Francesco de Sanctis

His father was a doctor in law and his two paternal uncles, one a priest and the other a medic, were exiled for having participated in the Carbonari Uprisings of 1820–1821.

De Sanctis later opened his own private school where he soon became recognized in academic circles for his profound knowledge of Italian literature.

Following his release, de Sanctis' reputation as a lecturer in Turin on Italian authors such as Dante Alighieri (c. 1265–1321) led to his professorship in 1856 at ETH Zurich.

[1] De Sanctis had many faithful disciples, among whom Benedetto Croce achieved the most fame.

His chief contribution as a philosopher was to aesthetics and his influence upon Italian literary criticism remains strong to the present day.