Giovanni Macchia

Born in Trani, the son of a magistrate, Macchia moved with his family to Rome in 1923, where, in 1934, he graduated in letters and philosophy with a thesis on Charles Baudelaire as a critic, a topic which was later one of his main subject of studies. He attended master classes at the Collège de France and at La Sorbonne.

Starting from 1938, he was a lecturer of French letters and literature at the University of Pisa, at the University of Catania and at La Sapienza in Rome, where he also founded and directed the Institute of history of the theatre and performing arts.

A member of the Accademia dei Lincei since 1962, he was awarded the Legion of Honor in 1990. In 1992, he received a Balzan Prize.