Francesco Saverio Salfi | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1759-01-24)24 January 1759 |
| Died | 1832(1832-00-00) (aged 72–73) |
| Occupation(s) | Ordained priest, writer, politician, librettist |
Francesco Saverio Salfi orFranco Salfi (24 January 1759 inCosenza – 1832 in Paris) was an Italian writer, politician andlibrettist.
An ordained priest, he distinguished himself with his ability to compose verses at a very young age atAccademia Cosentina. In 1786, he wrote an essay arguing against popular beliefs related to the1783 Calabrian earthquakes. The essay attracted fury from the ecclesiastical authorities, who however were unable to prosecute Salfi due to opposition from the Neapolitan government, particularly Minister Carlo de Marco. In 1787 he moved toNaples, where he lectured in the Humanities, came into contact with Enlightenment thinkers (Gaetano Filangieri,Mario Pagano,Antonio Jerocades,Nicola Pacifico and others), and progressively distanced himself from the Church. In 1788, whenFerdinand IV of Naples refused to pay the annual tribute of theChinèa to the Pope, Salfi wrote a satire against thePapal States and in praise of the Neapolitan government.
Salfi's hopes for anEnlightened reform of the Neapolitan monarchy were dashed when, in reaction to the outbreak of theFrench Revolution, the Neapolitan government turned ultra-conservative, abandoning plans for reform and severing diplomatic relations with France.[1] In 1792, he was one of the intellectuals who met with French AdmiralLatouche-Tréville, who had come toNaples to obtain apologies from the King. In the same year, Salfi joined the newly foundedNeapolitan Patriotic Society, aMasonic lodge modelled on theJacobin Club, whose members were planning a violent insurrection. The conspiracy was discovered and in 1794, to avoid a trial, Salfi escaped from Naples toGenoa, where he quit the priesthood, and then toMilan, where he shortened his name to "Franco" and actively collaborated with the Republican newspaperLombardy's Political Thermometer.[2] In this period he devoted himself to the theatre, writing plays aimed at a popular audience. In addition to the satire ofGeneral Colli, for example, he translated the first part of theDeclaration of 1789 into a play.[3]
Salfi returned to Naples withGeneral Championnet on 5 December 1798 and took on the role of Secretary of the provisional government of theNeapolitan Republic. In February 1799, afterIgnazio Ciaia had replaced Carlo Lauberg as President of the Neapolitan Republic, he left for France. There, he contributed articles about Italian literature to the literary periodicalsBiographie Universelle and Revue encyclopédique. Salfi went back to Italy in 1800, following theBattle of Marengo. He found employment as teacher of logic and metaphysics, and later history and law at thegymnasium ofBrera.
Salfi was a member of the Masonic LodgeAmalia Augusta, founded in 1806 inBrescia. He also became an adviser toJoachim Murat. In 1815 he moved permanently to France, but continued to play a role in Italian politics. For instance, in 1831 he wrote withFilippo Buonarroti aProclamation to the Italian People from the Alps to Mount Etna, in support of a republican uprising organised by a group of Italian political exiles with the help ofLa Fayette. TheProclamation argued that "there can be no freedom without independence, no independence without strength, and no strength without unity. Then let us spare no effort to make Italy independent, unified, and free as soon as possible", and ended with "may tyrants fall, may their crowns fall into pieces and from their ruins the Italian republic shall rise, one and indivisible from the Alps to the sea".[4]
As a poet, Salfi composed lyrics on Napoleon, a free-verse poem on the lynching ofHugou de Basseville (in a dispute withMonti), as well as some tragedies inspired byAlfieri (such asVirginia bresciana in 1797,Pausania in 1801) and many librettos. Today he is remembered mostly as the author of the discourses on historyDell'uso dell'istoria (1807) eDell'influenza della storia (1815),L'Italie au dix-neuvième siècle (1821) and above all the continuation of the literary history of Italy byGinguené, published posthumously. Salfi's ownManuale della storia della letteratura italiana, which also appeared posthumously in 1834, is an important work. Salfi described it as "an historical essay on the literature of Italy" and adopted an innovative division into periods starting from the 75th year of each century and ending with the 75th year of the following one, thus achieving a less fragmented vision of Italian literature than was the case in other contemporary accounts.[5]
