This book brings together articles and contributions that, from the 1960s to the beginning of the 21st century, Antonio La Penna has dedicated to the history of philology and classical studies in Italy between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. They have been collected with competent and loving care, and provided with an enlightening introduction, by two students of the great scholar, Stefano Grazzini and Giovanni Niccoli.

Volume I

This collection features a diverse array of subjects that illustrate the extensive cultural and scholarly interests of Antonio La Penna. A significant focus of the first volume is the relationship between German and Italian cultures within classical studies from the 1800s through the early 20th century, including an analysis of the impact of German philological methods on the emergence of Italian philology and a look at how classicists such as Giuseppe Fraccaroli and Ettore Romagnoli reacted against German influences. Contributions also highlight the transformation of classical studies and the overarching reform of Italy’s public education system after its unification, noting the influential roles of educational institutions, cultural organizations, periodicals, and publishers. Additionally, the volume delves into the reverence for ancient Roman traditions in the time leading up to and during Italy’s fascist regime, with insightful and expert discourse.

Volume II

In this second volume, Antonio La Penna presents a series of significant scholarly profiles that span from the 1960s to the early years of the 21st century. These insightful portraits take on added depth in light of La Penna’s own remarkable journey — a journey that began with his youthful arrival in Pisa from Irpinia and unfolded through his firsthand interactions with eminent scholars such as Giorgio Pasquali. Moreover, the book reflects La Penna’s intellectual conversations, both real and imagined, with illustrious figures like Francesco De Sanctis, Antonio Gramsci, and Erich Auerbach. The volume owes its existence to the diligent efforts of two of La Penna’s former students, who have brought these thoughtful essays back into the spotlight. Despite their varied origins and contexts, the collection is bound together by a consistent thematic vision and an underlying unity of thought, showcasing the breadth and continuity of La Penna’s scholarship.

Volume III

This third volume brings to a close the collection of Antonio La Penna’s writings on philology and classical studies in Italy from the nineteenth to the twentieth century. Complementing the lines of development traced in the two preceding volumes, this anthology aims to shed light on two areas of our cultural history that allow us to place classical studies within their necessary broader framework. On the one hand, it examines the role of the classical tradition in the cultural formation of the ruling classes and its place in the development of European literary civilisation. On the other, it considers the troubled fortunes of the university and public education after Italian unification, together with the heated debate over the role to be assigned to the humanities, whether hegemonic or subordinate, in relation to the sciences, as well as the various projects for reforming university and school education. Particular attention is given to the evolution of the school system from the post-war period to the first decade of the new century. Here too the long journey undertaken by the two editors, Stefano Grazzini and Giovanni Niccoli, comes to an end. They offer a final expression of gratitude to the great scholar and mentor who trained generations of academics and teachers, and who left us before he could see this work completed.

About the author and the editors