Il Santo is an Italian novel written by

Antonio Fogazzaro Antonio Fogazzaro (; 25 March 1842 – 7 March 1911) was an Italian novelist and proponent of Liberal Catholicism. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature seven times. Biography Fogazzaro was born in Vicenza to a wealthy family. In ...

and published by

Baldini & Castoldi Baldini Castoldi Dalai Editore is an Italian publishing house, founded in 1897 and located under the arcades of Galleria Vittorio Emanuele in Milan. Baldini & Castoldi changed its name to Dalai Editore in 2011, and "Baldini & Castoldi" became a se ...

in 1905 in Milan. The novel is the third and last of a trilogy in which '' Piccolo Mondo Antico'' is the first and ''

Piccolo Mondo Moderno The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the so ...

'' is the second. Despite the fact that Fogazzaro was a devout and loyal Catholic, ''Il Santo'' was listed on the

Index Librorum Prohibitorum The ''Index Librorum Prohibitorum'' ("List of Prohibited Books") was a list of publications deemed heretical or contrary to morality by the Sacred Congregation of the Index (a former Dicastery of the Roman Curia), and Catholics were forbidden ...

. The Vatican's prohibition of this novel helped Fogazzaro achieve a worldwide reputation.

Plot summary

As a sequel to ''Piccolo Mondo Moderno'', the novel takes up the story of Piero Maironi. After a dramatic meeting with Jeanne Dessale, the reformed Maironi (now Benedetto) takes refuge as a monk in a religious community in the mountain village of Jenne and acquires a reputation among the peasants there as a saint who sometimes works miracles of healing. Bendetto calls for a thorough reform of Christian spirituality and thought. Benedetto/Maironi's program of spiritual reform is developed by Fogazzaro from ideas of the Italian philosopher

Antonio Rosmini Blessed Antonio Francesco Davide Ambrogio Rosmini-Serbati (; Rovereto, 25 March 1797 Stresa, 1 July 1855) was an Italian Roman Catholic priest and philosopher. He founded the Rosminians, officially the Institute of Charity or , pioneered th ...

. Benedetto forms with Don Clemente and Professor Giovanni Selva (in whom the critic Jean Lebrec recognizes

Friedrich von Hügel Friedrich von Hügel (born ''Friedrich Maria Aloys Franz Karl Freiherr von Hügel'', usually known as ''Baron von Hügel''; 5 May 1852 – 27 January 1925) was an influential Austrian Catholic layman, religious writer, and Christian apologist. Al ...

, a close friend of Fogazzaro) the nucleus of a latter-day Cénacle who call themselves ''Le Catacombe''. Benedetto goes to Rome and works among the poor of the Trastevere and Testaccio quarters, but then gains notoriety and becomes enmeshed in clerical and anti-clerical politics. Eventually Benedetto meets with Pope Pius X.

Criticism

Translations

G. P. Putnam published in 1906 an English translation (''The Saint'') by Mary Agnetti Prichard.

Hachette Hachette may refer to: * Hachette (surname) * Hachette (publisher), a French publisher, the imprint of Lagardère Publishing ** Hachette Book Group, the American subsidiary ** Hachette Distribution Services, the distribution arm See also * Hachett ...

published in 1906 a French translation (''Le Saint'') by Georges Hérelle. Georg Müller Verlag published in 1906 a German translation (''Der Heilige'') by Maria Gagliardi.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Santo, Il 1905 Italian novels Novels set in Italy Novels by Antonio Fogazzaro