Lanzi, LUIGI, Italian antiquary, was born at Monte dell' Olmo, near Macerata, June 14, 1732. He entered the order of the Jesuits, but devoted his time to the study of classical antiquities and of Italian painting. He resided chiefly at Florence, where he died, March 30, 1810, and was buried by the side of Michael Angelo in the church of Santa
Croce. The principal monuments of his learning are the works Saggio di Lingua Etrusca (3 vols. 1789), in which he insisted upon the kinship of Etruscan with Latin, Oscan, Umbrian, and Greek; and Storia Pittorica d'Italia (1792-1806; Eng. trans. by Thomas Roscoe, 6 vols. 1828). Lanzi also wrote works on Etruscan vases, antique sculptures, &c. His posthumous works were published in 2 vols. at Florence in 1817. See Life in Italian by Cappi (1840).