MORICCA, UMBERTO. - Professor of Latin language and literature; descended from a noble family of Tropea, b. at Filandari (Catanzaro) on 28 March 1888, d. at Nettuno on 24 July 1948.
After teaching in Roman secondary schools and obtaining his qualification as lecturer at the University of Rome (1920), in 1931 he was appointed to teach his subject at the University of Cagliari. He won the competition announced in 1932 by the University of Malta (Valletta), but after only three years, owing to political circumstances, he was compelled to resign. Having returned to Italy, he was appointed Superintendent of Studies and Senior Inspector.
Works. His most copious output includes, besides school commentaries and contributions to various periodicals, translations and original works. Translations: from the Greek: I Ricordi di Marco Aurelio, le Lettere di s. Ignazio e s. Policarpo; from the Latin: Cicerone, la Repubblica e le Leggi; Minucio Felice, L'Ottavio; Boezio, La consolazione della filosofia; Lattanzio, La morte dei persecutori; the whole of Horace in verse; Virgil’s Aeneid, likewise in verse; the critical edition of Seneca’s Tragedie, 3 vols., Turin 1947, and of the Dialoghi di s. Gregorio (Fonti per la Storia d'Italia, 57, Rome 1924). Original works: S. Girolamo, 2 vols., Milan 1922; S. Agostino, Turin 1930; Storia della letteratura latina, 3 vols., Turin 1934, rich in carefully assessed information. His work is marked by a profoundly Christian spirit, without ostentation but without reticence.