DEL LUNGO, ISIDORO. — Scholar, b. at Montevarchi on 20 Dec. 1841, d. at Florence on 4 May 1927. A pupil of the Piarists, he was one of the most revered teachers, and he recognized that «the schools of a State in conflict with the Church are morally weak» (letter of 15 Jan. 1873 to Cesare Guasti), for which reason he hoped for a reconciliation between the two powers. A tenacious researcher, he assessed epochs and figures without neglecting ethical criteria.
President of the Accademia della Crusca, he collaborated assiduously on the fifth edition of the Vocabolario. His erudition is especially linked to the Tuscan Trecento: Dante nei tempi di Dante (Bologna 1888); Dal secolo e dal poema di Dante (ibid. 1898); La donna fiorentina del buon tempo antico (Florence 1906); I Bianchi e i Neri (Milan 1921). With La Cronica del Compagni (Florence 1879–87) and Storia esterna della Cronica (2 vols., Milan 1917–18), he sought to demonstrate, against Scheffert-Boichorst and other scholars, the prior authorship of the Cronica. He contributed effectively to the national edition of Galileo’s works and promoted Dante readings at Orsanmichele. His three volumes on Poliziano (Prose volgari inedite e poesie latine [Florence 1867]); La Storia della Cronica (ibid. 1925) remain fundamental, though surpassed in textual criticism. His commentary on the Commedia (ibid. 1926) is both learned and precise.