De Sanctis, Francesco, 1817-83, Italian historian and literary critic. He was one of the founders of modern Italian literary criticism. He suffered imprisonment for his political views and was exiled to Malta. He was one of the first in the world to hold a position as professor of comparative literature with his appointment at Naples (1871-77). He supported Cavour, who appointed him minister of education. Important works are his Saggi critici [critical essays] (1866) and his History of Italian Literature (1871, tr. 1931), a history of Italian national feeling as traced through literature. He also wrote studies of Petrarch (2d ed. 1883) and Leopardi (1885).

Minor planets discovered: 43

2461 Clavel	March 5, 1981
2765 Dinant	March 4, 1981
2788 Andenne	March 1, 1981
2958 Arpetito	February 28, 1981
3016 Meuse	March 1, 1981
3121 Tamines	March 2, 1981
3235 Melchior	March 6, 1981
3268 De Sanctis	February 26, 1981
3308 Ferreri	March 1, 1981
3610 Decampos	March 5, 1981
3740 Menge	March 1, 1981
4192 Breysacher	February 28, 1981
4821 Bianucci	March 5, 1986
4931 Tomsk	February 11, 1983
4993 Cossard	April 11, 1983
5248 Scardia	April 6, 1983
5365 Fievez	March 7, 1981
5388 Mottola	March 5, 1981
	March 5, 1981
6364 Casarini	March 2, 1981
	February 12, 1983
	March 4, 1981
7233 Majella	March 7, 1986
	March 5, 1986
(7810) 1981 DE	February 26, 1981
(7916) 1981 EN	March 1, 1981
	February 12, 1983
(8453) 1981 EQ	March 1, 1981
	March 5, 1981
	March 6, 1981
	March 7, 1981
	March 5, 1981
(9722) 1981 EZ	March 4, 1981
	March 6, 1986
	March 5, 1981
(16368) 1981 DF	February 28, 1981
	March 7, 1981
	August 23, 1978
	March 6, 1986
	March 6, 1981
(30768) 1983 YK	December 29, 1983
(52242) 1981 EX	March 3, 1981
(69245) 1981 EO	March 1, 1981
Henri Debehogne with Vincenzo Zappalà with Giuseppe Massone

Giovanni de Sanctis is an Italian astronomer at the Osservatorio Astronomico di Torino (Astronomical Observatory of Turin) in Turin, Italy. His name is sometimes spelt DeSanctis, particularly in the Minor Planet Circulars.