Guido Gozzano
Encyclopedia
Guido Gustavo Gozzano was an Italian
poet
and writer
.
, the son of Fausto Gozzano, an engineer, and of Diodata Mautino, the daughter of Senator Mautino, patriot and supporter of Giuseppe Mazzini
and Massimo D'Azeglio. He spent his childhood in Turin and in Agliè
(in the Canavese
area), where his family owned several buildings and a large estate.
Of delicate health (but nevertheless practicing sports such as ice-skating, cycling
, and swimming
), he completed primary school with mediocre results, and attended Liceo classico Cavour
; in 1903, after secondary school, he studied law at the University of Turin
but never graduated, preferring to attend the crepuscolari torinesi, i.e. literature lessons by poet Arturo Graf
, who was well liked by the young men of letters.
Graf exercised great influence over Gozzano. His Leopardi
-inspired pessimism
was mitigated by a spiritualistic form of socialism
, a combination which young Turinese intellectuals (who saw in his thought an "antidote" to the style of Gabriele D'Annunzio
) particularly favoured. Graf helped Gozzano depart from D'Annunzio's canon, which imbued his early work, by "going back to the sources" and devoting himself to a thorough study of the poetry of Dante Alighieri
and Francesco Petrarca, which helped refine his poetic sensibility.
In May 1907 Gozzano's weak health suddenly worsened due to severe pleurisy
, which forced the poet to spend the remainder of his solitary life on the Italian Riviera
(mostly San Giuliano d'Albaro) and in mountain towns (Ceresole Reale
, Ronco, Bertesseno, Fiery).
1907 was also the year when his affair with young poet Amalia Guglielminetti
began, originally as an exchange of letters—the two had originally met while attending the Società di Cultura.
Their love letters, exchanged in 1907-1909 but first published in 1951 as Lettere, reveal a profoundly tender love, which Gozzano at times tried to shirk away from, preferring a safer "literary comradeship".
In the same year Gozzano's first collection of poems (written between 1904 and 1907), La via del rifugio, appeared under the imprint of the Turin publisher Streglio.
In 1909 Gozzano gave up law studies altogether and devoted himself completely to poetry. Two years later, he published his opus magnum, the book I colloqui (literally "Conversations"), with the Milan
ese publisher Treves. The poems therein are in three sections, titled Il giovenile errore (lit. "The youthful error"), Alle soglie (lit. "At the threshold"), and Il reduce (lit. "The survivor"). "I colloqui" met much success with critics and readers, and prompted several offers of collaboration with important magazines and newspapers, among which were La Stampa
, La Lettura, and La Donna. The latter provided Gozzano with a fertile forum to publish both prose and poetry.
Gozzano's worsening health prompted the decision to travel to India
and Ceylon, looking for a climate more suited to his breathing impairment. His cruise-ship left Genoa
on February 16, 1912, returning in May 1913 after visits to Colombo
and Bombay. He did not get better, but the travel, together with extensive reading, provided the inspiration for the texts that were to be collected and posthumously published (in 1917) under the title Verso la cuna del mondo (lit., "Towards the world's cradle").
The last years of Gozzano's life yielded little literary production. In March 1914, he published in "La Stampa" some fragments of the long poem Le Farfalle (lit. "The butterflies"), also known as Epistole entomologiche (lit. "Entomological epistles"), which he would never complete. The collection of six fairy tale
s he had written for the children's magazine Corriere dei Piccoli
, titled I tre talismani (lit. "The three talismans"), was also published at this time. An avid theatre
and movie
fan, Gozzano adapted some of his short stories for production.
Between 1914 and 1915 he composed a few unremarkable poems about World War I
, which met little success with his audience.
In 1916, shortly before his death, Gozzano began writing the script for a film about Francis of Assisi
, which was never filmed. The poet was laid to rest in Agliè.
Guido Gustavo Gozzano (December 19, 1883 - August 9, 1916) was an Italian
poet
and writer
.
, the son of Fausto Gozzano, an engineer, and of Diodata Mautino, the daughter of Senator Mautino, patriot and supporter of Giuseppe Mazzini
and Massimo D'Azeglio. He spent his childhood in Turin and in Agliè
(in the Canavese
area), where his family owned several buildings and a large estate.
Of delicate health (but nevertheless practicing sports such as ice-skating, cycling
, and swimming
), he completed primary school with mediocre results, and attended Liceo classico Cavour
; in 1903, after secondary school, he studied law at the University of Turin
but never graduated, preferring to attend the crepuscolari torinesi, i.e. literature lessons by poet Arturo Graf
, who was well liked by the young men of letters.
Graf exercised great influence over Gozzano. His Leopardi
-inspired pessimism
was mitigated by a spiritualistic form of socialism
, a combination which young Turinese intellectuals (who saw in his thought an "antidote" to the style of Gabriele D'Annunzio
) particularly favoured. Graf helped Gozzano depart from D'Annunzio's canon, which imbued his early work, by "going back to the sources" and devoting himself to a thorough study of the poetry of Dante Alighieri
and Francesco Petrarca, which helped refine his poetic sensibility.
In May 1907 Gozzano's weak health suddenly worsened due to severe pleurisy
, which forced the poet to spend the remainder of his solitary life on the Italian Riviera
(mostly San Giuliano d'Albaro) and in mountain towns (Ceresole Reale
, Ronco, Bertesseno, Fiery).
1907 was also the year when his affair with young poet Amalia Guglielminetti
began, originally as an exchange of letters—the two had originally met while attending the Società di Cultura.
Their love letters, exchanged in 1907-1909 but first published in 1951 as Lettere, reveal a profoundly tender love, which Gozzano at times tried to shirk away from, preferring a safer "literary comradeship".
In the same year Gozzano's first collection of poems (written between 1904 and 1907), La via del rifugio, appeared under the imprint of the Turin publisher Streglio.
In 1909 Gozzano gave up law studies altogether and devoted himself completely to poetry. Two years later, he published his opus magnum, the book I colloqui (literally "Conversations"), with the Milan
ese publisher Treves. The poems therein are in three sections, titled Il giovenile errore (lit. "The youthful error"), Alle soglie (lit. "At the threshold"), and Il reduce (lit. "The survivor"). "I colloqui" met much success with critics and readers, and prompted several offers of collaboration with important magazines and newspapers, among which were La Stampa
, La Lettura, and La Donna. The latter provided Gozzano with a fertile forum to publish both prose and poetry.
Gozzano's worsening health prompted the decision to travel to India
and Ceylon, looking for a climate more suited to his breathing impairment. His cruise-ship left Genoa
on February 16, 1912, returning in May 1913 after visits to Colombo
and Bombay. He did not get better, but the travel, together with extensive reading, provided the inspiration for the texts that were to be collected and posthumously published (in 1917) under the title Verso la cuna del mondo (lit., "Towards the world's cradle").
The last years of Gozzano's life yielded little literary production. In March 1914, he published in "La Stampa" some fragments of the long poem Le Farfalle (lit. "The butterflies"), also known as Epistole entomologiche (lit. "Entomological epistles"), which he would never complete. The collection of six fairy tale
s he had written for the children's magazine Corriere dei Piccoli
, titled I tre talismani (lit. "The three talismans"), was also published at this time. An avid theatre
and movie
fan, Gozzano adapted some of his short stories for production.
Between 1914 and 1915 he composed a few unremarkable poems about World War I
, which met little success with his audience.
In 1916, shortly before his death, Gozzano began writing the script for a film about Francis of Assisi
, which was never filmed. The poet was laid to rest in Agliè.
Guido Gustavo Gozzano (December 19, 1883 - August 9, 1916) was an Italian
poet
and writer
.
, the son of Fausto Gozzano, an engineer, and of Diodata Mautino, the daughter of Senator Mautino, patriot and supporter of Giuseppe Mazzini
and Massimo D'Azeglio. He spent his childhood in Turin and in Agliè
(in the Canavese
area), where his family owned several buildings and a large estate.
Of delicate health (but nevertheless practicing sports such as ice-skating, cycling
, and swimming
), he completed primary school with mediocre results, and attended Liceo classico Cavour
; in 1903, after secondary school, he studied law at the University of Turin
but never graduated, preferring to attend the crepuscolari torinesi, i.e. literature lessons by poet Arturo Graf
, who was well liked by the young men of letters.
Graf exercised great influence over Gozzano. His Leopardi
-inspired pessimism
was mitigated by a spiritualistic form of socialism
, a combination which young Turinese intellectuals (who saw in his thought an "antidote" to the style of Gabriele D'Annunzio
) particularly favoured. Graf helped Gozzano depart from D'Annunzio's canon, which imbued his early work, by "going back to the sources" and devoting himself to a thorough study of the poetry of Dante Alighieri
and Francesco Petrarca, which helped refine his poetic sensibility.
In May 1907 Gozzano's weak health suddenly worsened due to severe pleurisy
, which forced the poet to spend the remainder of his solitary life on the Italian Riviera
(mostly San Giuliano d'Albaro) and in mountain towns (Ceresole Reale
, Ronco, Bertesseno, Fiery).
1907 was also the year when his affair with young poet Amalia Guglielminetti
began, originally as an exchange of letters—the two had originally met while attending the Società di Cultura.
Their love letters, exchanged in 1907-1909 but first published in 1951 as Lettere, reveal a profoundly tender love, which Gozzano at times tried to shirk away from, preferring a safer "literary comradeship".
In the same year Gozzano's first collection of poems (written between 1904 and 1907), La via del rifugio, appeared under the imprint of the Turin publisher Streglio.
In 1909 Gozzano gave up law studies altogether and devoted himself completely to poetry. Two years later, he published his opus magnum, the book I colloqui (literally "Conversations"), with the Milan
ese publisher Treves. The poems therein are in three sections, titled Il giovenile errore (lit. "The youthful error"), Alle soglie (lit. "At the threshold"), and Il reduce (lit. "The survivor"). "I colloqui" met much success with critics and readers, and prompted several offers of collaboration with important magazines and newspapers, among which were La Stampa
, La Lettura, and La Donna. The latter provided Gozzano with a fertile forum to publish both prose and poetry.
Gozzano's worsening health prompted the decision to travel to India
and Ceylon, looking for a climate more suited to his breathing impairment. His cruise-ship left Genoa
on February 16, 1912, returning in May 1913 after visits to Colombo
and Bombay. He did not get better, but the travel, together with extensive reading, provided the inspiration for the texts that were to be collected and posthumously published (in 1917) under the title Verso la cuna del mondo (lit., "Towards the world's cradle").
The last years of Gozzano's life yielded little literary production. In March 1914, he published in "La Stampa" some fragments of the long poem Le Farfalle (lit. "The butterflies"), also known as Epistole entomologiche (lit. "Entomological epistles"), which he would never complete. The collection of six fairy tale
s he had written for the children's magazine Corriere dei Piccoli
, titled I tre talismani (lit. "The three talismans"), was also published at this time. An avid theatre
and movie
fan, Gozzano adapted some of his short stories for production.
Between 1914 and 1915 he composed a few unremarkable poems about World War I
, which met little success with his audience.
In 1916, shortly before his death, Gozzano began writing the script for a film about Francis of Assisi
, which was never filmed. The poet was laid to rest in Agliè.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
.
Biography
He was born in TurinTurin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, the son of Fausto Gozzano, an engineer, and of Diodata Mautino, the daughter of Senator Mautino, patriot and supporter of Giuseppe Mazzini
Giuseppe Mazzini
Giuseppe Mazzini , nicknamed Soul of Italy, was an Italian politician, journalist and activist for the unification of Italy. His efforts helped bring about the independent and unified Italy in place of the several separate states, many dominated by foreign powers, that existed until the 19th century...
and Massimo D'Azeglio. He spent his childhood in Turin and in Agliè
Agliè
Agliè is a comune in the province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 35 km north of Turin.Agliè borders the following municipalities: San Martino Canavese, Torre Canavese, Bairo, Vialfrè, Cuceglio, San Giorgio Canavese, and Ozegna.-Main sights:Agliè's main attraction is...
(in the Canavese
Canavese
thumb|250px|Church of Santa Croce at [[Sparone]].Canavese is a subalpine geographical and historical area of north-west Italy which lies today within the Province of Turin in Piedmont. Its main town is Ivrea and it is famous for its castles.-Location:...
area), where his family owned several buildings and a large estate.
Of delicate health (but nevertheless practicing sports such as ice-skating, cycling
Cycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
, and swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
), he completed primary school with mediocre results, and attended Liceo classico Cavour
Liceo classico Cavour
Liceo Ginnasio statale "Camillo Benso di Cavour" is the oldest Liceo classico in Turin and one among the oldest and most prominent high schools in Italy, for boys aged 14 to 19. It was transferred to its present location in 1931.-History:...
; in 1903, after secondary school, he studied law at the University of Turin
University of Turin
The University of Turin is a university in the city of Turin in the Piedmont region of north-western Italy...
but never graduated, preferring to attend the crepuscolari torinesi, i.e. literature lessons by poet Arturo Graf
Arturo Graf
Arturo Graf , Italian poet, of German ancestry, was born at Athens.He was educated at the University of Naples and became a lecturer on Italian literature in Rome, till in 1882 he was appointed professor at Turin....
, who was well liked by the young men of letters.
Graf exercised great influence over Gozzano. His Leopardi
Giacomo Leopardi
Giacomo Taldegardo Francesco di Sales Saverio Pietro Leopardi was an Italian poet, essayist, philosopher, and philologist...
-inspired pessimism
Pessimism
Pessimism, from the Latin word pessimus , is a state of mind in which one perceives life negatively. Value judgments may vary dramatically between individuals, even when judgments of fact are undisputed. The most common example of this phenomenon is the "Is the glass half empty or half full?"...
was mitigated by a spiritualistic form of socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
, a combination which young Turinese intellectuals (who saw in his thought an "antidote" to the style of Gabriele D'Annunzio
Gabriele D'Annunzio
Gabriele D'Annunzio or d'Annunzio was an Italian poet, journalist, novelist, and dramatist...
) particularly favoured. Graf helped Gozzano depart from D'Annunzio's canon, which imbued his early work, by "going back to the sources" and devoting himself to a thorough study of the poetry of Dante Alighieri
Dante Alighieri
Durante degli Alighieri, mononymously referred to as Dante , was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. He is best known for the monumental epic poem La commedia, later named La divina commedia ...
and Francesco Petrarca, which helped refine his poetic sensibility.
In May 1907 Gozzano's weak health suddenly worsened due to severe pleurisy
Pleurisy
Pleurisy is an inflammation of the pleura, the lining of the pleural cavity surrounding the lungs. Among other things, infections are the most common cause of pleurisy....
, which forced the poet to spend the remainder of his solitary life on the Italian Riviera
Italian Riviera
The Italian Riviera, or Ligurian Riviera is the narrow coastal strip which lies between the Ligurian Sea and the mountain chain formed by the Maritime Alps and the Apennines...
(mostly San Giuliano d'Albaro) and in mountain towns (Ceresole Reale
Ceresole Reale
Ceresole Reale is a comune in the Province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 50 km northwest of Turin in the Orco Valley, on the border with France...
, Ronco, Bertesseno, Fiery).
1907 was also the year when his affair with young poet Amalia Guglielminetti
Amalia Guglielminetti
Amalia Guglielminetti was an Italian poet and writer.-Life:Amalia, who had two sisters, Emma and Erminia, and a brother, Ernesto, was born in Turin to Pietro Guglielminetti and his wife Felicita Lavezzato. Her great-grandfather had moved from Cravanzana to Turin around 1858, where he had...
began, originally as an exchange of letters—the two had originally met while attending the Società di Cultura.
Their love letters, exchanged in 1907-1909 but first published in 1951 as Lettere, reveal a profoundly tender love, which Gozzano at times tried to shirk away from, preferring a safer "literary comradeship".
In the same year Gozzano's first collection of poems (written between 1904 and 1907), La via del rifugio, appeared under the imprint of the Turin publisher Streglio.
In 1909 Gozzano gave up law studies altogether and devoted himself completely to poetry. Two years later, he published his opus magnum, the book I colloqui (literally "Conversations"), with the Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
ese publisher Treves. The poems therein are in three sections, titled Il giovenile errore (lit. "The youthful error"), Alle soglie (lit. "At the threshold"), and Il reduce (lit. "The survivor"). "I colloqui" met much success with critics and readers, and prompted several offers of collaboration with important magazines and newspapers, among which were La Stampa
La Stampa
La Stampa is one of the best-known, most influential and most widely sold Italian daily newspapers. Published in Turin, it is distributed in Italy and other European nations. The current owner is the Fiat Group.-History:...
, La Lettura, and La Donna. The latter provided Gozzano with a fertile forum to publish both prose and poetry.
Gozzano's worsening health prompted the decision to travel to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Ceylon, looking for a climate more suited to his breathing impairment. His cruise-ship left Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
on February 16, 1912, returning in May 1913 after visits to Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
and Bombay. He did not get better, but the travel, together with extensive reading, provided the inspiration for the texts that were to be collected and posthumously published (in 1917) under the title Verso la cuna del mondo (lit., "Towards the world's cradle").
The last years of Gozzano's life yielded little literary production. In March 1914, he published in "La Stampa" some fragments of the long poem Le Farfalle (lit. "The butterflies"), also known as Epistole entomologiche (lit. "Entomological epistles"), which he would never complete. The collection of six fairy tale
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
s he had written for the children's magazine Corriere dei Piccoli
Corriere dei Piccoli
The Corriere dei Piccoli , later renamed Corriere dei Ragazzi and nicknamed Corrierino , was a weekly magazine for children published in Italy from 1908 to 1995...
, titled I tre talismani (lit. "The three talismans"), was also published at this time. An avid theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
and movie
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
fan, Gozzano adapted some of his short stories for production.
Between 1914 and 1915 he composed a few unremarkable poems about World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, which met little success with his audience.
In 1916, shortly before his death, Gozzano began writing the script for a film about Francis of Assisi
Francis of Assisi
Saint Francis of Assisi was an Italian Catholic friar and preacher. He founded the men's Franciscan Order, the women’s Order of St. Clare, and the lay Third Order of Saint Francis. St...
, which was never filmed. The poet was laid to rest in Agliè.
Poetry
- La via del rifugio (1907)
- I colloqui (1911)
- Tutte le poesie (editor A. Rocca, ed., introduction by M. Guglielminetti; 1980. Includes all Gozzano's poems)
Prose
- I tre talismani (1914)
- La principessa si sposa. Fiabe (1918)
- Verso la cuna del mondo. Lettere dall'India (1912-1913) (with preface by G.A. Borgese, 1917, first edition)
- L'altare del passato (1918)
- L'ultima traccia (1919)
- Primavere romantiche (1924)
- La moneta seminata e altri scritti con un saggio di varianti e una scelta di documenti (F. Antonicelli, ed.; 1968)
- Verso la Cuna del mondo - Lettere dall'India (Flaminio di Biagi, ed., with afterword by Giorgio Bàrberi SquarottiGiorgio Bàrberi SquarottiGiorgio Bàrberi Squarotti was born in Turin in 1929.Since 1967 he has been teaching Italian literature at the University of Turin.He is one of the most important Italian literary critics.-Works:...
, 2005; first complete edition)
Letters
- Lettere d'amore di Guido Gozzano e Amalia Guglielminetti (S. Asciamprener, ed., 1951)
- Lettere a Carlo Vallini con altri inediti (Giorgio Di Rienzo, ed., 1971)
Sources
- W. Vaccari, La vita e i pallidi amori di Guido Gozzano, Milano, Omnia editrice, 1958.
- Flaminio Di Biagi, Sotto l'arco di Tito: le "Farfalle" di Guido Gozzano, Trento, La Finestra editrice 1999.
External links
- Texts from Italian Wikisource
- Quotes from Italian Wikiquote
- Biography and photographs
- All the poems, in Italian
- Enciclopædia Britannica article about Gozzano
- About the crepuscolari
- About Gozzano's crepuscolarismo
- “Guido Gozzano, conversations with poetry” An online exhibition on Gozzano from the Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities.
Guido Gustavo Gozzano (December 19, 1883 - August 9, 1916) was an Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
.
Biography
He was born in TurinTurin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, the son of Fausto Gozzano, an engineer, and of Diodata Mautino, the daughter of Senator Mautino, patriot and supporter of Giuseppe Mazzini
Giuseppe Mazzini
Giuseppe Mazzini , nicknamed Soul of Italy, was an Italian politician, journalist and activist for the unification of Italy. His efforts helped bring about the independent and unified Italy in place of the several separate states, many dominated by foreign powers, that existed until the 19th century...
and Massimo D'Azeglio. He spent his childhood in Turin and in Agliè
Agliè
Agliè is a comune in the province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 35 km north of Turin.Agliè borders the following municipalities: San Martino Canavese, Torre Canavese, Bairo, Vialfrè, Cuceglio, San Giorgio Canavese, and Ozegna.-Main sights:Agliè's main attraction is...
(in the Canavese
Canavese
thumb|250px|Church of Santa Croce at [[Sparone]].Canavese is a subalpine geographical and historical area of north-west Italy which lies today within the Province of Turin in Piedmont. Its main town is Ivrea and it is famous for its castles.-Location:...
area), where his family owned several buildings and a large estate.
Of delicate health (but nevertheless practicing sports such as ice-skating, cycling
Cycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
, and swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
), he completed primary school with mediocre results, and attended Liceo classico Cavour
Liceo classico Cavour
Liceo Ginnasio statale "Camillo Benso di Cavour" is the oldest Liceo classico in Turin and one among the oldest and most prominent high schools in Italy, for boys aged 14 to 19. It was transferred to its present location in 1931.-History:...
; in 1903, after secondary school, he studied law at the University of Turin
University of Turin
The University of Turin is a university in the city of Turin in the Piedmont region of north-western Italy...
but never graduated, preferring to attend the crepuscolari torinesi, i.e. literature lessons by poet Arturo Graf
Arturo Graf
Arturo Graf , Italian poet, of German ancestry, was born at Athens.He was educated at the University of Naples and became a lecturer on Italian literature in Rome, till in 1882 he was appointed professor at Turin....
, who was well liked by the young men of letters.
Graf exercised great influence over Gozzano. His Leopardi
Giacomo Leopardi
Giacomo Taldegardo Francesco di Sales Saverio Pietro Leopardi was an Italian poet, essayist, philosopher, and philologist...
-inspired pessimism
Pessimism
Pessimism, from the Latin word pessimus , is a state of mind in which one perceives life negatively. Value judgments may vary dramatically between individuals, even when judgments of fact are undisputed. The most common example of this phenomenon is the "Is the glass half empty or half full?"...
was mitigated by a spiritualistic form of socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
, a combination which young Turinese intellectuals (who saw in his thought an "antidote" to the style of Gabriele D'Annunzio
Gabriele D'Annunzio
Gabriele D'Annunzio or d'Annunzio was an Italian poet, journalist, novelist, and dramatist...
) particularly favoured. Graf helped Gozzano depart from D'Annunzio's canon, which imbued his early work, by "going back to the sources" and devoting himself to a thorough study of the poetry of Dante Alighieri
Dante Alighieri
Durante degli Alighieri, mononymously referred to as Dante , was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. He is best known for the monumental epic poem La commedia, later named La divina commedia ...
and Francesco Petrarca, which helped refine his poetic sensibility.
In May 1907 Gozzano's weak health suddenly worsened due to severe pleurisy
Pleurisy
Pleurisy is an inflammation of the pleura, the lining of the pleural cavity surrounding the lungs. Among other things, infections are the most common cause of pleurisy....
, which forced the poet to spend the remainder of his solitary life on the Italian Riviera
Italian Riviera
The Italian Riviera, or Ligurian Riviera is the narrow coastal strip which lies between the Ligurian Sea and the mountain chain formed by the Maritime Alps and the Apennines...
(mostly San Giuliano d'Albaro) and in mountain towns (Ceresole Reale
Ceresole Reale
Ceresole Reale is a comune in the Province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 50 km northwest of Turin in the Orco Valley, on the border with France...
, Ronco, Bertesseno, Fiery).
1907 was also the year when his affair with young poet Amalia Guglielminetti
Amalia Guglielminetti
Amalia Guglielminetti was an Italian poet and writer.-Life:Amalia, who had two sisters, Emma and Erminia, and a brother, Ernesto, was born in Turin to Pietro Guglielminetti and his wife Felicita Lavezzato. Her great-grandfather had moved from Cravanzana to Turin around 1858, where he had...
began, originally as an exchange of letters—the two had originally met while attending the Società di Cultura.
Their love letters, exchanged in 1907-1909 but first published in 1951 as Lettere, reveal a profoundly tender love, which Gozzano at times tried to shirk away from, preferring a safer "literary comradeship".
In the same year Gozzano's first collection of poems (written between 1904 and 1907), La via del rifugio, appeared under the imprint of the Turin publisher Streglio.
In 1909 Gozzano gave up law studies altogether and devoted himself completely to poetry. Two years later, he published his opus magnum, the book I colloqui (literally "Conversations"), with the Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
ese publisher Treves. The poems therein are in three sections, titled Il giovenile errore (lit. "The youthful error"), Alle soglie (lit. "At the threshold"), and Il reduce (lit. "The survivor"). "I colloqui" met much success with critics and readers, and prompted several offers of collaboration with important magazines and newspapers, among which were La Stampa
La Stampa
La Stampa is one of the best-known, most influential and most widely sold Italian daily newspapers. Published in Turin, it is distributed in Italy and other European nations. The current owner is the Fiat Group.-History:...
, La Lettura, and La Donna. The latter provided Gozzano with a fertile forum to publish both prose and poetry.
Gozzano's worsening health prompted the decision to travel to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Ceylon, looking for a climate more suited to his breathing impairment. His cruise-ship left Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
on February 16, 1912, returning in May 1913 after visits to Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
and Bombay. He did not get better, but the travel, together with extensive reading, provided the inspiration for the texts that were to be collected and posthumously published (in 1917) under the title Verso la cuna del mondo (lit., "Towards the world's cradle").
The last years of Gozzano's life yielded little literary production. In March 1914, he published in "La Stampa" some fragments of the long poem Le Farfalle (lit. "The butterflies"), also known as Epistole entomologiche (lit. "Entomological epistles"), which he would never complete. The collection of six fairy tale
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
s he had written for the children's magazine Corriere dei Piccoli
Corriere dei Piccoli
The Corriere dei Piccoli , later renamed Corriere dei Ragazzi and nicknamed Corrierino , was a weekly magazine for children published in Italy from 1908 to 1995...
, titled I tre talismani (lit. "The three talismans"), was also published at this time. An avid theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
and movie
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
fan, Gozzano adapted some of his short stories for production.
Between 1914 and 1915 he composed a few unremarkable poems about World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, which met little success with his audience.
In 1916, shortly before his death, Gozzano began writing the script for a film about Francis of Assisi
Francis of Assisi
Saint Francis of Assisi was an Italian Catholic friar and preacher. He founded the men's Franciscan Order, the women’s Order of St. Clare, and the lay Third Order of Saint Francis. St...
, which was never filmed. The poet was laid to rest in Agliè.
Poetry
- La via del rifugio (1907)
- I colloqui (1911)
- Tutte le poesie (editor A. Rocca, ed., introduction by M. Guglielminetti; 1980. Includes all Gozzano's poems)
Prose
- I tre talismani (1914)
- La principessa si sposa. Fiabe (1918)
- Verso la cuna del mondo. Lettere dall'India (1912-1913) (with preface by G.A. Borgese, 1917, first edition)
- L'altare del passato (1918)
- L'ultima traccia (1919)
- Primavere romantiche (1924)
- La moneta seminata e altri scritti con un saggio di varianti e una scelta di documenti (F. Antonicelli, ed.; 1968)
- Verso la Cuna del mondo - Lettere dall'India (Flaminio di Biagi, ed., with afterword by Giorgio Bàrberi SquarottiGiorgio Bàrberi SquarottiGiorgio Bàrberi Squarotti was born in Turin in 1929.Since 1967 he has been teaching Italian literature at the University of Turin.He is one of the most important Italian literary critics.-Works:...
, 2005; first complete edition)
Letters
- Lettere d'amore di Guido Gozzano e Amalia Guglielminetti (S. Asciamprener, ed., 1951)
- Lettere a Carlo Vallini con altri inediti (Giorgio Di Rienzo, ed., 1971)
Sources
- W. Vaccari, La vita e i pallidi amori di Guido Gozzano, Milano, Omnia editrice, 1958.
- Flaminio Di Biagi, Sotto l'arco di Tito: le "Farfalle" di Guido Gozzano, Trento, La Finestra editrice 1999.
External links
- Texts from Italian Wikisource
- Quotes from Italian Wikiquote
- Biography and photographs
- All the poems, in Italian
- Enciclopædia Britannica article about Gozzano
- About the crepuscolari
- About Gozzano's crepuscolarismo
- “Guido Gozzano, conversations with poetry” An online exhibition on Gozzano from the Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities.
Guido Gustavo Gozzano (December 19, 1883 - August 9, 1916) was an Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
.
Biography
He was born in TurinTurin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, the son of Fausto Gozzano, an engineer, and of Diodata Mautino, the daughter of Senator Mautino, patriot and supporter of Giuseppe Mazzini
Giuseppe Mazzini
Giuseppe Mazzini , nicknamed Soul of Italy, was an Italian politician, journalist and activist for the unification of Italy. His efforts helped bring about the independent and unified Italy in place of the several separate states, many dominated by foreign powers, that existed until the 19th century...
and Massimo D'Azeglio. He spent his childhood in Turin and in Agliè
Agliè
Agliè is a comune in the province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 35 km north of Turin.Agliè borders the following municipalities: San Martino Canavese, Torre Canavese, Bairo, Vialfrè, Cuceglio, San Giorgio Canavese, and Ozegna.-Main sights:Agliè's main attraction is...
(in the Canavese
Canavese
thumb|250px|Church of Santa Croce at [[Sparone]].Canavese is a subalpine geographical and historical area of north-west Italy which lies today within the Province of Turin in Piedmont. Its main town is Ivrea and it is famous for its castles.-Location:...
area), where his family owned several buildings and a large estate.
Of delicate health (but nevertheless practicing sports such as ice-skating, cycling
Cycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
, and swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
), he completed primary school with mediocre results, and attended Liceo classico Cavour
Liceo classico Cavour
Liceo Ginnasio statale "Camillo Benso di Cavour" is the oldest Liceo classico in Turin and one among the oldest and most prominent high schools in Italy, for boys aged 14 to 19. It was transferred to its present location in 1931.-History:...
; in 1903, after secondary school, he studied law at the University of Turin
University of Turin
The University of Turin is a university in the city of Turin in the Piedmont region of north-western Italy...
but never graduated, preferring to attend the crepuscolari torinesi, i.e. literature lessons by poet Arturo Graf
Arturo Graf
Arturo Graf , Italian poet, of German ancestry, was born at Athens.He was educated at the University of Naples and became a lecturer on Italian literature in Rome, till in 1882 he was appointed professor at Turin....
, who was well liked by the young men of letters.
Graf exercised great influence over Gozzano. His Leopardi
Giacomo Leopardi
Giacomo Taldegardo Francesco di Sales Saverio Pietro Leopardi was an Italian poet, essayist, philosopher, and philologist...
-inspired pessimism
Pessimism
Pessimism, from the Latin word pessimus , is a state of mind in which one perceives life negatively. Value judgments may vary dramatically between individuals, even when judgments of fact are undisputed. The most common example of this phenomenon is the "Is the glass half empty or half full?"...
was mitigated by a spiritualistic form of socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
, a combination which young Turinese intellectuals (who saw in his thought an "antidote" to the style of Gabriele D'Annunzio
Gabriele D'Annunzio
Gabriele D'Annunzio or d'Annunzio was an Italian poet, journalist, novelist, and dramatist...
) particularly favoured. Graf helped Gozzano depart from D'Annunzio's canon, which imbued his early work, by "going back to the sources" and devoting himself to a thorough study of the poetry of Dante Alighieri
Dante Alighieri
Durante degli Alighieri, mononymously referred to as Dante , was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. He is best known for the monumental epic poem La commedia, later named La divina commedia ...
and Francesco Petrarca, which helped refine his poetic sensibility.
In May 1907 Gozzano's weak health suddenly worsened due to severe pleurisy
Pleurisy
Pleurisy is an inflammation of the pleura, the lining of the pleural cavity surrounding the lungs. Among other things, infections are the most common cause of pleurisy....
, which forced the poet to spend the remainder of his solitary life on the Italian Riviera
Italian Riviera
The Italian Riviera, or Ligurian Riviera is the narrow coastal strip which lies between the Ligurian Sea and the mountain chain formed by the Maritime Alps and the Apennines...
(mostly San Giuliano d'Albaro) and in mountain towns (Ceresole Reale
Ceresole Reale
Ceresole Reale is a comune in the Province of Turin in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 50 km northwest of Turin in the Orco Valley, on the border with France...
, Ronco, Bertesseno, Fiery).
1907 was also the year when his affair with young poet Amalia Guglielminetti
Amalia Guglielminetti
Amalia Guglielminetti was an Italian poet and writer.-Life:Amalia, who had two sisters, Emma and Erminia, and a brother, Ernesto, was born in Turin to Pietro Guglielminetti and his wife Felicita Lavezzato. Her great-grandfather had moved from Cravanzana to Turin around 1858, where he had...
began, originally as an exchange of letters—the two had originally met while attending the Società di Cultura.
Their love letters, exchanged in 1907-1909 but first published in 1951 as Lettere, reveal a profoundly tender love, which Gozzano at times tried to shirk away from, preferring a safer "literary comradeship".
In the same year Gozzano's first collection of poems (written between 1904 and 1907), La via del rifugio, appeared under the imprint of the Turin publisher Streglio.
In 1909 Gozzano gave up law studies altogether and devoted himself completely to poetry. Two years later, he published his opus magnum, the book I colloqui (literally "Conversations"), with the Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
ese publisher Treves. The poems therein are in three sections, titled Il giovenile errore (lit. "The youthful error"), Alle soglie (lit. "At the threshold"), and Il reduce (lit. "The survivor"). "I colloqui" met much success with critics and readers, and prompted several offers of collaboration with important magazines and newspapers, among which were La Stampa
La Stampa
La Stampa is one of the best-known, most influential and most widely sold Italian daily newspapers. Published in Turin, it is distributed in Italy and other European nations. The current owner is the Fiat Group.-History:...
, La Lettura, and La Donna. The latter provided Gozzano with a fertile forum to publish both prose and poetry.
Gozzano's worsening health prompted the decision to travel to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Ceylon, looking for a climate more suited to his breathing impairment. His cruise-ship left Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
on February 16, 1912, returning in May 1913 after visits to Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
and Bombay. He did not get better, but the travel, together with extensive reading, provided the inspiration for the texts that were to be collected and posthumously published (in 1917) under the title Verso la cuna del mondo (lit., "Towards the world's cradle").
The last years of Gozzano's life yielded little literary production. In March 1914, he published in "La Stampa" some fragments of the long poem Le Farfalle (lit. "The butterflies"), also known as Epistole entomologiche (lit. "Entomological epistles"), which he would never complete. The collection of six fairy tale
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
s he had written for the children's magazine Corriere dei Piccoli
Corriere dei Piccoli
The Corriere dei Piccoli , later renamed Corriere dei Ragazzi and nicknamed Corrierino , was a weekly magazine for children published in Italy from 1908 to 1995...
, titled I tre talismani (lit. "The three talismans"), was also published at this time. An avid theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
and movie
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
fan, Gozzano adapted some of his short stories for production.
Between 1914 and 1915 he composed a few unremarkable poems about World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, which met little success with his audience.
In 1916, shortly before his death, Gozzano began writing the script for a film about Francis of Assisi
Francis of Assisi
Saint Francis of Assisi was an Italian Catholic friar and preacher. He founded the men's Franciscan Order, the women’s Order of St. Clare, and the lay Third Order of Saint Francis. St...
, which was never filmed. The poet was laid to rest in Agliè.
Poetry
- La via del rifugio (1907)
- I colloqui (1911)
- Tutte le poesie (editor A. Rocca, ed., introduction by M. Guglielminetti; 1980. Includes all Gozzano's poems)
Prose
- I tre talismani (1914)
- La principessa si sposa. Fiabe (1918)
- Verso la cuna del mondo. Lettere dall'India (1912-1913) (with preface by G.A. Borgese, 1917, first edition)
- L'altare del passato (1918)
- L'ultima traccia (1919)
- Primavere romantiche (1924)
- La moneta seminata e altri scritti con un saggio di varianti e una scelta di documenti (F. Antonicelli, ed.; 1968)
- Verso la Cuna del mondo - Lettere dall'India (Flaminio di Biagi, ed., with afterword by Giorgio Bàrberi SquarottiGiorgio Bàrberi SquarottiGiorgio Bàrberi Squarotti was born in Turin in 1929.Since 1967 he has been teaching Italian literature at the University of Turin.He is one of the most important Italian literary critics.-Works:...
, 2005; first complete edition)
Letters
- Lettere d'amore di Guido Gozzano e Amalia Guglielminetti (S. Asciamprener, ed., 1951)
- Lettere a Carlo Vallini con altri inediti (Giorgio Di Rienzo, ed., 1971)
Sources
- W. Vaccari, La vita e i pallidi amori di Guido Gozzano, Milano, Omnia editrice, 1958.
- Flaminio Di Biagi, Sotto l'arco di Tito: le "Farfalle" di Guido Gozzano, Trento, La Finestra editrice 1999.
External links
- Texts from Italian Wikisource
- Quotes from Italian Wikiquote
- Biography and photographs
- All the poems, in Italian
- Enciclopædia Britannica article about Gozzano
- About the crepuscolari
- About Gozzano's crepuscolarismo
- “Guido Gozzano, conversations with poetry” An online exhibition on Gozzano from the Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities.