LAUSR

My article focuses on Alessandro Torri (1780–1861), a scholar active in the area of Verona. In 1826, on account of his liberal ideals, Torri was forced into exile and settled in Pisa, where he devoted his scholarly activity to Dante. His edition of the Ottimo commento to the Divine Comedy and, in particular, of Dante’s minor works, reflect both Torri’s aspiration to complete Giovanni Jacopo Dionisi’s editorial plan and to foster his philological approach. Dionisi’s method predicated both on the exegesis of the letter and on the principle of “explaining Dante through Dante.” This was a rather obsolete approach in nineteenth-century Italy, where the literary-aesthetic and the civil reading of Dante dominated. Moreover, Torri intended to establish an international collaboration in the field of Dante studies: not only did he gather the very best of the critical essays on Dante’s minor works, but he also appealed to some of the most illustrious exegetes of the time so that they would help him out with his edition. The study of Alessandro Torri’s life and works opens a crucial insight into Italy’s cultural history before its unification (1861). This liminal phase, between the legacy of the Veronese erudite tradition and the new Risorgimental approach, instances the opening to various European schools as the prerequisite for the birth of modern Dante criticism.