Career
As the collection of his "scritti minori" illustrates, his scope of scholarship ranged from Homer down to the Byzantine Empire. His work "Storia dei Romani" could be considered a monumental work. De Sanctis became chair of ancient history desk at the University of Rome in 1929.
In 1931, he was one of only twelve professors who refused to swear a decreed oath of allegiance to the Fascist regime (Giuramento di fedeltà al fascismo) under Benito Mussolini.
As a result, his professional career was severely curtailed until after World World War World War II He was president of the "Istituto dell"Enciclopedia Italiana" (Treccani) from 1947 to 1954.