Accademia della Crusca

Accademia della Crusca [Ital.,=academy of the chaff], Italian literary society founded in Florence in 1582 to maintain the purity of the language. Leonardo Salviati, influenced by Pietro Bembo, and the poet Grazzini formed the society to unify literary Italian on the model of the vernacular of Tuscany. A comedy by Lorenzino de' Medici, L'Aridosio, was chosen as a standard, as were two plays by the artist and poet Michelangelo Buonarroti, first consul of the society. The major work of the society was the compilation of Grazzini's Vocabulario, a dictionary of "pure" words, first published in 1612. It has gone through many editions and remains one of the finest Italian dictionaries. The society succeeded in establishing literary purism in Italy for several centuries. Joined with two other academies, it is still in existence.

Della Cruscan of or relating to the Academy della Crusca in Florence, an institution established in 1582, with the purity of the Italian language as its chief interest. The name Accademia della Crusca ‘Academy of the bran’ referred to the ‘sifting’ of the language.

Della Crusca, the name of a literary academy established in Florence in 1582, with the principal object of purifying the Italian language. The first edition of its dictionary appeared in 1612.