Giovanni Carmelo Verga di Fontanabianca (; 2 September 1840 – 27 January 1922) was an Italian realist ('' verista'') writer, best known for his depictions of life in his native Sicily, especially the

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

and later play ''Cavalleria rusticana'' and the novel '' I Malavoglia'' (''The House by the Medlar Tree'').

Life and career

The first son of Giovanni Battista Catalano Verga and Caterina Di Mauro, Verga was born into a prosperous family of

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

in Sicily. He began writing in his teens, producing the largely unpublished, but currently quite famous, historical novel ''Amore e Patria'' (''Love and Homeland''); then, although nominally studying

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...

at the

University of Catania The University of Catania ( it, Università degli Studi di Catania) is a university located in Catania, Sicily. Founded in 1434, it is the oldest university in Sicily, the 13th oldest in Italy, and the 29th oldest university in the world. With a ...

, he used money his father had given him to publish his ''I carbonari della montagna'' (''The Carbonari of the Mountain'') in 1861 and 1862. This was followed by ''Sulle lagune'' (''On the Lagoons'') in 1863. Ritratto penna e acq

Meanwhile, Mr. Verga had been serving in the Catania National Guard (1860–64), after which he travelled to Florence several times, settling there in 1869. He moved to Milan in 1872, where he developed his new approach, characterized by the use of dialogue to develop character, which resulted in his most significant works. In 1880 his story collection ''Vita dei campi'' (''Life in the Fields''), including ''"Fantasticheria"'' ("Daydreaming"), ''" La lupa"'' ("The She-wolf"), ''" Jeli il pastore"'' ("Jeli the Shepherd"), ''"Pentolaccia"'' ("The Plaything"), and '' Rosso Malpelo'', most of which were about rural Sicily, came out. It also included ''"Cavalleria rusticana"'' ("Rustic Chivalry"), which he adapted for the theatre - and later formed the basis for several opera librettos, including Mascagni's ''

Cavalleria rusticana ''Cavalleria rusticana'' (; Italian for "rustic chivalry") is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from an 1880 short story of the same name and subsequent play b ...

'' and Gastaldon's '' Mala Pasqua!''. Verga's short story, ''"Malaria"'', was one of the first literary depictions of the disease malaria. He then embarked on a projected series of five novels, the '' Ciclo dei vinti'' (Cycle of the Vanquished) dealing with the problem of social and economical advancement. However he only completed two, '' I Malavoglia'' (1881) and '' Mastro-don Gesualdo'' (1889), the second of which was the last major work of his literary career. Both are widely recognized as masterpieces. He then began to write '' La Duchessa di Leyra'', but he only completed the first chapter, while the last two novels, ''L'Onorevole Scipioni'' and ''L'Uomo di Lusso'', were not even started. In 1894 Verga moved back to Catania, to the house in which he had lived as a child. This house in the city of Catania on via Sant'Anna #8 is now a museum dedicated to the author. The ''Casa-Museo Giovanni Verga'' is located on the second floor of a generally unimposing 18th-century palace. The furnishings were those present at the time of his death, including his large personal library. Also in Catania, a performance stage that often performs works of local artists, the Teatro Verga, was founded in 1969 in a former movie theater located on Via Giuseppe Fava #34. In 1920 he was appointed Senator of the Kingdom ''(Senatore del Regno)'' for life ''(ad vitam)''. He died of a cerebral thrombosis in 1922. He was an atheist. In 2022 the official ''Verga 100'' event was launched, dedicated to the centenary of the writer, with many events from Palermo to Milan, from theater to musical performances, Cinema, and Book Festival

Bibliography

Novels

*''Love and Homeland'' (1856–1857) ''(Amore e patria)'' *''Carbonari of the Mountain'' (1861–1862) ''(I carbonari della montagna)'' *''On the Lagoons'' (1862–1863) ''(Sulle lagune)'' *''A Sinner'' (1866) ''(Una peccatrice)'' *''History of a

Blackcap The Eurasian blackcap (''Sylvia atricapilla''), usually known simply as the blackcap, is a common and widespread typical warbler. It has mainly olive-grey upperparts and pale grey underparts, and differences between the five subspecies are sma ...

'' (1871) ''(Storia di una capinera)'' *''Eva'' (1873) ''(Eva)'' *''Eros'' (1875) ''(Eros)'' *''Royal Tiger'' (1875) ''(Tigre reale)'' *''The House by the Medlar-Tree'' (1881) ''( I Malavoglia)'' *''Elena's Husband'' (1882) ''(Il marito di Elena)'' *'' Mastro-don Gesualdo'' (1889) ''(Mastro-don Gesualdo)'' *''From Yours to Mine'' (1905) ''(Dal tuo al mio)''

Short stories

*Nedda (1874) * The She-Wolf (1874) ''(La Lupa)'' Spring and other Stories (1877) ''(Primavera e altri racconti)'' *Spring ''(Primavera)'' *The Tail of the Devil ''(La coda del diavolo)'' *X ''(X)'' *Certain Subjects ''(Certi argomenti)'' *The Stories of the Trezza's Castle ''(Le storie del castello di Trezza)'' *Red Evil Hair (1878) ''( Rosso Malpelo)'' The Life of the Fields (1880) ''(Vita dei campi)'' *Rustic Chivalry (also translated as Rustic Honour) ''(Cavalleria rusticana)'' *Jeli the Shepherd ('' Jeli il pastore'') Little Novels of Sicily (1883) ''(Novelle rusticane)'' translated by

D.H. Lawrence David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English writer, novelist, poet and essayist. His works reflect on modernity, industrialization, sexuality, emotional health, vitality, spontaneity and instinct. His best-k ...

(1925) *His Reverence ''(Il reverendo)'' *So Much for the King ''(Cos'è il re)'' *Don Licciu Papa ''(Don Licciu papa)'' *The Mystery Play ''(Il mistero)'' *Malaria ''(Malaria)'' *The Orphans ''(Gli orfani)'' *Property ''(La roba)'' *Story of St. Joseph's Ass ''(Storia dell'asino di S. Giuseppe)'' *Black Bread ''(Pane nero)'' *The Gentry ''(I galantuomini)'' *Liberty ''(Libertà)'' *Across the Sea ''(Di là del mare)''Verga, Giovanni (

, translator) (2000). ''Little Novels of Sicily''. Hanover, New Hampshire: Steerforth Press. 145 pp. .

Life and career

Bibliography

Novels

Short stories

References

Further reading

External links