Ludovico discusses new book on Renato Poggioli in Florence, Bologna

Robert Ludovico, director of the Italian Studies Program and co-editor of "Renato Poggioli. An Intellectual Biography," discussed the research presented in the book during panels in Florence and Bologna on Oct. 29-30. The work is co-edited by Lino Pertile and Massimo Riva.

The book was published by Olschki Editore of Florence, perhaps the most prestigious academic publisher in Italy, according to Ludvico. His presentations took place at the Gabinetto Letterario Vieusseux, a prominent institute in Florence, and at the University of Bologna.

A Floentine-born Slavist who emigrated to the U.S. in 1938, Poggioli served as a faculty member at Smith, Brown and Harvard, where he was one of the founders of the discipline of comparative literature. The biography's 16 essays by historians, Slavists, Italianists and comparativists reconstruct for the first time the multifaceted intellectual identity of one of the most influential Italain scholars on the international scene during the 40-year period surrounding World War II.

In addition, a segment of an interview Ludovico released to the Italian National Televisions Network (RAI) was broadcast on Sept. 18 within a program produced by RAI Education, dedicated to the topic of literature and power. Ludovico was also interviewed about the literary journal Solaria, which was published in Florence from 1926-34. He discussed his 2010 monograph, "Una farfalla chiamata Solaria" tra l'Europa e il Romanzo, which tranlsates roughly to "A Butterfly Called Solaria" between Europe and the Novel.

An associate professor, Ludovico joined the faculty in 2003.

A section of the broadcast is accessible through the Italian Studies program homepage