intellect and of very wide culture, he took an active part in the controversies of his time and wrote, in a witty and elegant style, works of literary and philosophical criticism, as well as poems (among which Versi liberi, Cesena 1766, should be remembered). One of his comedies in sdrucciolo verse, I filosofi fanciulli (printed in 1754 under the Arcadian name of Agatopisto Cromaziano), which ridicules the various philosophical systems in the spirit of Lucian, was criticized by Baretti in the Frusta. From this arose the celebrated polemic between the two eminent critics: B. launched against Baretti Il Bue pedagogo, which brought upon his rival the persecutions of the Venetian government. The following works of B. are noteworthy: the Istoria critica e filosofica del suicidio; the treatise Delle conquiste celebri esaminate col naturale diritto delle genti; Della Istoria e dell'indole di ogni filosofia (7 vols., Lucca 1766-81), which represents the first extensive history of philosophy to appear in Italy; Della restaurazione d'ogni filosofia nei secc. XVI, XVII e XVIII. B. has on the Index, donec corrigatur (decree of 3 December 1754), the Ritratti poetici, storici, critici, published under the pseudonym of Appio Anneo De Baba Cromaziano; to each person a sonnet with a note; coarse style, excessive sarcasm, erroneous philosophical ideas.