The publication of the correspondence between Rev. Giuseppe De Luca and the philosopher Benedetto Croce has contributed significantly to the historical appraisal of the relationship between secular and catholic circles in Italy from the '20s to the '40s. The main thread lies in the views of the "roman priest", that can be fully understood by making reference not only to his writings but also to the parallel correspondence entertained for about thirty years with author Giovanni Papini. Thus the reasons emerge why De Luca could consider as complementary two figures in the Italian culture of the time that were otherwise incompatible and deeply opposed to one another. Not only did De Luca admire both but he aimed at the twin goals of emulating Croce's cultural action in order to raise the standards of religious studies and launching a constructive dialogue between catholic and secular cultures. The correspondence shows however how difficult such a dialogue would be, even when limited to scholarly studies.
La pubblicazione del carteggio tra don Giuseppe De Luca e Benedetto Croce per le delucane Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura ha fornito un importante contributo alla riflessione storica relativa ai rapporti tra mondo laico e mondo cattolico in Italia tra anni Venti e Quaranta del Novecento. Quella che emerge è soprattutto la lettura che ne diede il «prete romano», per intendere la quale occorre però fare anche ricorso, oltre che ai suoi scritti, agli epistolari coevi del sacerdote e in particolare allo scambio intrattenuto per circa trent’anni con lo scrittore Giovanni Papini. Emergono così le ragioni per le quali De Luca considerò complementari due protagonisti della cultura italiana antitetici e in profondo dissidio tra loro. Dietro questo atteggiamento stava l’ammirazione del sacerdote per entrambi, ma anche il suo duplice progetto di emulare l’azione culturale di Croce per elevare il livello degli studi religiosi e avviare un dialogo costruttivo tra cultura laica e cattolica. Il carteggio dimostra quanto in realtà questo dialogo fosse difficile, anche quando condotto sul piano elevato degli studi eruditi.
Scarantino, A. (2011). Don Giuseppe De Luca tra Croce e Papini. A proposito di un recente carteggio. MONDO CONTEMPORANEO, 2- 2011, 109-120 [10.3280/MON2011-002004].
Don Giuseppe De Luca tra Croce e Papini. A proposito di un recente carteggio
SCARANTINO, ANNA
2011-01-01
Abstract
The publication of the correspondence between Rev. Giuseppe De Luca and the philosopher Benedetto Croce has contributed significantly to the historical appraisal of the relationship between secular and catholic circles in Italy from the '20s to the '40s. The main thread lies in the views of the "roman priest", that can be fully understood by making reference not only to his writings but also to the parallel correspondence entertained for about thirty years with author Giovanni Papini. Thus the reasons emerge why De Luca could consider as complementary two figures in the Italian culture of the time that were otherwise incompatible and deeply opposed to one another. Not only did De Luca admire both but he aimed at the twin goals of emulating Croce's cultural action in order to raise the standards of religious studies and launching a constructive dialogue between catholic and secular cultures. The correspondence shows however how difficult such a dialogue would be, even when limited to scholarly studies.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
