History of Italian Literature

Francesco De Sanctis was a pivotal Italian literary critic and patriot whose work significantly shaped the understanding of Italian literature and civilization. His masterpiece, Storia della letteratura italiana (1870–71), or History of Italian Literature, is a comprehensive account of Italian literary development from the 13th to the 19th century, intricately linking literary works to the societal context of their times. De Sanctis emphasized that literature should be judged by the spirit of its "form" rather than its intellectual or moral content, advocating for critics to explore the creator's temperament, background, and era. Though not fully appreciated in his lifetime, his work was later revitalized by Benedetto Croce, solidifying De Sanctis's lasting impact on literary criticism.12