COLECCHI, OTTAVIO. – Philosopher, born at Pescocostanzo (Aquila) on 18 October 1773, died at Naples on 25 August 1847. Ordained a priest in the Dominican Order, he later left it to go to Russia as tutor at the imperial court. Upon returning to Italy, he opened a private school of philosophy in Naples, as was then customary among scholars who had not been appointed to official chairs. In his teaching, C. sought to achieve a reconciliation between realism and Kantian criticism, opposing Galluppi, then a professor at the University, although he never mentioned him by name in his writings.
Among the works noteworthy for an understanding of C.’s thought is the Questioni filosofiche (3 vols., Naples 1843; vol. III was published in 1857).
BIBL.: G. Sabatini, O. C. filosofo e matematico, nuove notizie e nuovi documenti, in Rassegna abruzzese, 1928; G. Gentile, Storia della filos. italiana dal Genovesi al Galluppi, II, Milan 1930, pp. 137–49. Giovanni Di Napoli