Histories/Histoires del XIX secolo. Percorsi nella letteratura italiana

This study traces the birth and evolution of Italian literary historiography in France and England during the nineteenth century. In the French context, particular attention is given to the works of Pierre-Louis Ginguené (1811-23) and J.C.L. Simonde de Sismondi (1813). First, is highlighted their not secondary role in the overall development of literary historiography in France. Through a comparative reading, is then showed their cooperation (not infrequently, confrontational) in the creation of a shared historiographical paradigm. A quick review of subsequent contributions, in fact, confirms how the models of Ginguené and Sismondi, despite being the oldest ones, remained unsurpassed throughout the course of the century. The analysis of the English context shows instead a much more complex situation. The most significant contribution in the beginning of the century is that of Ugo Foscolo (1824), but its lack of success in England invites to consider other works, external to the historiographical genre (strictly speaking). First, collections of biographies and travel books (to which Foscolo himself contributed indirectly), but also the histories of individual literary genres, which cooperated in providing an almost complete (but incoherent) historiographical coverage of Italian literature. The growing success of the translations, then, shifts the attention to another path, which leads from the earliest (but unpublished) history by Lord Charlemont (1786-99), up to the first complete (but forgotten) history by Mrs. A. F. Foster (1853). Finally, the revaluation of the figure of Dante introduces the histories limited to the Middle Ages or to the Renaissance, whose spread was favored by the controversy that opposed their supporters. And it’s precisely in the context of the Renaissance studies, that the work of John Addington Symonds (1881) stands out, cited as a reference point by later authors. A close reading testifies its theoretical, critical and historiographical relevance. The examination of the manuscripts also allows to reconstruct its origins, and brings attention to an aspect not yet explored, concerning the relationship with Francesco De Sanctis.