Storie Archive - Page 2 of 22

Eduardo Scarpetta, recorded at the registry office as Odoardo Lucio Fausto Vincenzo, was born at 33 Via Santa Brigida, in the San Ferdinando neighborhood of Naples, on March 12, 1853, to Domenico, an official of the Bourbon Kingdom, and Emilia Rendina.

In 1868, still 15 years old, he turned his passion for the stage into a profession to help support his family, which was in dire financial straits. He thus joined the company of Antonio Petito, the celebrated interpreter of Punchinello, and in less than ten years went from young apprentice to head comedian.

In 1870, he gave birth to the character destined to mark his career, Felice Sciosciammocca, soon elected a beloved mask of Neapolitan theater. With the comedy Don Felice Sciosciammocca, mariuolo ‘e ‘na pizza, he achieved, not surprisingly, his first genuine triumph as author and actor.

Upon Petito’s death, he left Naples for a short time, seeking new spaces of affirmation in Rome. Returning to the San Carlino theater, he embarked on a long national tour in 1879. A substantial loan also enabled him to completely renovate the theater, ushering in an extraordinarily prosperous phase.

Soon Scarpetta became one of the leading figures of Italian theater: he profoundly renewed the Neapolitan comic repertoire, setting aside the most antiquated models and bringing to the stage brilliant, lively, irreverent comedies, many of them written in his own hand. Many others, however, were reworkings of Italian and French texts, which he adapted with acumen to Neapolitan and national-popular taste.

In 1887, he saw the debut of what would become his most famous work, Miseria e nobiltà, destined for imperishable success. His total output exceeded one hundred operas, maintained in the repertoire even after his death, thanks to his son Vincenzo. Among his best-known titles are ‘Nu turco napulitano, Santarella and L’albergo del silenzio.

On a personal level, Scarpetta’s love life was complex and articulated, but it helped generate a true theatrical dynasty: in 1876 he married Rosa De Filippo, by whom he had sons Domenico and Vincenzo. From a relationship with Francesca Giannetti was born Maria, later adopted. From his union with Luisa De Filippo, his wife’s niece, were born Titina, Eduardo and Peppino, destined to become leading figures on the 20th-century Italian stage. A further relationship with Anna De Filippo, his wife’s half-sister, led to the birth of Ernesto (future Murolo), Eduardo – aka Eduardo Passarelli – and Pasquale.

Eduardo Scarpetta died in Naples on November 29, 1925.

You can consult the birth certificate on the Ancestors Portal: Archivio di Stato di Napoli > Stato civile della restaurazione (quartieri di Napoli) > San Ferdinando > 01/01/1853-28/04/1853

The original is kept at the State Archives in Naples.

For more on the figure of Eduardo Scarpetta, see the entry of the Biographical Dictionary of Italians edited by Valentina Venturini.

Archivio di Stato di Napoli > Stato civile della restaurazione (quartieri di Napoli) > San Ferdinando > 01/01/1853-28/04/1853

Aldo Fabrizi (born Fabbrizi) was born in Rome on November 1, 1905, to Giuseppe, a coachman, and Angela Petrucci, a fruit seller in Campo de’ Fiori.

Having been orphaned by his father at an early age, he abandoned his studies to help support his family, consisting of his mother and five sisters, including the well-known “sora Lella” (Elena Fabrizi).

Despite this, he published a first collection of poems in 1928, Lucciche ar sole. Romanesque poems, and at the same time began to frequent the theatrical environment with continuity, first playing small roles in the Filodrammatica Tata Giovanni, then as a macchiettista on the stages of numerous Italian stages, until 1937, when he inaugurated his own company.

His film debut dates back to 1942 with Avanti c’è posto…, flanked by Anna Magnani under the direction of Mario Bonnard.

He soon became a stable presence on the big screen, even winning the Silver Ribbon for Best Actor in a Leading Role in the film First Communion in 1950.

More than 70 films followed, including Roberto Rossellini’s Roma città aperta (1945) and numerous others in collaboration with his colleague and friend Totò-among the best-known: Guardie e ladri (1951), I tartassati (1959), Totò, Fabrizi e i giovani d’oggi (1960), Totò contro i quattro (1963)-and others with Peppino De Filippo-Lordori, in carrozza! (1951), Accadde al penitenziario (1955) and Guardia, guardia scelta, brigadiere e maresciallo (1956) -.

Fabrizi thus became one of the central figures of Italian-style comedy, giving life to recurring and characteristic characters inspired by popular Rome, such as the burly, jovial and grumpy man who wore the clothes of the petty bourgeois or the uniform of a non-commissioned officer, very dear to Italian audiences.

After a brief stint as a director, his presence on the big screen became more sparse between the 1960s and 1970s. However, he returned in prominent roles in Luigi Magni’s La Tosca (1973) and especially in Ettore Scola’s C’eravamo tanto amati (1974), with a performance that earned him his second Nastro d’Argento, this time as a supporting actor.

In the last decade of his life, he continued to participate in theater and television productions and, in 1988, received the David di Donatello Lifetime Achievement Award.

He died in Rome on April 2, 1990.

You can consult the birth certificate on the Ancestors Portal: Archivio di Stato di Roma > Stato civile italiano > Roma > 1905

The original is kept at the State Archives in Rome.

For more on the figure of Aldo Fabrizi, see the entry of the Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani edited by Sisto Sallusti.

Archivio di Stato di Roma > Stato civile italiano > Roma > 1905

L’8 agosto 2024 mio padre, Franco, chiuse gli occhi a questo mondo e venne alleggerito dei gravami terreni, ricongiungendosi alla sua amata Maria, che due anni prima ci aveva salutati (il 9 settembre 2022). Pittore, poeta, docente di educazione artistica nelle scuole medie molto stimato lui, maestra nelle scuole elementari e donna di grande equilibrio lei, i miei genitori da allora hanno lasciato in me e in mia sorella un vuoto incolmabile, un deserto sterminato.

Dopo qualche ricerca in rete, ho scoperto il “Portale Antenati” ed ho iniziato a recuperare dall’Archivio di Stato di Lecce una quantità sempre maggiore di informazioni: partendo dalle date di nascita dei miei nonni, sono riuscito a risalire, un passo dopo l’altro, a un totale di 400 antenati diretti, ricostruendo nel dettaglio tutto il mio albero genealogico, andando indietro, in qualche caso, fino alla decima generazione.

Tra le decine di migliaia di pagine dei registri dello stato civile che ho consultato, redatte dai tempi dell’era napoleonica fino al secondo conflitto mondiale ed ora disponibili pubblicamente in forma digitale, hanno pian piano preso forma le storie di tutti i miei ascendenti e delle loro famiglie. Ho potuto così scoprire le origini geografiche dei miei antenati, distribuite su ventisei diversi comuni del Salento, da Nardò ad Alessano, dalla costa ionica a quella adriatica. Ho preso nota dei loro mestieri, in prevalenza contadini e filatrici.

Trattandosi di documentazioni ufficiali (atti di nascite, matrimoni e morti), ogni espressione delle esistenze di quelle persone emerge solo formalmente, ma lascia, di fatto, molte importanti tracce di quelle che erano le condizioni di vita delle donne e degli uomini di quei tempi ormai lontani.

Non è semplice descrivere in poche righe il fascino che avvolge questi studi genealogici e le intense emozioni che si provano nell’esplorare i contenuti degli archivi e nello scoprire i nomi e le informazioni anagrafiche dei propri antenati. Non esiste, in definitiva, un’unica storia da raccontare, ma una miriade di storie, un reticolo fittissimo di relazioni che uniscono tra loro le vite di tanti individui, solo in apparenza sconosciuti, risultato di un intricato miscuglio di vissuti che attraversano i secoli, che si intersecano tra loro, si sfiorano fino a toccarsi, oppure s’ignorano vicendevolmente, alcune volte si separano e altre si ricongiungono, si possono anche contrapporre, ma alla fin fine – si scopre – hanno sempre, inevitabilmente, un’origine comune, per quanto remota.

Tra tutte le storie dei miei ascendenti, scelgo di raccontare quella di un mio trisnonno, Pietro Scarpa. Fu il nonno della mia nonna paterna, Vittoria Scarpa, protagonista di un bellissimo ritratto realizzato da mio padre nel 2009, figlia di Paolino Scarpa, il cui padre si chiamava Pietro Leonardo. Sulla base di una serie di informazioni reperite sui registri dello stato civile del mio comune di origine, Sannicola, dedussi che Pietro Scarpa doveva essere nato attorno al 1839, ma la ricerca del suo atto di nascita si rivelò un mistero: non trovandolo a Sannicola (villaggio che due secoli fa si chiamava “Villa San Nicola”), provai a cercarlo sui registri di tutti i paesi limitrofi di quel periodo, ma senza successo. Riuscii a trovare i nomi dei suoi genitori (Vincenzo Scarpa, del 1809, e Petrina Spagna, del 1819), come pure il loro atto di matrimonio, avvenuto il 29/1/1837 a Seclì, luogo di origine di Petrina, la quale morì giovanissima a Sannicola il 14/11/1838.

Dell’atto di nascita di Pietro, invece, non emerse alcuna evidenza. La mia indagine ebbe una svolta quando esaminai gli allegati propedeutici al suo matrimonio con Marianna Cuppone, celebratosi a Neviano nel 1873: proprio come supponevo, il trentacinquenne Pietro non aveva con sé alcun certificato attestante luogo e data della sua nascita, e non era perciò in condizione di presentare richiesta di esecuzione delle pubblicazioni di matrimonio. Per risolvere la questione, suo padre Vincenzo, che nel frattempo si era risposato (con Raffaela Zizzari, del 1819, dalla quale aveva avuto altri cinque figli) per poi rimanere nuovamente vedovo e quindi sposarsi una terza volta (con Angela Maria Scorrano, anche lei del 1819), chiamò a sé alcuni compaesani suoi conoscenti e con questi si recò alla Pretura Mandamentale di Gallipoli. Tramite giuramento, tutti dichiararono di riconoscere in Pietro Scarpa il figlio di Vincenzo, nato a Villa San Nicola il 14/11/1838. Ciò permise a Pietro e Marianna di convolare a nozze, e a me di risolvere l’enigma: in quella triste data del novembre 1838, evidentemente, la diciannovenne Petrina Spagna (il cui nome di battesimo ricordava quello del suo nonno paterno, Pietro Spagna) morì a seguito del parto del suo unico figlio, al quale fu dato lo stesso nome, al maschile. Per provare la veridicità della mia ricostruzione, mi recai presso i locali della Parrocchia di Santa Maria delle Grazie a Sannicola e, consultando i registri parrocchiali di due secoli fa, ritrovai l’estratto del battesimo di Pietro Scarpa, risalente proprio al 14/11/1838.

Non possiamo sapere se la mancata registrazione dell’atto di nascita presso lo stato civile dell’epoca sia davvero imputabile alla negligenza dell’ufficiale in servizio a quel tempo (come dichiararono tutti i testimoni trentacinque anni dopo) o se, piuttosto, tutto ciò non si possa spiegare come una fatale dimenticanza del giovane padre-vedovo Vincenzo Scarpa, travolto dal tragico susseguirsi degli eventi. Di lì a un mese, il 22/12/1838, la suocera di Vincenzo, la trentanovenne Antonia Carratta, divenne madre per la nona volta, e a quella sua ultima figlia volle dare lo stesso nome della primogenita: Petrina Spagna.

Questo che ho ricostruito è solo uno dei tanti frammenti di quella piccola grande Storia, di un tempo che riaffiora nelle nostre vite e che ci permette di conoscere meglio le nostre radici, grazie al preziosissimo patrimonio messo a disposizione dal Portale Antenati: un tesoro da custodire gelosamente nei nostri ricordi, un testimone che è nostro dovere consegnare alle future generazioni.

Alfonso Bialetti was born in Casale Corte Cerro on June 17, 1888, to Luigi and Luigia Sartorisio.

At a very young age, he went to France to work in a foundry, where he learned the technique of shell casting, which profoundly influenced his business activities. Upon returning to Italy, he opened Alfonso Bialetti & C., an atelier for the design and manufacture of finished, market-ready products.

In 1933, inspired by the workings of the lisciveuse-an ancient prototype washing machine-he invented the Moka Express, named in homage to the Yemeni city of Mokhā, known for producing and exporting coffee.

Success was immediate, although in the early days production remained on an artisanal scale, with a still limited number of pieces per year. It was after World War II that the business experienced expansion on an industrial and international scale, thanks mainly to the entrepreneurial intuition of his son Renato. It was to him, in fact, that we owe the winning decision to implement an intense advertising campaign, entrusted to the famous designer Paul Campani, who created the iconic “little man with a mustache” – a caricature of Renato himself -, which later became the symbol of Bialetti around the world.

Alfonso Bialetti died in Omegna on March 5, 1970.

You can check thebirth certificate on the Ancestor Portal: Verbania State Archives > Italian Civil Status > Casale Corte Cerro (Verbano-Cusio-Ossola province) > 1888

The original is kept at theState Archives in Verbania.

Verbania State Archives > Italian Civil Status > Casale Corte Cerro (province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola) > 1888

Mi chiamo Eduardo Becher de Lima Bernardo, sono brasiliano, nato nell’entroterra dello Stato di San Paolo, ma vivo a Curitiba fin da bambino. Nella famiglia di mio padre, a volte sentivo lui o mia madre accennare al fatto che i “Bernardo” avevano origine italiana. Tuttavia, essendo una famiglia di umili origini, pensavo fosse solo un modo per dare un tocco di fascino europeo alla probabile storia sofferta di una famiglia brasiliana che aveva adottato il cognome Bernardo.

Nel 2023, quando mio nonno, Antonio Bernardo, è morto, ho iniziato a fare qualche ricerca sulla genealogia della famiglia. Ho fatto un test del DNA e il risultato mostrava un 13%-15% di ascendenza dell’Italia centro-meridionale, il che ha acceso ancora di più la mia curiosità nel voler indagare la storia dei Bernardo.

Mio padre mi ha aiutato con i documenti di mio nonno e ho scoperto che la mia bisnonna “Celeste” in realtà si chiamava “Pasqualina Caserta”: ho così capito da dove provenisse l’origine italiana del nostro ramo “Bernardo”. Ma perché Celeste? Semplice: il suo nome di battesimo era “Pasqualina Celeste”, per distinguerla dalla sorella, anche lei “Pasqualina”.

In ogni caso, è stato facile trovare online i registri della bisnonna: era nata nell’entroterra di San Paolo alla fine degli anni Venti, figlia di “Antonio Cazerta” e “Assumpta Violla”. Più difficile è stato scoprire da quale città provenissero i miei trisnonni. I parenti parlavano di Calabria, Napoli… sapevo dunque che era nel sud. Antonio Caserta – questo era il suo nome corretto -, nei registri brasiliani, risultava figlio di “Domingos Cazerta” e “Paschualina Brachale” o “Paschualina Brazol”: chiare versioni brasilianizzate, con errori tipici che solo un ufficiale brasiliano, ascoltando il dialetto del sud Italia, avrebbe potuto trascrivere.

Assunta Violo era figlia di “Eleuterio Violla” e “Celeste Marcella”. Ho cercato instancabilmente in vari siti, parlato a lungo con parenti lontani e proprio quando stavo per perdere la speranza di trovare i registri al di fuori del Brasile… ho trovato un’associazione della città di Aquino che aveva avviato un progetto bellissimo: costruire un albero genealogico per l’intera città. Ed eccolo lì: Antonio Caserta, nato nel 1886, figlio di Domenico Caserta e Pasqualina Bracciale. Ho provato un sollievo ancestrale, come un bambino che prende coscienza di sé e del mondo.

Dopotutto, lì, nella terra della famiglia di San Tommaso d’Aquino, c’era la prova chiara di un’esistenza della quale porto il sangue nelle vene… ma non tutto mi era ancora completamente chiaro. Dovevo trovare il registro, ed è lì che il portale Antenati mi ha salvato. Ho cercato “Aquino”, ho aperto il libro delle nascite del 1886 e lì c’era il mio trisavolo.

Naturalmente non mi sono fermato: ho consultato quasi tutti i registri digitalizzati sul Portale e ho trovato anche la sorella del mio trisnonno, Mariantonia Caserta.

*Atto di nascita di Mariantonia Caserta*

Mi sono innamorato della città di Aquino, della sua cultura, storia e gente. E la mia trisavola Assunta? Ho cercato ad Aquino e non ho trovato nulla… ma ho trovato Celeste Marsella, la madre della mia trisavola Assunta. Così, cercando tra i registri ho scoperto che era nata ad Aquino nel 1864, ma senza tracce successive. Approfondendo, ho scoperto che si era sposata a Galluccio con un certo Eleuterio Violo.

*Matrimonio di Eleuterio Violo e Celeste Marsella*

Sì, il padre della mia trisavola. Si sposarono nel 1887 e lì nacque la loro figlia Assunta. Ho trovato il registro sul portale Antenati e la ciliegina sulla torta è stata l’annotazione nell’angolo dell’atto: “sposata con Caserta Antonio il 14 marzo 1908, ad Aquino”.

Questo coincideva con la storia di famiglia secondo cui sarebbero arrivati già sposati dall’Italia, tra il 1900 e il 1910.

Da quel momento, il mio cuore ha adottato un’altra città italiana: Galluccio. E così, da brasiliano instancabile alla ricerca delle proprie origini e che porta Aquino e Galluccio nel cuore, ho tormentato i miei parenti finché non ho trovato una foto di Antonio e Assunta.

Eccoli qui, davanti al Monumento dell’Indipendenza del Brasile, tra il 1940 e il 1950, insieme alle figlie Costantina e Pasqualina, ai generi e ai nipoti. Assunta è la prima donna a destra, accanto a lei c’è Antonio con il cappello, vicino al genero, poi le figlie, l’altro genero in fondo e, sotto, i nipoti.

Lascio qui il mio ringraziamento al Portale Antenati, che ha reso possibile, grazie a un team straordinario con un progetto meraviglioso, un sogno e l’orgoglio di un brasiliano che porta anche sangue italiano. Un abbraccio a tutti, in particolare alle amate città di Aquino e Galluccio, che devo visitare prima di morire: è una promessa!

Antonio morì a Catanduva, São Paulo, l’8 dicembre 1950 e Assunta a Itajobi, São Paulo, il 16 novembre 1965, ma lasciarono in eredità il sangue contadino italiano ai figli, ai nipoti, ai pronipoti, ai trisnipoti, ai quadrisnipoti e a tutti i loro discendenti.

Sono molto orgoglioso di questo sangue, lo stesso che scorreva nelle vene delle braccia che hanno nutrito l’Italia e il Regno delle Due Sicilie nell’antica Terra di Lavoro… persone che riconoscevano negli altri gruppi che lavoravano nelle piantagioni di caffè brasiliane la stessa sofferenza e, al tempo stesso, la stessa ammirazione per il lavoro ben fatto, per la semplicità e per l’amore verso la famiglia. Alla fine, forse “Bernardo” non è il mio cognome di origine italiana, ma i “Bernardo” che discendono da Pasqualina (oppure “Pascoalina) Celeste Caserta portano sicuramente con sé questo orgoglio.

Giuseppe Bottai was born in Rome on September 3, 1895, to Luigi, a wine merchant, and Elena Cortesia.

With the outbreak of the Great War he interrupted his studies to enlist as a volunteer at the front, distinguishing himself in various war actions that earned him the bronze medal for military valor. At the end of the conflict, he graduated in Law and began to cultivate a strong literary and journalistic inclination, collaborating with the editorial staff of the Popolo d’Italia and with the direction of the magazine Roma futurista.

Elected deputy in 1924, he was appointed undersecretary in 1926 and, from 1929 to 1932, held the position of Minister of Corporations, contributing significantly to the drafting of the Labour Charter (1927). In parallel with his political and journalistic activity, starting in 1930 he embarked on an academic career, obtaining the chair of Corporate Law first at the University of Pisa and, from 1936, at the University of Rome.

On November 22, 1936, Bottai assumed the leadership of the Ministry of National Education, which he held until 1943. During his mandate he promoted an incisive reform of the entire school system, aimed at promoting wider access to education, and promoted measures of great importance in the field of the protection of cultural and artistic heritage. Among these, the following stand out: the increase in the number of Superintendencies from 28 to 58, with a more rational distribution of territory and competences; the regulation of the rules relating to the findings, reproductions, exports and expropriations of artistic property; the promulgation of the well-known Bottai law (law no. 1089 of 1 June 1939), or the first organic legislation for the protection of things of artistic and historical interest, to which was added law no. 1497 of 29 June 1939, aimed at the “protection of landscape beauties”; finally, he ordered the creation of the Central Institute for Restoration (l.n. 1240 of 22 July 1939).

Starting in the forties, his relations with Mussolini began to crack. After 1943 he was forced into hiding and, in the Verona trial, he was sentenced to death in absentia. On 4 July 1944 the High Court of Justice deprived him of his university chair and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

Amnestied in 1947, he was able to return to Italy on 2 August 1948 and, although reinstated in his university roles, in 1951 he asked to be retired.

Two years later he founded the political criticism magazine ABC, which he directed until his death in Rome on January 9, 1959.

You can consult the birth certificate on the Ancestors Portal: Archivio di Stato di Roma > Stato civile italiano > Roma > 1895

The original is kept at the State Archives of Rome.

For further information on the figure of Giuseppe Bottai, see the entry in the Biographical Dictionary of Italians edited by Sabino Cassese.

Archivio di Stato di Roma > Stato civile italiano > Roma > 1895

Nicola Zingarelli was born in Cerignola (Foggia) on 28 August 1860 (although the official documents show the date of 31 August), the second son of Girolamo, a tailor, and Teresa Longo. He received his elementary education in his native city, then moved to Naples for high school studies (his partner was Salvatore Di Giacomo among others) and university.

Initially enrolled in the Faculty of Law, he moved on to the Faculty of Letters discussing his thesis on Words and forms of the “Divine Comedy” alien to the Florentine dialect, on June 29, 1882. The work was published two years later in the first issue of Studi di filologia romanza (I [1884], pp. 1-202), directed by Ernesto Monaci. Having embarked on the path of high school teaching, in the winter semester of 1884-85 he attended, thanks to a scholarship, the University of Breslau, then in Berlin.

Returning to Italy, in August 1885 he hosted Adolf Gaspary in Cerignola: on that occasion it was decided to translate the German scholar’s History of Italian Literature, the first volume of which was published two years later (Turin 1887). As a teacher he lived in Palermo, then in Campobasso, Ferrara and Naples. In 1869 he founded with Erasmo Pèrcopo the Rassegna critica della letteratura italiana, which he directed for the entire duration of its publications (1896-1925); in the same year he obtained the free teaching in comparative history of neo-Latin literature, approaching his university career, with the encouragement of Francesco D’Ovidio.

In December 1901 he won the competition at the University of Palermo and became a full professor in 1906. He remained in Palermo until 1916, the year of his transfer to the Scientific-Literary Academy of Milan where he occupied the chair of Neo-Latin languages and literatures.

The publication of the Vocabolario della lingua italiana dates back to 1917, which was published by the publishers Bietti and Reggiani in Milan and from 1922 in a single volume. In March 1923 he became a full member of the R. Lombard Institute of Sciences and Letters; on 1 July of that year he also obtained, on a ministerial initiative, the appointment as an academician of the Crusca. From 1925 he directed (again for Romance literature) and collaborated with the Italian Encyclopedia founded by Giovanni Treccani. In 1931, succeeding Michele Scherillo, he moved on to teach Italian literature.

He died in Milan on 7 June 1935.

You can consult the death certificate on the Ancestors Portal: State Archives of Milan > Italian > Civil Status Milan> Deaths > 1935

The birth certificate is also available on the Ancestors Portal: State Archives of Foggia > Civil Status of the Cerignola > Restoration > Born > 1860

The originals are preserved respectively at the State Archives of Foggia (birth certificate) and the State Archives of Milan (death certificate).

For further information on the figure of Nicola Zingarelli, see the entry edited by Massimiliano Corrado in the Biographical Dictionary of Italians.

State Archives of Milan > Italian > Civil Status Milan> Deaths > 1935

Luigi Capuana was born in Mineo (Catania) on 28 May 1839 to Gaetano, a wealthy landowner, and Dorotea Ragusa. He attended municipal schools in Mineo and in 1851 he enrolled in the Royal College of Bronte, which he left in 1855 for health reasons, returning to Mineo and continuing his self-taught studies there. After obtaining his license, he enrolled, in 1857, in the Faculty of Law of the Siculorum Gymnasium in Catania, which he abandoned in 1860 to take part in Garibaldi’s enterprise as secretary of the clandestine insurrectionary committee of Mineo and, later, as chancellor (municipal secretary) in the nascent civic council. Settling in Florence in 1864, he took an active part in the cultural life of the city, frequenting the Michelangelo café (where he met the Macchiaioli and, among others, became friends with T. Signorini and V. Boldini), the salons of Dall’Ongaro and Pozzolini, where he met, among others, C. Levi (by whom he was encouraged to read the works of Balzac) and, in May-June of the year 1865, his fellow countryman Giovanni Verga.

After his first critical attempts in 1865 in the Rivista italica, the following year he became dramatic critic of the newspaper La Nazione. In 1867 his first narrative attempt appeared in the Florentine newspaper Il dottor Cymbalus , which inaugurated the fantastic and science fiction vein of a very rich production of short stories also inspired by motifs and figures of Sicilian life. Famous in this sense are the collections Le appassionate (1893) and Le paesane (1894).

Returning to Sicily in 1868, he became a school inspector, then a city councilor, then mayor of Mineo: in this period he approached the idealistic philosophy of Hegel and deepened his knowledge of De Sanctis and A.C. De Meis. After a brief stay in Rome in 1875 – during which he fixed the lines of the novel Jacinta – he returned to Mineo and published his first volume of short stories: Profiles of women (1877). In 1877, also following Verga’s solicitations, he went to Milan, where he obtained the position of literary and dramatic critic of the Corriere della Sera and, on the basis of a personal reworking of naturalistic theories, began the drafting of Giacinta, destined to take on the programmatic value of manifesto of Italian verismo (1879).

In 1880 he collected his articles on Zola, Goncourt, Verga and other writers of the time in two volumes of Studies on Contemporary Literature (1880-1882). Dating back to this period of time is the brief stay in Ispica and the beginning of the writing of the novel that would make him famous twenty years later, The Marquis of Roccaverdina (originally The Marquis of Santaverdina) of 1902, set in the town of Ragusa. From 1882 to 1883 he lived in Rome and directed the Sunday Fanfulla. He spent the years until 1888 in Catania and Mineo, and finally returned to Rome, where he remained until 1901. His literary production was very rich in these years: fables and tales for children (Once upon a time, 1882; Scurpiddu, 1898; etc.) novellas (Nuove paesane, 1898; etc.) novels (Profumo, 1890; etc.). In 1898 he published Gli “ismi” contemporanei. Professor of Italian literature at the Higher Institute of Education in Rome, he deepened his friendship with D’Annunzio and met Pirandello, who was his colleague.

In 1902 he returned to Catania, to teach lexicography and stylistics at the local university. In these years he devoted himself to the writing of the novel Resignation (1907). Among his last works: Consciences (1905), In the Land of Zagara (1910), The Americans of Rabbato (1912) but also the fantastic tales, In the island of automata (1906), In the kingdom of the monkeys, Flying and The underground city (1908), The living steel (1913).

He died on 29 November 1915 in Catania.

You can consult the birth certificate on the Ancestors Portal: State Archives of Catania > Civil Status of the Mineo > Restoration > 1839

The original is preserved at the State Archives of Catania

For further information on the figure of Luigi Capuana, see the entry in the Biographical Dictionary of Italians edited by Enrico Ghidetti.

State Archives of Catania > Civil Status of the Mineo > Restoration > 1839

Corrado Alvaro was born in San Luca (Reggio Calabria) in 1895 to Antonio, an elementary school teacher and founder of an evening school for illiterate farmers and shepherds, and Antonia Giampaolo. He moved first to Perugia and then to Catanzaro to continue his studies, making his debut in literature early with the collection of verses Polsi nell’arte, nella leggenda, nella storia (1911). In 1915 he was called up to arms and assigned to the Karst area as an infantry officer: this experience was the basis of the second poetic collection Poesie grigioverdi (1917). The same year also saw the beginning of his journalistic career and collaborations with the “Resto del Carlino” and – from 1919 – with the “Corriere della Sera”.

In 1920 he graduated in literature in Milan and published his first volume of short stories La siepe e l’orto; then, settling in Rome with his wife Laura Babini, translator and writer, he was called in 1922 by Giovanni Amendola to the editorial staff of the newspaper “Il Mondo”, where he remained until the suppression of the newspaper in 1926, taking part alongside Amendola in the battle against fascism. Subjected to gang violence and later persecution, he left Italy for some time, staying for a long time in Paris and Berlin.

In these years he edited the anthologies of short stories L’amata alla finestra (1929), La signora dell’isola (1930), Misteri e avventure (1930). As a correspondent for “La Stampa” he also made numerous trips abroad, which he reported on in the reports Viaggio in Turkey (1932), Itinerario italiano (1933), The masters of the flood. Travel to Russia (1935), New land. First chronicle of the Agro Pontino (1938). He collaborated with «900», «Mercurio», «Critica fascista», «Omnibus», «Primato» and «Sipario». His first awards came with Vent’anni (1930), Gente in Aspromonte (1930, Premio La Stampa) and L’uomo è forte (1938).

The collapse of the dictatorship led him to the editorship of the Roman newspaper “Il Popolo di Roma”, which he held with great balance and acute sense of the situation until, after 8 September, he was forced to take refuge under a false name in Chieti.

Returning to Rome in 1944, in 1945 he founded the National Writers’ Union with Francesco Jovine and Libero Bigiaretti, of which he was secretary until his death. In the post-war period, L’Italia runzia? (1945), L’età breve (1946), Un treno nel sud (1950), Quasi una vita (1950), Il nostro tempo e la speranza (1952) and 75 racconti (1955) were published. Also worth mentioning is a brief experience as a screenwriter in the forties, traces of which remain in the films Noi vivi (1942) and La carne e l’anima (1943), and his activity as a translator (Tolstoy, de Rojas, Shakespeare etc.).

He died in Rome on 11 June 1956.

You can consult the birth certificate on the Ancestors Portal: State Archives of Reggio Calabria > Italian > Civil Status San Luca > 1895

The original is preserved in the State Archives of Reggio Calabria

For further information on the figure of Corrado Alvaro, see the entry in the Biographical Dictionary of Italians edited by Ferdinando Virdia.

State Archives of Reggio Calabria > Italian > Civil Registry San Luca > 1895

Raffaele Mattioli was born in Vasto on March 20, 1895.

In 1912, he enrolled in the Faculty of Economics at the University of Genoa, but with the advent of World War I, he enlisted as a volunteer, remaining in service even after the end of the conflict in Gabriele d’Annunzio’s legions as his press secretary.

Leaving the army, he resumed his studies, graduating in December 1920 with a thesis on monetary economics.

His career began at Banca Commerciale Italiana (Comit), one of the leading financial institutions of the time. He quickly rose to the top, becoming general manager in 1931, managing director in 1933, and chairman of the administrative council since 1960.

His role led him to have frequent contacts with Benito Mussolini, but he strongly supported the communist cause, meeting secretly with Palmiro Togliatti and personally working to rescue the Prison Notebooks after Antonio Gramsci’s death.

Over the years, Mattioli’s management transformed Comit into a modern and strategic bank, capable of navigating Italy’s complex historical phases: from the Fascist regime, to World War II, to postwar reconstruction. During the Black Twenties, he worked strenuously for a “cultural resistance and, despite political pressure, defended the bank’s autonomy, even protecting many intellectuals persecuted by the regime.

After World War II ended, it played a crucial role in Italy’s economic reconstruction, promoting industrial development policies and supporting innovative enterprises and long-term investment strategies.

In addition to his banking activities, Mattioli distinguished himself for his commitment as a patron of culture: he was, in fact, a man of vast humanistic sensitivity, who established close relations with leading intellectuals and philosophers, including Benedetto Croce. He supported publishing houses, financed restorations and promoted the publication of fundamental texts, such as the complete works of Carlo Cattaneo and classics of economic and philosophical thought.

He died in Rome on July 27, 1973.

You can view thebirth certificate on the Ancestor Portal: Chieti State Archives > Italian Civil Status > Vasto > 1895

The original is kept at theState Archives in Chieti.

For more on the figure of Raffaele Mattioli, see the entry of the Biographical Dictionary of Italians edited by Francesca Pino.