PAVOLINI, Paolo Emilio. Leghorn 10.7.1864 — Quattordio 15.9.1942. Italian Indologist. Professor in Florence. Son of Giovanni P., a teacher, and Lidia (or Lida) Vanneschi. Studied in 1883-86 at Pisa (under Teza), graduated 1886 with diss. on Homeric names and epithets. In 1889-91 further studies at Berlin (Weber & Pischel) From 1892 PD and 1893 incaricato at Florence, then 1895 eo. Professore di sanscrito e civiltà dell’India antica and from 1901 ord., all the time at Florence. Retired in 1935, lived his last years in Genoa. He joined the Fascist Party as early as 1921. He was Membro nazionale dell’Accademia dei Lincei and from 1930 Accademico d’Italia. Member of the Finnish Academy of Science, visited Finland in 1904 and 1925 and was Visiting Professor at Helsinki University in 1935-36 (P. Aalto attended his Sanskrit classes). Married Margherita Cantagalli and as widower Paola Faggioli, three sons with first, one daughter with second wife.
Pavolini was a polyglot, who, in addition to Indian languages, was much interested in Germanic and Slavic linguistics and classical philology and knew well Polish, Modern Greek, Albanian, Hungarian and Finnish, translating from and into these languages. The good style of his Finnish subhāṣitas is good testimony of his ability. Among his students were Tessitori and Vallauri.
Publications: “Due recensioni inedite dell’ Anekārthadhvanimañjarī di Mahākṣapaṇaka”, GSAI 5, 1891, 175-182; “La introduzione del Commentario di Çaṅkara alla Kāṭhakopaniṣad”, RAL 1892, 157-163; “La novella di Brahmadatta, tradotta e annotata”, GSAI 6, 1892, 111-148; “La novella di Br., secondo la versione di Hemacandra”, GSAI 7, 1893, 339-342.
– Crestomazia del Rāmāyaṇa. 48 p. Florence 1895; Mahābhārata. Episodi scelti e tradotti. Palermo 1902, 2nd ed. 35+301 p. 1923.
– Buddismo. 15+163 p. Firenze 1898.
– “La materia e la forma della Rasavāhinī”, GSAI 11, 1897-98, 35-71; “Gli scritti di Somaprabhācārya”, SFII 2, 1898, 33-72; “Nel regno di Ananga. Ratimañjarī” (ed.), GSAI 17, 1904, 317-329.
– “Il compendio dei cinque elementi (Pañcatthiyasaṁghasuttam)”, GSAI 14, 1901, 1-40.
– “I manoscritti indiani della Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze (non compressi nel catalogo dell’ Aufrecht)”, GSAI 20, 1907, 93-157.
– “Una nuova versione purāṇica della leggenda di Urvaçī”, GSAI 21, 1908, 291-298.
– Transl. “Il Dhammapada”, Rinnovam. 1908, 329-364; Teste di morale buddistica. 1. Dhammapada. 2. Suttanipāta. 3. Itivuttaka. 111 p. Lanciano 1919.
– Transl. “I drammi Mahabharatiani di Bhasa. 1. Madhyamavyâyoga”, GSAI 29, 1919-20, 1-20
– Translated into Sanskrit: “Çvetadvīpagāthāmālikā”, GSAI 28, 1916-17, 167-177 (20 English poems).
– Transl. Mille sentenze indiane scelte e tradotte. 150 p. Florence 1927; Aforozmy indyjskie przelozyl z sanskryta na polski. 34 p. Warszawa 1925 (in Polish); Intialaisia mietelmiä vieraanvaraisuudesta. 8 p. Florence 1905 (in Finnish); further selections in Polish and Finnish journals.
– Translated from Finnish: Kalevala, poema nazionale finnico, traduzione metrica. 24+367 p. Milano 1910; further translations from Finnish.
– Numerous short articles and reviews in GSAI, SFII, etc.
Sources: A. Ballini, RSO 20, 1942, 329f.; C. Mastrangelo, D.B.I. 81, 2014 (online treccani.it); *R. Weiss, Neuphil. Mitt. 42, 1941, 196-198; bibliography in Gli studi orientali in Italia 1861–1911 Gabrieli, and Porru 1940; briefly in Italian Wikipedia, with photo; another photo in Valvoja 25, 1905, 785 and in Finnish Wikipedia.
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