LANZONI, FRANCESCO. — Church historian, born in Faenza on 10 July 1862, died there on 8 February 1929. After completing his studies at the local seminary, he went on to the Pio Seminary, where he earned degrees in philosophy, theology, and both branches of canon law. Ordained a priest in 1890, he returned to his diocese as a canon, seminary rector, and teacher, holding these two offices until 1917; in 1923 he became vicar capitular.
He immediately devoted himself generously to journalism in the local press, soon directing his scholarly research toward historical-hagiographical criticism, aided by a keen discernment that enabled him to overcome the difficulties of an autodidact. His study of local records soon led him to examine critically the legends of the saints of his region: St. Peter Damian, St. Mercurialis of Forlì (1905), St. Sabinus of Faenza, St. Cassian of Imola, St. Apollinaris of Ravenna, and others. His first major work was *S. Petronio nella storia e nella leggenda* (Rome 1907); followed by *Santi africani nella bassa Italia e nelle isole adiacenti* (in *Scuola Cattolica*, vols. 46–47 [1918–19]); *Le vite dei quattro santi protestanti della città di Faenza* (*RIS*, XXVIII, part 3, pp. 287–395). These and other articles published in contemporary journals prepared the way for *Le origini delle diocesi d'Italia* [*Studi e testi*, 35] (Rome 1923), later revised and expanded into two volumes in 1927 under the title *Le diocesi antiche d'Italia dalle origini al principio del sec. VII (a. 604)*, a fundamental work for the ecclesiastical history of ancient Italy. His familiarity with early legends led him to a systematic study of their origins, nature, and derivations, first explored in his essay “Il sogno presagio della madre incinta nelle letterature medievali e antiche,” sketched in 1923 and published in *Analecta Bollandiana*, 45 (1927), pp. 225–61, and developed in the volume *Genesi, svolgimento e tramonto delle leggende storiche* ([*Studi e testi*, 43], Rome 1925). Among his minor works are the *Cronotassi dei vescovi di Faenza* up to the 13th century (Faenza 1913) and the *Cronotassi dei vescovi di Bologna dai primordi alla fine del sec. XIII*, published posthumously in 1932. Almost a category in itself is *La controriforma nella città e diocesi di Faenza* (Faenza 1925), which deals more with heretical propaganda in that city than with the Counter-Reformation itself. His minor works also include several on Franciscan topics.
He was also appointed to the see of Bova and later to the apostolic administration of Nicastro.
Among his other writings are: *La questione del momento in cui l'anima razionale è infusa nel corpo* (Rome 1939); *De fine primario matrimonii* (ibid. 1941); *La coscienza morale* (in *VI Corso Cristologico. La morale di Cristo e le professioni*, ibid. 1942, pp. 81–93); *La proprietà: L'aspetto teologico-morale* (in *Riv. intern. di scienze sociali*, 51 [1943], pp. 4–8, 49); *Theologia moralis fundamentalis* (Rome 1949) — the first volume of a projected work announced as one of the best textbooks of moral theology, to be continued; *Il messaggio sociale di Gesù* (in *Il Simbolo*, VII. *La vita di Gesù*, Assisi 1950, pp. 139–50).