Ciro Angelillis (Monte Sant’Angelo, May 3, 1873 – Arezzo, March 11, 1956) represents an emblematic figure of the southern intellectual between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, characterized by dual scientific and humanistic training. Having received his doctorate in medicine and surgery from the University of Bologna in 1899, Angelillis practiced medicine in his hometown, shaping himself as a paradigm of the doctor-herudite, a widespread typology in the cultural landscape of early 20th-century southern Italy.
In 1904 he moved to Lucera, where he directed the periodical “Il Foglietto” from 1914 to 1917 and collaborated with the lawyer Filippo Ungaro in founding the “Gazzettino del Gargano.” His scholarly production focused mainly on the ecclesiastical, civil and artistic history of the Gargano territory, with a chronological distribution that sees the first monographs in the early twentieth century and the main core of production in the period 1945-1950, mainly in the form of contributions in specialized periodicals.
His first work, Monte S. Angelo (1903), inaugurated a research path articulated through different textual typologies: from biography(G. Tommaso Giordani letterato e patriota pugliese, 1907) to prosopography(Profili di personaggi antichi e moderni della città di Monte S. Angelo, 1908), from institutional studies(L’antichissimo Comune di Monte S. Angelo, 1914) to the history of sacred art(Le porte di bronzo bizantine nelle Chiese d’Italia e le imposte della Basilica di Monte S. Angelo, 1924). Particularly relevant appears his interest in religious and monastic history, evidenced by works such as Un punto inesplorato nella vita del poverello d’Assisi, il pellegrinaggio al Gargano (1928) and Pulsano e l’ordine monastico pulsanese (1953). Late production includes contributions on medieval history(La Croce di Federico II nella Chiesa di S. Michele in Monte S. Angelo, 1936) and modern history(Nuove luci sulle vicende della regina Giovanna I di Napoli, 1937).
Bibliography
- Angelillis, C. (1903). Monte S. Angelo. [Publisher not specified].
- Angelillis, C. (1907). G. Tommaso Giordani Apulian man of letters and patriot.
- Angelillis, C. (1908). Profiles of ancient and modern characters of the town of Monte S. Angelo.
- Angelillis, C. (1914a). The very ancient municipality of Monte S. Angelo.
- Angelillis, C. (1914b). Visit to the Basilica of Monte S. Angelo. Lucera.
- Angelillis, C. (1924). Byzantine bronze doors in the Churches of Italy and the shutters of the Basilica of Monte S. Angelo.
- Angelillis, C. (1928). An unexplored point in the life of the poverello of Assisi, the pilgrimage to the Gargano.
- Angelillis, C. (1936a). The Cross of Frederick II in the Church of St. Michael in Monte S. Angelo.
- Angelillis, C. (1936b). The Church and Convent of St. Francis in Monte S. Angelo.
- Angelillis, C. (1937/1977). New lights on the affairs of Queen Joanna I of Naples. [Published posthumously].
- Angelillis, C. (1953a). The Church and former Convent of the Trinity of St. Clare in Monte S. Angelo.
- Angelillis, C. (1953b). Pulsano and the Pulsan monastic order.
- Angelillis, C. (1969). The Tomb of Rotari. [Published posthumously].
- Angelillis, C. (s.d.). Morning in Mount Gargano.
- Angelillis, C. (s.d.). Mattinata, New Matinum.