An engaging lesson, full of food for thought on today’s world, welcomed the participants in the visit to the Accademia della Crusca. Anyone expecting to find illustrious Academicians shut away in the ivory tower of their lofty studies was proved wrong by Prof. Domenico De Martino, who explained the origins and the role of the Accademia della Crusca, and why it is so important to protect and preserve the heritage of a language — a heritage that is also historical and cultural and, in the case of Italians, a matter of identity.
The Crusca’s original purpose was to create a linguistic model, codified and shared by all speakers, in a country that did not yet have political unity. The work of Dante Alighieri was a fundamental reference for the first Academicians, who compiled the world’s first dictionary, published in 1612 — going against the theories of Pietro Bembo, who proposed Petrarch and Boccaccio as the models to follow. Another important theme was linguistic dominance, which has always existed and stems from political and economic factors. It is therefore not improper for a dictionary to take in words that precisely name something a language has no term for, whereas replacing words that already describe something perfectly with words from other languages can be harmful and pointless. Language is “an individual with its own specific characteristics, which change over time”.
The visit continued in the splendid Sala delle Pale, the Hall of the Shovels, which preserves the mottoes — mostly taken from Dante’s works — together with the academic names of the members of the Crusca up to the mid-eighteenth century, each metaphorically expressing the role that scholar intended to play. Worth mentioning is that of the Inferigno, Bastiano de’ Rossi, the only one of the founding members to see the first dictionary published. The inferigno was a small spelt loaf that usually opened a meal, and the motto of this scholar, who wished to underline his role as a founder with modesty, is in fact “per cominciare” — “to begin with”.
Also of great interest are the rooms that hold the first edition of the dictionary and its later editions, along with precious documents from the Academy’s Archive. The last stop was the great Library, open only to scholars, where all the works consulted for the first dictionary are kept. The setting of the Medici Villa of Castello makes this place a true “temple of culture”.
The planned visit to the places associated with Dante in Florence was postponed because of demonstrations taking place that afternoon, but the material prepared for the itinerary will soon be presented in a lesson at the Biblioteca Comunale, open to all participants and to anyone else who wishes to attend.
As an unscheduled extra, participants were offered a guided tour of the splendid Medici villa “La Petraia”, a short distance from the Villa of Castello and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.