Enzo Giudici (24 September 1920 – 4 October 1985) was an Italian academic who specialized in French Renaissance literature, particularly Louise Labé and Maurice Scève. Giudici was also a publicist often compared with fascism.
Biography
Enzo Giudici was born in Mussomeli. He was the son of Isabella Sorce, a teacher, and Paolo Giudici, who was a writer. His mother died when he was 3 years old. At the age of 10, he left Sicily to live with his father in Piacenza, Pavia, Potenza, and Rome.
During his studies, he was close to the .
During World War II, Giudici was not enrolled in the army due to health conditions. In that period, he contributed to Orizzonte, the official newspaper of the Xa MAS. Giudici also contributed to Fronte Unico, a "virulent" fascist weekly publication directed by Vito Videtta, a member of the extremist Pietro Koch's "gang".
In an article of December 1943, Giudici claimed that fascism was the negation of classes and individuals, and was characterized by totalitarianism and corporatism. Giudici also collaborated to "Libro e moschetto," the newspaper of the . In April 1943, Giudici wrote an article in Universalità e nazionalità delle guerre (Universality and nationality of the wars), published by Libro e moschetto. In this article, Giudici wrote: "The present war is together a universal and national war, in which the values and the fate of the world are being determined - through our Italian national conscience. This fight is clearly between two centuries and two ideas, but though it is a fight between peoples, peoples do implement and represent ideas."
In 1944, during the Italian Social Republic, he debated with Roberto Farinacci on reforms in the magazine Repubblica fascista. He wrote an article in the Repubblica Sociale - a monthly review directed by - on "socialized and corporative economy." The same year, Giudici also wrote a book on the socialization of corporations.
In 1946, he was the vice president of the executive board (vicepresidente dell consiglio direttivo) of the newly founded Movimento Italiano di Unità Sociale, which gathered the fascist elit and preceded the MSI.
In 1947, he collaborated with a magazine directed by with an aim to gather "ex fascists leaning to the left".
The Italian journalist had commented on Giudici's "sensitivity" towards the game of chess. Giudici's passion for chess resulted in his travel to chess tournaments, which led the movement for the introduction of the Elo rating system in Italy. Giudici also wrote an article on the figurative use of such in literature.
Giudici died in Rome on 4 October 1985. Following his death, his collection of over 20,000 books was passed on to the university of Salento.
University positions
Teaching assistant at the University of Toulouse 1957-1962. Professor of French Language and Literature at the university of Salento and at Naples Eastern university(1962–1965). Professor at the University of Macerata (1966–1982). Professor at the University of Rome Tor Vergata afterwards.
Studies on the École de Lyon
His "prolific" academic interest centered on a French literary movement of the Renaissance called particularly Louise Labé and Maurice Scève, the possible discoverer of Laura de Noves' possible tomb, highlighting, maybe exaggeratedly, Petrarch's influence. In 1958 he published a critical edition of Scève's minor works and in 1976, "the first proper critical edition" - though considered today partial and dated - of Microcosme, Scève's last work. In 1981, he published an erudite edition of Louise Labé works, considered "solid" and "luxuriant", though it has been since deemed incomplete. His sometimes "exceedingly footnotish" editor work and search for documents have been more appreciated by some specialists, who praise his "density of information", than his literary analyses. In recognition of his contribution the renewal of interest in these poets, he was awarded for this work a prix d'honneur by the .
Essays
Giudici was subject to criticism for his protracted relationship with fascism. In Memorie e pensieri di un cattedratico (Memories and Thoughts of a Professor), he considers such evocations as false and vile confusions of culture with politics. He claims that fascism is a "controversial" term and that he does not trust "contemporary -isms". Though the Italian historian Carlo Vallauri noted that Giudici "never identified himself" with the MSI, an affinity, sometimes considered as the expression of a "new right" "non-conformism", transcures from his later positions on the student movements and on the culture of fascism.