«Io sono un Bardo»

Francesco Benozzo, Professor of Romance Philology at the University of Bologna, passed away suddenly in March 2025. He was an internationally renowned poet, harpist and singer, linguist and anthropologist. His work centred on the intense and widespread exploration of places – his beloved Apennines, but also Wales, Galicia, the Lake District and the Faroe Islands – from a cartographic and libertarian perspective.
This volume brings together the writings that colleagues and friends wished to dedicate to his memory. The essays presented address various themes close to his heart: from Ethnophilology, the (in)discipline he founded, to oral traditions, and from medieval literature to ethnotextuality, through to studies on poetry and dissidence, within a diverse overview that bears witness to the multifaceted nature of his work. The volume, written in English with texts in other languages, also includes a poetics section (memories, stories, poems, photographs) and an important first bibliography of the author.

Antonella Riem Natale, Honorary Member of the Order of Australia (AM), is Professor of English and Australian Literature and Language at the University of Udine.

Andrea Fassò is Professor Emeritus of Romance Philology at the University of Bologna (Alma Mater Studiorum).

Luigi Contadini is Professor of Spanish Literature at the University of Bologna (Alma Mater Studiorum).

Gabriele Sorice, mentee of Francesco Benozzo, PhD in Romance Philology, is currently a secondary school teacher.