The American Cyclopædia (1879)/Fanfani, Pietro

FANFANI, Pietro, an Italian philologist and novelist, born at Pistoja, Tuscany, in 1817. He studied medicine, but gave his attention chiefly to philology, and in 1847 founded at Pistoja a magazine relating to that science (Ricordi filologici). The next year he enlisted in the war against the Austrians, and fell into their hands. After his release he published (1849) critical comments on the dictionary of the academy della Orusca, which involved him in an acrimonious and successful controversy with that institution. Gioberti obtained employment for him in the ministry of education at Turin. Subsequently he held an office under the Tuscan government at Florence, where in 1859 he became director of the famous Marucellian library, which post he still held in 1873. He has published Etruria, studi di filologia, di letteratura, di pubblica istruzione e di belle arti (2 vols., Florence, 1851-'2); Il Borghini, giornale di filologia e di lettere italiane (3 vols., 1863-'5); Vocabolario dell' uso toscano (2 vols., 1863); Commento alla Divina Commedia d'Anonimo Florentine del secolo XIV. (3 vols., Bologna, 1866); and Lettere precettive di eccellenti scrittori (2d ed., 1871). Among his other writings are: La Paolina, a novel in the Florentine dialect (2d ed., 1868); Una bambola, a story for children (1869); and Cecco d'Ascoli, a historical narrative of the 14th century (1870; Leipsic, 1871).