In memory of Mario Marti (1914-2015): scholar teacher mentor.
Cervigni, Dino S.
The most senior of all the Italianists in the world, and a much
admired scholar, teacher, and mentor, Mario Marti died on February 4,
2015, in Lecce. His funeral was celebrated in the Church of San Lazzaro
on the following day. His wife, Franca, his daughter, Chiara, and his
son Benedetto survive him. He was only a few months shy of his 101st
birthday, having been born on May 19, 1914 in a small town near Lecce.
He attended the Liceo Classico Colonna in Galatina (LC), and graduated
from the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa in 1938 with a dissertation on
Leopardi, under the directorship of Luigi Russo. After teaching in a
liceo in Rome and commuting weekly to the newly formed Universita di
Lecce for many years, he finally returned to his native Salento, was
chair of Department, and Rettore of the University from 1968 until 1981.
A specialist primarily of the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and
Leopardi, Mario Marti--a philologist, a critic, and a lover of Italian
culture--has written on virtually all centuries of Italy's literary
culture and on many aspects of his native Salento. Scholars of the
Middle Ages know him and will remember him with much appreciation for
his studies on the dolce stil nuovo, Dante, and Boccaccio. His editions
(e.g., Ipoeti del dolce stil nuovo; Giovanni Boccaccio, Opere Minori in
volgare) are indispensable research tools. He has been a constant
contributor to the Giornale storico della letteratura italiana until the
very last years of his life. Including all his books, editions, essays,
and reviews, his bibliography exceeds 1,000 scholarly pieces. He
remained active until the last year of his life.
Mario Marti distinguished himself, in my view, for two
characteristics. He deeply loved Italy's literary history and
culture, and he always nurtured, encouraged, and supported his many
disciples, friends, and colleagues. I met him when I first visited Lecce
in the mid-1970s. I was humbled when he presented himself very modestly
as a scholar of the time before Dante. After that first encounter, I
paid him a visit annually with few exceptions. He received friends and
colleagues with much warmth in his comfortable apartment in Lecce,
within walking distance from his beloved University. Always encouraging
and supportive, Mario Marti showed much interest in his visitors'
research. I saw him for the last time in May 2014, when he had just
completed his 100th birthday. His health was failing, but his mind was
very lucid and his speech very clear. All of us--he, his wife, my wife,
and I--engaged in a very pleasant conversation for about an hour.
Together with his many friends and colleagues I will deeply miss
him. I will remember him for his scholarship and dedication to the study
of Italian literature, for his support of so many of us, for his warmth,
for his modesty.
