MISCIATTELLI, PIERO. - Man of letters and historian, born in Florence on 14 February 1882, he lived chiefly in Umbria, Siena, and Rome, where he died on 13 February 1937.
He devoted himself to the history of art and to medieval literature, particularly mystical literature, producing editions of rare mystical texts furnished with valuable introductory notes, as well as synthetic studies: Chiara d'Assisi (Rome, 1905); Spiritualismo umbro (ibid., 1905); Idealità francescane (Siena, 1907); Giovanni Colombini e il misticismo dei Gesuati (Rome, 1911); Caterina Vannini (Milan, 1913); Monte dell'orazione: preghiere antiche (Siena, 1925); Savonarola (ibid., 1925); Mistici senesi (Florence, 1932). He contributed to the revival of Caterinian studies in Italy. From 1913 onward he edited the Lettere of St Catherine of Siena on the basis of Tommaso’s text, with philological notes; these were followed by: Lo spirito, il cuore, la parola di s. Caterina da Siena (ibid., 1922); S. Caterina da Siena e il primo focolare del misticismo senese (ibid., 1928); Come parlava s. Caterina da Siena (Rome, 1934).
In Rome M. worked to reopen Borromini’s Oratory of S. Filippo Neri for sacred-music concerts and historical-religious lectures. He was one of the most ardent promoters of the Casa di Dante. Besides lectures, addresses, and articles in periodicals (he founded the journal Vita d'arte), M. left numerous essays on varied cultural subjects, among which it is worth recalling: Personaggi del Quattrocento italiano (Rome, 1914); Pagine dantesche (Siena, 1921); Dante poeta d'amore (Rome, 1921); La libreria Piccolomini del duomo di Siena (ibid., 1922); Storie e pensieri di anacoreti (ibid., 1923); Fascisti e cattolici (Milan, 1924); Studi senesi (Siena, 1931); Lettere di Letizia Buonaparte (Milan, 1936). Mario Gaspari