Giorgio Pasquali e la “farsa liviana”: the whole matter is a lark

In this paper, the well-known story of the ‘Livian farce’ of 1924 is retraced, with the purpose of outlining the hitherto little-known role of Giorgio Pasquali. With some statements and a letter reported by the Italian correspondent of the Manchester Guardian, Pasquali clearly distinguished himself from the majority of Italian and foreign scholars of the time. Characteristically resorting to considerations on tradition, in fact, he took a very negative stance on the plausibility of the discovery from the outset. Significantly, Pasquali himself recalled these stances in the University of Florence’s ‘Yearbook’ for the academic year 1924-1925, acknowledging their connection with his own scientific ‘production’.