Joseph Caspar Mezzofanti (1774-1849) was an Italian Cardinal who spoke more than 38 languages fluently. He never left Italy and yet managed to learn how to speak languages without accent. People from all over the world came to challenge him in their native tongue. They all reported their amazement at this man's fluency.

The life of Mezzofanti is of considerable interest to language enthusiasts.

The definitive study of Mezzofanti is a 500 pages book by Charles William Russel published in 1863. You will find the entire text of this book on this website.

To bring the book closer to you I have prepared a list of anectodes, a commented table of the languages Mezzofanti spoke, a list of the historical characters that he met (writers, kings, popes, etc...) and a gallery of the places he lived in.