Italian philosopher, historian, and critic. He lived mostly in Naples, devoting himself to studying and writing. He founded and edited (1903–44) Critica, a review of literature, history, and philosophy, which in 1944 became Quaderni della critica. Croce was made a senator in 1910 and was minister of education (1920–21). A staunch opponent of Fascism, he lived in retirement until 1943, when he became a leader of the Liberal party.
Croce’s system of philosophy is related to the idealistic school in that spirit, monistic in manifestation, constitutes the only reality.
In his works on aesthetics Croce held that an artist’s mental images, communicated by physical artifacts, constitute works of art.
Viewing history as an interpretation of the past, he argued that history is not only a form of thought but the culmination of philosophy.