Ample materials for the study of Foscolo’s character and career may be found in the complete series of his works published in Florence by Le Monnier. The series consists of Prose letterarie, (4 vols., 1850); Epistolario (3 vols., 1854); Prose politiche (1 vol., 1850); Poesie (1 vol., 1856); Lettere di Ortis (1 vol., 1858); Saggi di critica storico-letteraria (1st vol., 1859; 2nd vol., 1862). To this series must be added the very interesting work published at Leghorn in 1876, Lettere inedite del Foscolo, del Giordani, e della Signora di Staël, a Vincenzo Monti. The work published at Florence in the summer of 1878, Vita di Ugo Foscolo, di Pellegrino Artusi, throws much doubt on the genuineness of the text in Foscolo’s writings as given in the complete Florence edition, whilst it furnishes some curious and original illustrations of Foscolo’s familiarity with the English language.
(J. M. S.)
FOSS, EDWARD (1787-1870), English lawyer and biographer, was born in London on the 16th of October 1787. He was a solicitor by profession, and on his retirement from practice in 1840, he devoted himself to the study of legal antiquities. His Judges of England (9 vols., 1848-1864) is a standard work, characterized by accuracy and extensive research. Biographia Juridica, a Biographical Dictionary of English Judges, appeared shortly after his death. He assisted in founding the Incorporated Law Society, of which he was president in 1842 and 1843. He died of apoplexy on the 27th of July 1870.
FOSSANO, a town and episcopal see of Piedmont, Italy, in the province of Cuneo, 15 m. N.E. of it by rail, 1180 ft. above sea-level. Pop. (1901) 7696 (town), 18,175 (commune). It has an imposing castle with four towers, begun by Filippo d’Acaia in 1314. The cathedral was reconstructed at the end of the 18th century. The place began to acquire some importance in the 13th century. It appears as a commune in 1237, but in 1251 had to yield to Asti. It finally surrendered in 1314 to Filippo d’Acaia, whose successor handed it over to the house of Savoy. It lies on the main line from Turin to Cuneo, and has a branch line to Mondovì.
FOSSANUOVA, an abbey of Italy, in the province of Rome, near the railway station of Sonnino, 64 m. S.E. of Rome. It is the finest example of a Cistercian abbey, and of the Burgundian Early Gothic style, in Italy, and dates from the end of the 12th to the end of the 13th century. The church (1187-1208) is closely similar to that of Casamari. The other conventual buildings also are noteworthy. Thomas Aquinas died here in 1274.
See C. Enlart, Origines françaises de l’architecture gothique en Italie (Paris, 1894) (Bibliothèque des écoles françaises d’Athènes et de Rome, fasc. 66).