Del Lungo, Isidoro

DEL LUNGO, ISIDORO. - Man of letters, b. at Montevarchi on 20 Dec. 1841, d. at Florence on 4 May 1927. A pupil of the Scolopi, and one of the most venerated teachers, he acknowledged that "the schools of a State in conflict with the Church are morally weak" (letter of 15 Jan. 1873 to Cesare Guasti), and for this reason he hoped for a reconciliation between the two powers. A tenacious researcher, he assessed eras and figures without neglecting ethical criteria.

President of the Accademia della Crusca, he collaborated assiduously on the fifth edition of the Vocabolario. His skill as a scholar is linked above all to the Tuscan fourteenth century: 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 Dino Compagni authorship of the Cronica. He contributed effectively to the national edition of the works of Galileo and promoted the Dante readings in Orsanmichele. His three volumes on Poliziano (Prose volgari inedite e poesie latine [Florence 1867]); Florentia: Uomini e cose del Quattrocento (ibid. 1897); Le Selve e la Strega (ibid. 1925), are fundamental, even if superseded as regards textual criticism. His commentary on the Commedia (ibid. 1926) is sober and precise.

Enzo Navarra