Giovanni Spano (born Ploaghe, Sardinia, 3 March 1803; died Cagliari, Sardinia, 3 April 1878), also a priest and a linguist, is considered one of the first archaeologists to study the Mediterranean island of Sardinia.
After elementary school in which he learnt Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Latin and the dialects of Sardinia, he progressed to a Sassari seminary and in 1825 earned a degree in theology. He was ordained in 1830 and in 1854 became director of the Cagliari Athenaeum. In 1871 he was named senator of the Kingdom of Italy and professor in Turin.
He wrote Ortografia sarda nazionale, ossia grammatica della lingua loguderese paragonata all'italiana (1840), the first attempt to find a unified orthography for the Sardinian language. This book divided the language into four dialects and proposed a unification based on Logudorese, a dialect spoken in Bono, Bonorva, Bosa, Ghilarza, Macomer, Ozieri, Ploaghe and Sennori.
He also wrote a Sardinian-Italian, Italian-Sardinian dictionary (1851–1852); the four-volume Sardinian Archaeological Bulletin (1855–1861); 'Guida di Cagliari e dei suoi dintorni (1856); Guida del Duomo di Cagliari (1856); and Storia e descrizione dell'Anfiteatro Romano di Cagliari (1868).
When he died in 1878, the words "Patriam dilexit, laboravit" were inscribed on his tomb at Bonaria. A scientific college in Sassari is now named after him.
Brief biography of Giovanni Spano, by Bruno Carta (in Italian).
Liceo Scientifico Giovanni Spano di Sassari (in Italian).