Giuseppe Balducci (literary critic)

Born in Apulia, he graduated in literature from the University of Bari. During his studies, carried out under the supervision of the Chair of Bibliography and Library Science, he focused on the «Mario Praz» archival fund preserved at the Primoli Foundation in Rome, with particular attention to its emblematic materials.^[2]

His research interests include the work of authors such as Mario Praz,^[3] Henry de Montherlant,^[4] Pierre Loti,^[5] Frederick Rolfe,^[6] Norman Douglas,^[7] Jean Cocteau, and John Addington Symonds. His studies address both questions of textual transmission and broader issues related to literary imagination, including emblem literature and the relationship between aesthetics and biography.

He has worked in both fiction and non-fiction, mainly in the field of European literature, with attention to its connections with art, theatre, and cultural traditions of the ancient and modern periods. He also attended a course on the history of early Christianity and took part in seminars on the Wissenschaft des Judentums, which involved the use of German theological and philological terminology. His interests have included comparative literature, with reference to early theorists of the discipline, including Goethe and the concept of Weltliteratur.

In 2022, he co-authored, with Giovanni Balducci, the edition of an unpublished text by Marcel Proust, noteworthy for its reference to the Impresa di Fiume, the political and poetic expedition led by Gabriele D'Annunzio. The discovery was covered by national media and marked a significant contribution to Proustian studies.^[8][9] That same year, he published an essay on emblem literature, offering new insights into Praz's seminal Studies in Seventeenth-Century Imagery.^[10] In 2025, he published a long-form article in Treccani's magazine Il Tascabile, exploring Mario Praz's complex relationship with the city of Rome.^[11]

His editorial work has continued with the presentation and curation of rare writings by Praz, including Misteri d'Italia,^[12][13] Omelette soufflée à l'antiquaire,^[14] and the essays originally published in Paese Sera,^[15] alongside critical editions of literary texts by Loti, Montherlant, Palazzeschi, Rolfe, and Douglas.

His writings have appeared in several journals, among them Antinomie, Il Giornale dell'Arte, La ricerca, MicroMega, Studium, and Studi Francesi.

(selected works)

• Pierre Loti fra esotismo e femminilità, Rosenberg & Sellier, 2025, ISBN 9791259933959.

• Profilo di Mario Praz, in Mario Praz, Misteri d'Italia, edited by Giuseppe Balducci, Aragno («Biblioteca Aragno»), 2022, ISBN 9788893802000.
• Marcel Proust, Soggiorno a Venezia. D'Annunzio nella «Recherche», edited by Giovanni and Giuseppe Balducci, preface by Takashi Inoue, Luni Editrice («Il sogno di Gutenberg»), 2022, ISBN 9788879848237.
• Introduzione, in Pierre Loti, Uomo di mare, edited and translated by Giuseppe Balducci, Robin Edizioni («Biblioteca del Vascello»), 2023, ISBN 9791254672235.
• Montherlant, uno scrittore inattuale, in Henry de Montherlant, Giulio Cesare. Dialogo con un'ombra, edited by Giovanni and Giuseppe Balducci, translated by Giovanni Balducci, Aragno («Biblioteca Aragno»), 2023, ISBN 9788893802307.
• Ritratto di Aldo Palazzeschi, in Aldo Palazzeschi, Usanze d'oggi, edited by Giuseppe Balducci, Aragno («Biblioteca Aragno»), 2023, ISBN 9788893802642.
• Nota biografica del traduttore, in Omar Khayyām, Robā’iyyāt. Alla Gloria del Vino, edited by Giovanni and Giuseppe Balducci, presentation by Gelasio Gaetani d'Aragona, Luni Editrice («Le Tradizioni»), 2023, ISBN 9788879848633.
• Premessa, in Frederick Rolfe (Baron Corvo), Di santi, diavoli e… «The Yellow Book» 1895–1896, edited and translated by Giovanni e Giuseppe Balducci, Aragno («Biblioteca Aragno»), 2024, ISBN 9788893802819.
• Introduzione, in Mario Praz, Alcibiade. Gli articoli di «Paese Sera» 1960–1972, edited by Giuseppe Balducci, preface by Alvar González-Palacios, Aragno («Biblioteca Aragno»), 2024, ISBN 9788893803113.
• Introduzione, in Norman Douglas, Capri. Annotazioni antiquarie, edited and translated by Giuseppe Balducci, La nave di Teseo («le Onde»), 2025, ISBN 9788834621240.
• Un eccentrico vittoriano, in John Addington Symonds, Amore cameratesco, edited and translated by Giuseppe Balducci, Editoriale Scientifica («Prisma. Extra mœnia»), 2025, ISBN 9791223505038.
• La guerra come spettacolo: realtà e finzione in «Thomas l’imposteur», in Jean Cocteau, Thomas l’impostore, edited and translated by Giuseppe Balducci, introduction by Claude Arnaud, SE («Testi e documenti»), 2026, ISBN 9788867239856.