MISSIRINI, MELCHIORRE. - Writer and abbot, born at Forlì on 15 June 1773, died at Firenze on 18 Dec. 1849. After spending his youth in Romagna as a teacher at the Seminary and the Forlivese Gymnasium, in 1813 he moved to Roma, where for a decade he was secretary to Canova, celebrating his sculptures in verse (Sui marmi di A. Canova, Venezia 1817), and secretary of the Accademia di S. Luca, whose Memorie (Roma 1823) he composed, from its origins down to his own time.
Upon the death of the great sculptor, he wrote his biography (La vita di A. Canova, Prato 1824) and a study on Il tempio eretto in Posagna da Canova (Venezia 1833). The-
He enjoyed the friendship of Card. Consalvi, Tommaso, Leopardi, and G. Belli. His principal works are: I sermoni (Livorno 1829), in which the precepts of the Romagnol classicist school are reaffirmed; the translation of the Satire di Q. Settano (Pisa 1820); Il pericolo di seppellire gli uomini vivi creduti morti (Milano 1837), one of the earliest treatises on the establishment of cemeteries. As a priest he collected Ammaestramenti e preci tratte dalla S. Scrittura e dai SS. Padri (Prato 1826) and composed a brief spiritual treatise, Di alcuni offici di onestà (Padova 1827). Upon his death, a memorial was decreed for him in the cloister of S. Croce; the inscription was composed by Abbot G. Manuzzi.