Antonio Lucarelli, the historian who ennobled southernism

Antonio Lucarelli, born in Acquaviva delle Fonti on March 20, 1874 and died in the same city on September 10, 1952, was an important Italian historian and scholar of the South. He is known for his in-depth studies on socialism, the workers’ movement and specific aspects of the Risorgimento and brigandage in Puglia and Southern Italy.

His academic education took place at the University of Rome, where he graduated in Literature. After a brief period of teaching in the local gymnasium, Lucarelli obtained a position as a tenured professor, initially at the high school of Mistretta in Sicily and later in Bari. His family roots can be traced back to an aristocratic line, as he descended from the family of the Molignani barons, originally from Acquaviva delle Fonti.

Lucarelli was passionate about historical research and wrote significant works in the field of national history. Among his best-known works are “Il Sergente Romano”, published in 1922 and revised in 1946, and “Il brigantaggio politico nel Mezzogiorno d’Italia”, published in 1942. In these works, he interpreted brigandage as a form of socio-political rebellion against oppression, identifying it as one of the first examples of class struggle that would later influence nascent socialism.

Lucarelli also explored the figures of important socialists of his time, such as Carlo Cafiero and Giuseppe Fanelli, and corresponded with exponents of the socialist movement, including Carlo Rosselli and Pietro Nenni. His main work, “La Puglia nel Risorgimento”, published in four volumes between 1931 and 1953, received recognition from intellectuals of the caliber of Antonio Gramsci and Benedetto Croce, underlining the contribution of his region to the Italian Risorgimento process.

In addition to his historical studies, Lucarelli was also interested in agricultural issues, particularly viticulture, and promoted initiatives for the recovery of Apulian crops damaged by phylloxera. He was awarded by the Accademia dei Lincei and became a member of the Accademia Pontaniana. In 1944, Lucarelli founded the “Permanent Center for the Problems of Southern Italy,” an initiative aimed at promoting the development and progress of his region.

His legacy continues to be recognized through an archival collection of manuscript documents preserved in the Provincial Library of Bari, which testifies to his dedication to historical research and to the improvement of the socio-economic conditions of the South. Antonio Lucarelli therefore represents a key figure in the Italian historical and cultural panorama of the twentieth century, whose work has had a lasting impact on the understanding of socialism and the socio-political dynamics of the South.