LITTA, POMPEO. — Milanese historian, b. 24 Sept. 1781, d. at Limido (Como) on 17 Aug. 1852. He took part at a very young age in various Napoleonic battles (Sacile, Wagram, etc.); in 1811 he commanded an artillery corps for the defense of the Adriatic coast, stationed between the Po and the Tronto; in 1814 he defended the citadel of Ancona against Macdonald. In 1848 he was Minister of War of the provisional government of Lombardy.
His fame rests above all on the 113 histories in Famiglie celebri italiane (he began the series in 1819, publishing the history of the family of Muzio Attendolo Sforza), a monumental work too often exploited only within the narrow field of heraldry, although it constitutes a genuine work of history.
BIBL.: C. Belgioioso, Commemorazione del conte P. L., Milan 1874; G. Scardovelli, Il conte P. L., Bologna 1891; A. F. Boschetti, I cataloghi dell'opera di P. L., Modena 1930. Carmelo Trasselli