Nelia Saxby: In memoria di C. Dionisotti

[11-3-1998]

[Altri contributi sono benvenuti!]

[Una notizia dal

Corriere della Sera (c)

Martedi', 24 Febbraio 1998

Dionisotti, catalogo di tutte le opere

All'indomani della morte di Carlo Dionisotti, la casa editrice Scheiwiller ha annunciato la prossima uscita del catalogo delle sue opere, con il titolo "I libri di Carlo Dionisotti". Roberto Cicala e Valerio Rossi, discepoli novaresi del maestro, hanno curato il volume, illustrato con una scelta delle copertine, dedicato alla sua vasta produzione, dalle "Prose della volgar lingua" del 1931 a "Machiavellerie" (1980), fino all'ultima ristampa di "Chierici e laici". Le bozze erano state riviste dallo stesso Dionisotti.]

IN MEMORIAM: CARLO DIONISOTTI

Turin 9 June 1908-London 22 February 1998

Chair of Italian, Bedford College, University of London, 1949-1970.

The international event that was constituted by Dionisotti's death was announced on RAI on the morning of 23 February and was the subject of the terza pagina of the leading Italian papers of that day. No less immediate was the response from Britain (24 February, in "The Guardian"; subsequently in other major papers) and from the Ticino region (25 February). To Italianists in SA the first and the last are accessible electronically on Lettere Italiane.

Dionisotti's phenomenal range of scholarship, his massive contributions to Italian culture, massive, not numerically but for their innovative and at times revolutionary import in respect of established schools of criticism, form the burden of the majority of these commemorations. They document unequivocally the recognition that his critical work has received in the past decade or so and will continue to receive for many years to come and they crown the honours and nominations that were heaped on him after his retirement up to his final illness in the autumn of 1996.? Already in 1973 in the first volume of the Studi di filologia e di letteratura italiana offered to him on the occasion of his retirement by the group of the University of Pavia, there appeared a Bibliografia degli scritti di CD comprising his works from 1930 to 1973. The full bibliography of his writings is due for release this year. Published by Scheiwiller of Turin, with the title: I libri di Carlo Dionisotti, it has been compiled by Roberto Cicala and Valerio Rossi.

It is to be hoped that this will be followed by volumes of his collected writings mostly scattered in a number of periodicals and conference proceedings and of difficult access to those Italianists who do not have a major library at their disposal. His frequent interviews to the Italian press deserve to be preserved in book form for posterity as well, for they give a portrait of contemporary Italy perceived within the dimensions of its past history and cultural heritage.

Dionisotti the man and the scholar, lucid, polemical, uncompromising, intolerant of misconceptions or false assumptions is clearly portrayed in two of his late writings. In order of publication, the first of these is the prophetically entitled: Machiavelleria ultima, "Rivista storica italiana", anno cvii, fasc. 1, 1995, pp. 20-28. This is his response to the "critical" edition of Machiavelli's Il Principe. He begins by taking issue with its inclusion in the Muratori series of the Fonti, now restricted to those of "Medieval" Italy, dwells on the reasons adduced for the adoption of the title of De principatibus and faces head-on intricate questions of dating inherent in the text and in its dedicatory letter. A fitting illustration that although the tiger had grown old it had not yet lost either teeth or claws.

Dionisotti the man emerges in his greatness of feeling in his In memoria di Augusto Campana, which appropriately appeared in the periodical on which both he and Campana collaborated (together with Billanovich and Sambin) "Italia medievale e umanistica" XXXVI, 1993 (but actually published in early 1997), pp. 1-46. It is here that one finds combined Dionisotti's gift for biography, bibliography and reconstruction of the historical context-as well as the deep humanity which was so much a part of his character.

The articles so far published on Dionisotti do not dwell on him as a teacher at Beford College, where he was for years loved, feared, above all respected by his students. It is a sad fact that at Bedford College he never formed a school, primarily because, as he himself explained with sound good sense, the majority of his students were women who entered other careers after their undergraduate formation. He took few postgraduate students on the grounds that their intended fields of research were beyond his competence. Thus it was that his colleagues in Oxford or elsewhere in Britain found themselves taking over research intially begun under Dionisotti. Yet to postgraduates not registered with him and to younger academics Dionisotti was always willing to provide the critical piece of information that would eventually lead to the great break-through.

At Bedford College his teaching range was vast: from early Italian texts to the Historical Novel; from Dante to Pascoli. It was Dionisotti who took responsibility for prose translation in final-year courses, recusing himself only from those from Italian to English on the grounds that his English was inadequate (it was in fact excellent). For the same declared reason he chose to lecture in Italian making allowances for the students' slowness in following him by conducting the lectures at dictation pace. His classes were always full. None of us dared miss a lecture, not through fear of reprisal but through fear that we would certainly miss something that was both entertaining and instructive.

Final-year tutorials with Dionisotti were likely to last about 3-4 hours each. For those who came unprepared a tongue-lashing was the appropriate contrappasso, for Dionisotti was uncompromising in terms of academic integrity and did not hesitate to say when performance was below parr. At the same time he had the ability to anticipate students' difficulties and overcome them without any damage to the self-esteem of the individual. Thus, in the middle of a tutorial on Guicciardini, Dionisotti would digress and explain fully the formation of the Holy Roman Empire, from the time of Charlemagne to Charles V. Around Foscolo he would painstakingly recreate the web of correspondences and influences, the historical and social context from which emerged Ortis and Sepolcri. In the case of Ariosto he would begin with the implications inherent in the choice of the title for the epic poem and move on to a comparison-contrast, both cultural and literary with Boiardo.? As a supervisor for postgraduate work Dionisotti believed very strongly in beginning with the "basics". The "basics" were in my case an explanation of how the catalogues in the then British Museum Reading Room functioned; the intricacies one could and would encounter in the periodicals indexes; whereabouts in the Reading Room could be found essential works of reference. Later, I was shown how the BM manuscript catalogues were laid out and how to make the best use of them. Once he thought I was ready for the task, I was also given some elementary notions of paleography.

Later, in writing-up, one learned not to deviate from the central issue under discussion. One learned that brevity was essential in scientific writing. Either one had something worthwhile to say and said it briefly and well or one omitted it. Intolerant of and perhaps somewhat infastidito by footnotes and bibliographical references in his own writings, he insisted that his own postgraduates familiarize themselves with these conventions and make use of them.

The undergraduate student grape-vine at Bedford College delighted in passing on over the years this anecdote of Dionisotti as an illustration of the man's inherent kind-heartedness. Dionisotti had an Honours student who inclined to lacrimosity. This inclination was stimulated every time Dionisotti returned her essays with his comments, crosses and assessment-a weekly event. Over time, Dionisotti had got into the habit of keeping in his desk-drawer (together with his little black book in which he registered presenze and assenze) a box of tissues, which was the first article presented to the student when the flood of tears overwhelmed her, and small bars of chocolate: the consolation prize offered at the conclusion of the tutorial.

There is no longer a consolation prize. The bars of chocolate have disappeared for always. As has Bedford College and The Holme, where the Italian department was housed. The round table in Dionisotti's study there, the seat of so many fearful undergaduates was removed many years ago. There remain the lessons learned from the man which in memory are as vivid now as then. There remain his publications in which his voice can still be heard.

Nelia Saxby

Department of Italian Studies

University of Cape Town