Pier Alessandro Paravia
Encyclopedia
Pier Alessandro Paravia (July 15, 1797 - March 18, 1857) was an Italian
writer, scholar, philanthropist and professor of Italian eloquence at the University of Turin
.
, and grandson of Antonio, also a naval officer of the Venetian Republic, he was born in Zadar
two months after the fall of the Republic.
As a child he moved to Venice
, where he studied at the Lyceum
of Santa Caterina. He graduated in law at Padua
in 1818, and served in Venice as a state functionary for twelve years, until - in 1832 - he was called to the chair of Eloquence of the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Turin
. He had already published several studies: mostly biographies of writers and artists, but also a popular translation of the Letters of Pliny the Younger
.
(studies on Torquato Tasso
and Ariosto) to Provençal literature
and even Chinese novels (which he was one of the first to study in Italy). In addition to literature, he was also interested in history and politics, to which he dedicated an essay significantly entitled Del Sentimento Patrio ("On Patriotic Feeling"). He purchased a villa near Treviso
(in Veneto
, then part of the Austrian Empire
), which he regularly frequented. Although politically conservative, he was constantly monitored by the Austro-Hungarians, owing to his adherence to Italian patriotic ideals
He was a friend of and corresponded with many illustrious Italians - from Niccolò Tommaseo
to Silvio Pellico
, from King Charles Albert of Sardinia
to Vincenzo Gioberti
- and had a sincere and lifelong affection for Antonio Rosmini, whom he had known since his days at the University of Padua.
Greatly interested in the Italian language
, he wrote important essays about it which earned him a nomination to the Accademia della Crusca
.
He died in Turin in 1857. In his honor a herma
was erected at the University of Turin, where is also preserved a large and valuable collection of manuscripts that had belonged to his uncle Antonio.
of Zadar until 1938, was from its opening on August 18, 1857 the largest in the whole of Dalmatia
. Closed because of war, it was reopened on October 14, 1945 with the new name Narodna Biblioteka (National Library).
, however, his surname is occasionally found transliterated as Paravija, his explicit choice of nationality is regularly omitted, and he is simply indicated as having been born in Zadar.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
writer, scholar, philanthropist and professor of Italian eloquence at the University of Turin
University of Turin
The University of Turin is a university in the city of Turin in the Piedmont region of north-western Italy...
.
Early years
Son of Giovanni, colonel of the Oltremarini (or Schiavoni), an elite infantry division of the Navy of the Republic of VeniceRepublic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
, and grandson of Antonio, also a naval officer of the Venetian Republic, he was born in Zadar
Zadar
Zadar is a city in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea. It is the centre of Zadar county and the wider northern Dalmatian region. Population of the city is 75,082 citizens...
two months after the fall of the Republic.
As a child he moved to Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, where he studied at the Lyceum
Lyceum
The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies between countries; usually it is a type of secondary school.-History:...
of Santa Caterina. He graduated in law at Padua
University of Padua
The University of Padua is a premier Italian university located in the city of Padua, Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 as a school of law and was one of the most prominent universities in early modern Europe. It is among the earliest universities of the world and the second...
in 1818, and served in Venice as a state functionary for twelve years, until - in 1832 - he was called to the chair of Eloquence of the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Turin
University of Turin
The University of Turin is a university in the city of Turin in the Piedmont region of north-western Italy...
. He had already published several studies: mostly biographies of writers and artists, but also a popular translation of the Letters of Pliny the Younger
Pliny the Younger
Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo , better known as Pliny the Younger, was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and educate him...
.
In Turin
On taking up his new post, he commenced a prolific period of production, in which he ranged from Italian literatureItalian literature
Italian literature is literature written in the Italian language, particularly within Italy. It may also refer to literature written by Italians or in Italy in other languages spoken in Italy, often languages that are closely related to modern Italian....
(studies on Torquato Tasso
Torquato Tasso
Torquato Tasso was an Italian poet of the 16th century, best known for his poem La Gerusalemme liberata , in which he depicts a highly imaginative version of the combats between Christians and Muslims at the end of the First Crusade, during the siege of Jerusalem...
and Ariosto) to Provençal literature
Provençal literature
Occitan literature — still sometimes called Provençal literature — is a body of texts written in Occitan in what is nowadays the South of France. It originated in the poetry of the 11th- and 12th-century troubadours, and inspired the rise of vernacular literature throughout medieval...
and even Chinese novels (which he was one of the first to study in Italy). In addition to literature, he was also interested in history and politics, to which he dedicated an essay significantly entitled Del Sentimento Patrio ("On Patriotic Feeling"). He purchased a villa near Treviso
Treviso
Treviso is a city and comune in Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 82,854 inhabitants : some 3,000 live within the Venetian walls or in the historical and monumental center, some 80,000 live in the urban center proper, while the city...
(in Veneto
Veneto
Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...
, then part of the Austrian Empire
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
), which he regularly frequented. Although politically conservative, he was constantly monitored by the Austro-Hungarians, owing to his adherence to Italian patriotic ideals
He was a friend of and corresponded with many illustrious Italians - from Niccolò Tommaseo
Niccolò Tommaseo
Niccolò Tommaseo was an Italian Dalmatian linguist, journalist and essayist, the editor of a Dizionario della Lingua Italiana in eight volumes , of a dictionary of synonyms and other works...
to Silvio Pellico
Silvio Pellico
Silvio Pellico was an Italian writer, poet, dramatist and patriot.-Biography:Silvio Pellico was born at Saluzzo . He spent the earlier portion of his life at Pinerolo and Turin, under the tuition of a priest named Manavella. At the age of ten he composed a tragedy inspired by a translation of the...
, from King Charles Albert of Sardinia
Charles Albert of Sardinia
Charles Albert was the King of Piedmont-Sardinia from 1831 to 1849. He succeeded his distant cousin Charles Felix, and his name is bound with the first Italian statute and the First War of Independence...
to Vincenzo Gioberti
Vincenzo Gioberti
thumb|250px|Vincenzo Gioberti.Vincenzo Gioberti was an Italian philosopher, publicist and politician.-Biography:Gioberti was born in Turin....
- and had a sincere and lifelong affection for Antonio Rosmini, whom he had known since his days at the University of Padua.
Greatly interested in the Italian language
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, he wrote important essays about it which earned him a nomination to the Accademia della Crusca
Accademia della Crusca
The Accademia della Crusca is an Italian society for scholars and Italian linguists and philologists established in Florence. After the Accademia Cosentina, it is the oldest Italian academy still in existence...
.
He died in Turin in 1857. In his honor a herma
Herma
A Herma, commonly in English herm is a sculpture with a head, and perhaps a torso, above a plain, usually squared lower section, on which male genitals may also be carved at the appropriate height...
was erected at the University of Turin, where is also preserved a large and valuable collection of manuscripts that had belonged to his uncle Antonio.
Relationship with Zadar
Paravia never forgot Zadar, his native town, to which - following a visit in 1850 - he donated in 1855 his private library, consisting of over ten thousand volumes, in order to create, from this initial nucleus, a public library, which was later named in his honor Municipal Library Paravia. Its purpose was not simply philanthropic. Paravia pleaded: "Study your language, because in it lies your future greatness; it is a merit which nobody can deny you, and it is great honor." Paravia clearly meant, through his donation, to send a strong message to the Dalmatians, so much so that he invited the leaders of contemporary Italian culture, with whom he maintained a very active correspondence, to also offer books. This library, which was housed in the ancient Venetian LoggiaLoggia
Loggia is the name given to an architectural feature, originally of Minoan design. They are often a gallery or corridor at ground level, sometimes higher, on the facade of a building and open to the air on one side, where it is supported by columns or pierced openings in the wall...
of Zadar until 1938, was from its opening on August 18, 1857 the largest in the whole of Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
. Closed because of war, it was reopened on October 14, 1945 with the new name Narodna Biblioteka (National Library).
National identification
Given Paravia's personal history, his enthusiastic adhesion to the sentiments of the Italian Risorgimento and his explicit affirmations of nationality (he wrote "No one can be a great writer without being a national writer, without representing, that is, in his writings his proper nation, his proper era."), until recently his nationality was not in question. In presentday CroatiaCroatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, however, his surname is occasionally found transliterated as Paravija, his explicit choice of nationality is regularly omitted, and he is simply indicated as having been born in Zadar.
Works
- News about the life of Antonio Canova, Venice 1822 - complete work available here
- Versi, Venice 1825
- Traduzione delle lettere di Plinio il Giovane, Venice 1830-1832 (3 volumes)
- Lettere inedite di illustri italiani, Venice 1833
- Delle relazioni del Cristianesimo con la letteratura, Turin 1837
- Notizie intorno ai Generali della Repubblica Veneta, Turin 1837
- Sistema mitologico di Dante, Turin 1837-1839
- Orazione per l'onomastico di Carlo Alberto, Turin 1838 - complete work available here
- Del sentimento patrio nelle sue relazioni con la letteratura, Turin 1839
- Biografie degli Italiani illustri, Venice 1840
- Prolusioni e discorsi, Parma 1845
- Antologia italiana, Turin 1847
- Canzoniere nazionale scelto e annotato, Turin 1849
- Memorie veneziane di letteratura e di storia, Turin 1850 - complete work available here
- Lezioni accademiche e altre prose, Zara 1851
- Lezioni di letteratura, Turin 1852 (second edition in 1856)
- Carlo Alberto e il suo regno. Orazioni, Voghera 1852 - complete work available here
- Vincenzo Gioberti. Prelezione accademica, Turin 1853 - complete work available here
External links
- Website of Znanstvena knjižnica Zadar former Biblioteca Paravia
- http://www.palladio-tv.it/internet/ipertesti2002/3Clet/biografiaparavia.htmNews about Paravia and the Palladian "Villa Serena-Rubbi-Paravia" in PadernoPadernoPaderno might be in Italy:*Paderno Dugnano, in the province of Milano*Paderno d'Adda, in the province of Lecco*Paderno Franciacorta, in the province of Brescia*Paderno Ponchielli, in the province of Cremona*Paderno del Grappa, in the province of Treviso...
, which belonged to him], from the website of the Italian Technical Institute "Palladio" of Treviso