Dacia Maraini
Encyclopedia
Dacia Maraini is an Italian writer. She is the daughter of Sicilian Princess Topazia Alliata di Salaparuta, an artist and art dealer, and of Fosco Maraini
, a Florentine ethnologist and mountaineer of mixed Ticinese
, English
and Polish
background who wrote in particular on Tibet
and Japan
. Maraini's work focuses on women’s issues, and she has written numerous plays and novels. She has won awards for her work, including the Formentor Prize forL'età del malessere (1963); the Premio Fregene for Isolina (1985); the Premio Campiello
and Book of the Year Award for La lunga vita di Marianna Ucrìa (1990); and the Premio Strega for Buio (1999).
, Tuscany
.
When she was a child, her family moved to Japan in 1938 to escape Fascism
. They were interned in a Japanese concentration camp from 1943 to 1946 for refusing to recognize the military government. After the war, the family returned to Italy and lived in Sicily
with her mother’s family in the town of Bagheria
, province of Palermo
.
Not long after, her parents separated and her father moved to Rome
where, some years later, at the age of eighteen, Maraini joined him. She was educated at L'Istituto Statale della Ss. Annunziata
, a prestigious and privileged boarding school in Florence
.
She married Lucio Pozzi
, a Milanese
painter
, but they separated after four years. She then became Alberto Moravia
's companion, living with him from 1962 until 1983.
In 1966, Maraini, Moravia and Enzo Siciliano
founded the del Porcospino (Porcupine) theatrical company which had as its mission the production of new Italian plays. They included her own La famiglia normale, Moravia’s L’intervista, Siciliano’s Tazza, and works by Carlo Emilio Gadda
, Goffredo Parise
, Juan Rodolfo Wilcock
and Tornabuoni.
In 1973, she helped to found the Teatro della Maddalena which was run by women only.
Maraini is a prolific and well-known writer who continues to produce works today.
Fosco Maraini
Fosco Maraini was an Italian photographer, anthropologist, ethnologist, writer, mountaineer and academic.-Biography:...
, a Florentine ethnologist and mountaineer of mixed Ticinese
Ticinese
Ticinese is a comprehensive denomination for the varieties of Lombard language spoken in Canton Ticino and in the north of the Province of Varese....
, English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
background who wrote in particular on Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Maraini's work focuses on women’s issues, and she has written numerous plays and novels. She has won awards for her work, including the Formentor Prize forL'età del malessere (1963); the Premio Fregene for Isolina (1985); the Premio Campiello
Premio Campiello
The Premio Campiello is an annual Italian literary prize.A Jury of Literary Experts identifies books published during the year and, in a public hearing, selects five of those as finalists. These books are called il Premio Selezione Campiello...
and Book of the Year Award for La lunga vita di Marianna Ucrìa (1990); and the Premio Strega for Buio (1999).
Life
Maraini was born in FiesoleFiesole
Fiesole is a town and comune of the province of Florence in the Italian region of Tuscany, on a famously scenic height above Florence, 8 km NE of that city...
, Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
.
When she was a child, her family moved to Japan in 1938 to escape Fascism
Italian Fascism
Italian Fascism also known as Fascism with a capital "F" refers to the original fascist ideology in Italy. This ideology is associated with the National Fascist Party which under Benito Mussolini ruled the Kingdom of Italy from 1922 until 1943, the Republican Fascist Party which ruled the Italian...
. They were interned in a Japanese concentration camp from 1943 to 1946 for refusing to recognize the military government. After the war, the family returned to Italy and lived in Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
with her mother’s family in the town of Bagheria
Bagheria
Bagheria is a town and comune in the Province of Palermo in Sicily, Italy.-Etymology:According to some sources, the name Bagheria originates from the Phoenician term Bayharia meaning "land that descends toward the sea." Other sources claim that it derives from the Arabic Bāb al-Gerib, or "windy...
, province of Palermo
Province of Palermo
The Province of Palermo is a province in the autonomous region of Sicily, a major island in Southern Italy. Its capital is the city of Palermo. The Province of Palermo has 82 comuni , 1,239,272 inhabitants, and is 4,992 km² .-External links:...
.
Not long after, her parents separated and her father moved to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
where, some years later, at the age of eighteen, Maraini joined him. She was educated at L'Istituto Statale della Ss. Annunziata
L'Istituto Statale della Ss. Annunziata
L'Istituto Statale della Ss. Annunziata was the first female boarding school in Florence, founded for the daughters of Marquis Gino Capponi. The Institute was created in 1823, to educate aristocratic and noble girls, under the patronage of Maria Anna of Saxony and Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany...
, a prestigious and privileged boarding school in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
.
She married Lucio Pozzi
Lucio Pozzi
Lucio Pozzi is a Milanese painter and performance artist.His work is in the collections of the P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center; the Museum of Modern Art; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; the Art Gallery of Ontario; the New York Public Library; the Detroit Institute of Arts; Giuseppe Panza;...
, a Milanese
Milanese
Milanese is the central variety of the Western Lombard language spoken in the city and province of Milan....
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, but they separated after four years. She then became Alberto Moravia
Alberto Moravia
Alberto Moravia, born Alberto Pincherle was an Italian novelist and journalist. His novels explored matters of modern sexuality, social alienation, and existentialism....
's companion, living with him from 1962 until 1983.
In 1966, Maraini, Moravia and Enzo Siciliano
Enzo Siciliano
Enzo Siciliano was an Italian writer, playwright, literary critic and intellectual.Siciliano was born in Rome. He was collaborator of Alberto Moravia, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Elsa Morante and many other famous writers in the 1950s and 1960s.From 1996 to 1998 he was President of RAI...
founded the del Porcospino (Porcupine) theatrical company which had as its mission the production of new Italian plays. They included her own La famiglia normale, Moravia’s L’intervista, Siciliano’s Tazza, and works by Carlo Emilio Gadda
Carlo Emilio Gadda
Carlo Emilio Gadda was an Italian writer and poet. He belongs to the tradition of the language innovators, writers that played with the somewhat stiff standard pre-war Italian language, and added elements of dialects, technical jargon and wordplay.-Biography:Gadda was a practising engineer from...
, Goffredo Parise
Goffredo Parise
Goffredo Parise was an Italian writer and journalist. He won the Viareggio Prize in 1965 and the Strega Prize in 1982. He was an atheist.-References:...
, Juan Rodolfo Wilcock
Juan Rodolfo Wilcock
Juan Rodolfo Wilcock was an Argentinian author, poet, critic and translator. He was the son of Charles Leonard Wilcock and Ida Romegialli.- Early life :Wilcock was born at Buenos Aires....
and Tornabuoni.
In 1973, she helped to found the Teatro della Maddalena which was run by women only.
Maraini is a prolific and well-known writer who continues to produce works today.
Works
- La vacanza (1963; translated by Stuart Hood as The holiday : a novel, 1966)
- L'età del malessere (1963, winner of Formentor Prize; translated by Frances Frenaye as The age of discontent - also published as The Age of Malaise - 1963)
- Memorie di una ladra (1973; translated by Nina Rootes as Memoirs of a female thief, 1973)
- Donne mie (1974, poetry)
- Mio marito (1974)
- Donna in guerra (1975)
- Maria StuardaMary Stuart-People:*Mary Stewart, Countess of Buchan , fifth daughter of James I of Scotland, 1st Countess of Buchan*Mary, Queen of Scots , queen regnant of Scotland, wife of Francis II of France and mother of James I of England...
(1975, theater) - Mangiami pure (1978, poetry; translated by Genni Donati Gunn as Devour me too, ISBN 0-919349-89-7)
- Stravaganza (1978)
- Isolina (1985, winner of Premio Fregene; translated by Siân Williams as Isolina, 1993, ISBN 0-7206-0897-X)
- La lunga vita di Marianna Ucrìa (1990, awarded Premio CampielloPremio CampielloThe Premio Campiello is an annual Italian literary prize.A Jury of Literary Experts identifies books published during the year and, in a public hearing, selects five of those as finalists. These books are called il Premio Selezione Campiello...
, book of the year award in Italy; translated by Dick Kitto & Elspeth Spottiswood as The Silent Duchess, 1992 - ISBN 1-55082-053-2) - Viaggiando con passo di volpe (1991; winner of Mediterraneo Prize, 1991, and Città delle penne, 1992)
- Veronica, meretrice e scrittora (1991)
- Bagheria (1993; translated by Dick Kitto and Elspeth Spottiswood as Bagheria, 1994 - ISBN 0-7206-0926-7)
- Voci (1994; awards include: Napoli 1995, Sibilla AleramoSibilla AleramoSibilla Aleramo was an Italian author and feminist best known for her autobiographical depictions of life as a woman in late 19th century Italy.- Life and career :Born Rina Faccio in Alessandria, Piedmont...
, 1995) - Dolce per sé (1997)
- Se amando troppo (1998)
- Buio (1999; winner of Premio Strega, 1999)
- Fare teatro (1966-2000) (2000, collection of plays)
- Colomba (2004)
Sources and further reading
- Dacia Maraini’s official Web Page
- Dacia Maraini biogrofia , at Italia Libri
- Two articles from RAIRAIRAI — Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane, is the Italian state owned public service broadcaster controlled by the Ministry of Economic Development. Rai is the biggest television company in Italy...
’s Italica site: