Gian Biagio Conte
Encyclopedia
Gian Biagio Conte is an Italian classicist and professor of Latin Literature at the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa.
, where he was influenced by scholars such as Antonio La Penna, Sebastiano Timpanaro
and Alfonso Traina. In particular with the first of these, he first had a fruitful period of collaboration, but then broke contact abruptly in an exchange of letters. Conte also went abroad to study in Munich
with Friedrich Klingner and in Paris
. At the age of 30, he was made professor of Latin Literature at the University of Siena
, later at the University of Pisa
and finally, in 2001, at the Scuola Normale Superiore. He enjoys high esteem outside Italy, in particular in the Anglo-Saxon world where he has been invited as guest professor to Oxford
, Cambridge
, Princeton
, Berkeley
, and Stanford. In 2007, he ran for the office of director of the Scuola Normale Superiore, but was second to the preceding director Salvatore Settis, who received his third mandate in succession.
, Lucan
, Catullus
, the elegiacs, Ovid
, Lucretius
), but also works on prose writers such as Pliny the Elder
and on the novel of Petronius
. Conte’s approach to Latin literature is characterized by a combination of traditional philology and the innovations of literary theory
of the 1970s, in particular structuralism
. In his most successful pieces of work, for the most part articles which he later put together to form thematic volumes, Conte breaks with Croce
’s historicism
and develops the concept of a literary system and of genre
based on code
s. Conte’s approach has been picked up in the last thirty years in particular in the Anglo-Saxon world and successfully elaborated in combination with the theory of intertextuality
. Conte has just published a new Teubneriana of Virgil’s Aeneid
and continues working, together with a group of researchers and students, on a commentary to go with it, on a commentary on the Satyrica of Petronius and on allegory
as a literary and hermeneutical form.
Conte is co-founder and director of the periodical Materiali e discussioni per l'analisi dei testi classici
as well as a regular member of the Accademia Nazionale Virgiliana in Mantua
.
Amongst his students are Alessandro Schiesaro, Alessandro Barchiesi, Rolando Ferri, Sergio Casali.
Critical editions
Life
Conte completed his studies in classical philology at the Scuola Normale Superiore of PisaPisa
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
, where he was influenced by scholars such as Antonio La Penna, Sebastiano Timpanaro
Sebastiano Timpanaro
Sebastiano Timpanaro was an Italian classical philologist, essayist, and literary critic...
and Alfonso Traina. In particular with the first of these, he first had a fruitful period of collaboration, but then broke contact abruptly in an exchange of letters. Conte also went abroad to study in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
with Friedrich Klingner and in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. At the age of 30, he was made professor of Latin Literature at the University of Siena
University of Siena
The University of Siena in Siena, Tuscany is one of the oldest and first publicly funded universities in Italy. Originally called Studium Senese, the University of Siena was founded in 1240. The University has around 20,000 students, nearly half of Siena's total population of around 54,000...
, later at the University of Pisa
University of Pisa
The University of Pisa , located in Pisa, Tuscany, is one of the oldest universities in Italy. It was formally founded on September 3, 1343 by an edict of Pope Clement VI, although there had been lectures on law in Pisa since the 11th century...
and finally, in 2001, at the Scuola Normale Superiore. He enjoys high esteem outside Italy, in particular in the Anglo-Saxon world where he has been invited as guest professor to Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, Princeton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, and Stanford. In 2007, he ran for the office of director of the Scuola Normale Superiore, but was second to the preceding director Salvatore Settis, who received his third mandate in succession.
Work
Conte confines his work basically to Latin literature, mainly to the poetry of the late republic, the Augustan period, and the early empire (VirgilVirgil
Publius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid...
, Lucan
Lucan
Lucan is the common English name of the Roman poet Marcus Annaeus Lucanus.Lucan may also refer to:-People:*Arthur Lucan , English actor*Sir Lucan the Butler, Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend...
, Catullus
Catullus
Gaius Valerius Catullus was a Latin poet of the Republican period. His surviving works are still read widely, and continue to influence poetry and other forms of art.-Biography:...
, the elegiacs, Ovid
Ovid
Publius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who is best known as the author of the three major collections of erotic poetry: Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria...
, Lucretius
Lucretius
Titus Lucretius Carus was a Roman poet and philosopher. His only known work is an epic philosophical poem laying out the beliefs of Epicureanism, De rerum natura, translated into English as On the Nature of Things or "On the Nature of the Universe".Virtually no details have come down concerning...
), but also works on prose writers such as Pliny the Elder
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was a Roman author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
and on the novel of Petronius
Petronius
Gaius Petronius Arbiter was a Roman courtier during the reign of Nero. He is generally believed to be the author of the Satyricon, a satirical novel believed to have been written during the Neronian age.-Life:...
. Conte’s approach to Latin literature is characterized by a combination of traditional philology and the innovations of literary theory
Literary theory
Literary theory in a strict sense is the systematic study of the nature of literature and of the methods for analyzing literature. However, literary scholarship since the 19th century often includes—in addition to, or even instead of literary theory in the strict sense—considerations of...
of the 1970s, in particular structuralism
Structuralism
Structuralism originated in the structural linguistics of Ferdinand de Saussure and the subsequent Prague and Moscow schools of linguistics. Just as structural linguistics was facing serious challenges from the likes of Noam Chomsky and thus fading in importance in linguistics, structuralism...
. In his most successful pieces of work, for the most part articles which he later put together to form thematic volumes, Conte breaks with Croce
Croce
Croce is the Italian word for Cross, may refer to* Adrian James Croce , self-titled album by A. J. Croce* Basilica di Santa Croce di Firenze, church in Florence, Italy* Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, basilica in Rome, ItalyPlace...
’s historicism
Historicism
Historicism is a mode of thinking that assigns a central and basic significance to a specific context, such as historical period, geographical place and local culture. As such it is in contrast to individualist theories of knowledges such as empiricism and rationalism, which neglect the role of...
and develops the concept of a literary system and of genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
based on code
Code
A code is a rule for converting a piece of information into another form or representation , not necessarily of the same type....
s. Conte’s approach has been picked up in the last thirty years in particular in the Anglo-Saxon world and successfully elaborated in combination with the theory of intertextuality
Intertextuality
Intertextuality is the shaping of texts' meanings by other texts. It can include an author’s borrowing and transformation of a prior text or to a reader’s referencing of one text in reading another. The term “intertextuality” has, itself, been borrowed and transformed many times since it was coined...
. Conte has just published a new Teubneriana of Virgil’s Aeneid
Aeneid
The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. It is composed of roughly 10,000 lines in dactylic hexameter...
and continues working, together with a group of researchers and students, on a commentary to go with it, on a commentary on the Satyrica of Petronius and on allegory
Allegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
as a literary and hermeneutical form.
Conte is co-founder and director of the periodical Materiali e discussioni per l'analisi dei testi classici
Materiali e discussioni per l'analisi dei testi classici
Materiali e discussioni per l'analisi dei testi classici is an Italian periodical within the realm of classical philology founded in 1978....
as well as a regular member of the Accademia Nazionale Virgiliana in Mantua
Mantua
Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...
.
Amongst his students are Alessandro Schiesaro, Alessandro Barchiesi, Rolando Ferri, Sergio Casali.
Selected writings
Books and collections of articles- Memoria dei poeti e sistema letterario, Einaudi Torino 1974, 2nd ed. 1985 (engl. The Rhetoric of Imitation, tr. Glenn W. MostGlenn W. MostGlenn Warren Most is a classicist and comparatist originating from the US, but also working in Germany and Italy.Most studied classics at Harvard from 1968 on and received a B.A. Summa Cum Laude in Classics in 1972...
, Cornell U. P. Ithaca/London 1987) - Virgilio: il genere e i suoi confini, Garzanti Milano 1984
- Letteratura latina: manuale storico dalle origini alla fine dell'impero romano, Le Monnier Firenze 1987, 2nd ed. 1989, 3rd enl. ed. 1993 (engl. Latin Literature: A History, tr. Joseph B. Solodow, rev. Don FowlerDon Paul Fowler-Life:Fowler was from a Birmingham working-class background and went to King Edward VI Camp Hill School for boys there. After completing his studies at Christ Church, Oxford, Fowler was first appointed Lecturer in Classics at Magdalen College , subsequently Dyson Junior Research Fellow in Greek...
and Glenn W. Most. Baltimore & London: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994 (rev. Peter Davis, Scholia Reviews ns 5 (1996) 3) - Generi e Lettori: saggi su Lucrezio, l'elegia d'amore, l'enciclopedia di Plinio, Mondadori Milano 1991 (engl. Genres and Readers, tr. Glenn W. MostGlenn W. MostGlenn Warren Most is a classicist and comparatist originating from the US, but also working in Germany and Italy.Most studied classics at Harvard from 1968 on and received a B.A. Summa Cum Laude in Classics in 1972...
, Johns Hopkins U.P., Baltimore) - L'Autore nascosto: Un'interpretazione del Satyricon di Petronio, Il Mulino Bologna 1997 (engl. The Hidden Author, California University Press, 1996)
- (with E. Pianezzola und G. Ranucci) Il Dizionario della Lingua Latina, Le Monnier, Firenze 2000
- Virgilio: l'epica del sentimento, Einaudi Torino 2002
- The Poetry of Pathos: Studies in Virgilian Epic. Ed. by S. J. Harrison. Oxford: Oxford Univ Press 2007, ISBN 0-199-28701-5
Critical editions
- P. Vergilius Maro, Aeneis, ed. Gian Biagio Conte (Bibliotheca scriptorum Graecorum et Romanorum Teubneriana), Berlin, New York: Walter de Gruyter 2009, ISBN 978-3-11-019607-8