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Vittore Branca
Vittore Branca (9 July 1913 in Savona – 28 May 2004 in Venice) was an Italian philologist, literary critic, and academic. He was a professor emeritus of Italian literature at the University of Padua until his death in 2004, and one of the most acclaimed contemporary scholars of Italian author and poet Giovanni Boccaccio.
A man with strong religious roots, he participated in the partisan struggle during the Second World War.
Branca spent much of his childhood on Lake Maggiore.
After graduating from the classical high school Gabriello Chiabrera in Savona, in 1931 he attended the entrance examination at the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, which at the time was part of FUCI. As a sign of protest, young Branca appeared before the examination committee wearing the badge of Catholic Action, whose youth circles were suppressed by the fascist regime. On this occasion he had his first encounter with Giovanni Gentile, who became his master. He graduated in 1935 with the highest grades.
Two years later, he was in Florence to collaborate with the Accademia della Crusca at the national edition of Boccaccio's works. He began to teach in high schools.
In July 1943 he took part in the work that led to the drafting of the Code of Camaldoli. After the arrest of Mussolini (who was executed two days after the Code's completion), Branca actively collaborated with the resistance. His cordial relations with Monsignor Giovanni Battista Montini, and by mediation of these with Alcide De Gasperi, made him a prominent member of Florentine anti-fascism, enabling him to represent the Catholic area of resistance in the direction Tuscan CNL. In 1944 he was contacted by Gentile, then president of the Academy of Italy, who invited him to collaborate "for homeland charity" in the New Anthology magazine. Branca, in spite of his profound connection with the philosopher, refused the offer, deciding to continue the struggle against Nazism. Gentile was killed by partisans in April of that year. In August, Branca participated in the dramatic events of the Florence uprising, which led to the liberation of the city.
During the years of the formation of the Republic, De Gasperi proposed him as deputy secretary of the Christian Democracy. Branca declined the invitation, preferring to focus on his academic studies and career.
Between 1944 and 1949 he taught at the University of Florence and in the faculty of Magisterium "Maria Assunta" in Rome. In 1949 he founded the magazine Italian Letters with Giovanni Getto. From 1952 to 1953 he was in Paris as a visiting professor at the Sorbonne University. In 1953 he began his career at the University of Padua, with which he would remain connected for the rest of his life. That year, he also joined the Board of Directors of the Venice-based Giorgio Cini Foundation; he was their vice president from 1972 to 1995, and president from 1995 to 1996.
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Vittore Branca
Vittore Branca (9 July 1913 in Savona – 28 May 2004 in Venice) was an Italian philologist, literary critic, and academic. He was a professor emeritus of Italian literature at the University of Padua until his death in 2004, and one of the most acclaimed contemporary scholars of Italian author and poet Giovanni Boccaccio.
A man with strong religious roots, he participated in the partisan struggle during the Second World War.
Branca spent much of his childhood on Lake Maggiore.
After graduating from the classical high school Gabriello Chiabrera in Savona, in 1931 he attended the entrance examination at the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, which at the time was part of FUCI. As a sign of protest, young Branca appeared before the examination committee wearing the badge of Catholic Action, whose youth circles were suppressed by the fascist regime. On this occasion he had his first encounter with Giovanni Gentile, who became his master. He graduated in 1935 with the highest grades.
Two years later, he was in Florence to collaborate with the Accademia della Crusca at the national edition of Boccaccio's works. He began to teach in high schools.
In July 1943 he took part in the work that led to the drafting of the Code of Camaldoli. After the arrest of Mussolini (who was executed two days after the Code's completion), Branca actively collaborated with the resistance. His cordial relations with Monsignor Giovanni Battista Montini, and by mediation of these with Alcide De Gasperi, made him a prominent member of Florentine anti-fascism, enabling him to represent the Catholic area of resistance in the direction Tuscan CNL. In 1944 he was contacted by Gentile, then president of the Academy of Italy, who invited him to collaborate "for homeland charity" in the New Anthology magazine. Branca, in spite of his profound connection with the philosopher, refused the offer, deciding to continue the struggle against Nazism. Gentile was killed by partisans in April of that year. In August, Branca participated in the dramatic events of the Florence uprising, which led to the liberation of the city.
During the years of the formation of the Republic, De Gasperi proposed him as deputy secretary of the Christian Democracy. Branca declined the invitation, preferring to focus on his academic studies and career.
Between 1944 and 1949 he taught at the University of Florence and in the faculty of Magisterium "Maria Assunta" in Rome. In 1949 he founded the magazine Italian Letters with Giovanni Getto. From 1952 to 1953 he was in Paris as a visiting professor at the Sorbonne University. In 1953 he began his career at the University of Padua, with which he would remain connected for the rest of his life. That year, he also joined the Board of Directors of the Venice-based Giorgio Cini Foundation; he was their vice president from 1972 to 1995, and president from 1995 to 1996.
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