Beautiful Antonio
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''Beautiful Antonio'' () is a 1949 novel by the Italian writer
Vitaliano Brancati Vitaliano Brancati (; 24 July 1907 – 25 September 1954) was an Italian novelist, dramatist, poet and screenwriter. Biography Born in Pachino, Syracuse, Brancati studied in Catania, where he graduated in letters and where he spent most of h ...
. Set in the 1930s and 1940s, it is about a Sicilian man who easily attracts women with his beauty but fails in his attempted career in Rome and struggles with impotence as he returns to Sicily for marriage. The book deals with themes related to Southern Italian sexual ''gallismo'' and
Fascist Italy Fascist Italy () is a term which is used in historiography to describe the Kingdom of Italy between 1922 and 1943, when Benito Mussolini and the National Fascist Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictatorship. Th ...
. The book was first published in English as ''Antonio, the Great Lover'' in a 1952 translation by Vladimir Kean where some of the sexual content was omitted. A 1978 unabridged translation by
Stanley Hochman Stanley Hochman (November 4, 1924 – August 10, 2014) was an editor for several New York City publishing houses and also a translator of European literature and nonfiction. Hochman's final editorial position was as Senior Editor at the former Fred ...
was published as ''Bell'Antonio''. A translation by
Patrick Creagh John Patrick Brasier-Creagh, best known as Patrick Creagh (23 October 1930 - 19 September 2012), was a British poet and translator. ''Beautiful Antonio'' received the 1950
Bagutta Prize The Bagutta Prize is an Italian literary prize that is awarded annually to Italian writers. The prize originated among patrons of Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy ...
. It was the basis for the 1960 film ''
Il bell'Antonio ("Handsome Antonio") is a 1960 Italian-French drama film directed by Mauro Bolognini and starring Marcello Mastroianni and Claudia Cardinale. It is based on the novel of the same name by Vitaliano Brancati and was adapted for the screen by Pier ...
'', directed by
Mauro Bolognini Mauro Bolognini (28 June 1922 – 14 May 2001) was an Italian film and stage director. Early years Bolognini was born in Pistoia, in the Tuscany region of Italy. After earning a master's degree in architecture at the University of Florence, Bol ...
and starring
Marcello Mastroianni Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni (26 September 1924Come da lui stesso dichiarato a 1'10" dquesta intervista/ref> – 19 December 1996) was an Italian actor. He is generally regarded as one of Italy's most iconic male performers of the 20t ...
in the title role. It was adapted for the screen again in 2005 as the two-part
RAI (), commercially styled as since 2000 and known until 1954 as (RAI), is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terrestrial and subscription television channels a ...
serial ', directed by Maurizio Zaccaro and starring
Daniele Liotti Daniele Liotti (born 1 April 1971, in Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metrop ...
.


References

{{reflist 1949 Italian novels Novels set in Rome Novels set in Sicily Italian novels adapted into films Italian novels adapted into television shows Novels by Vitaliano Brancati Bompiani books Novels about disability