Luigi Rasi

An atypical actor of the 19th century theatre world, Luigi Rasi retired from the stage early to assume, in 1882, the direction of the Royal Acting School in Florence. His most famous work, I Comici italiani. Biografia, Bibliografia, Iconografia, a two-volume biographical dictionary (1897-1905), is still regarded today as a precious source for the history of actors. The bibliographical and documentary material gathered by Rasi during his studies is kept at the Museo Biblioteca of Burcardo in Rome.