Giovanni Francesco "Gianni" Rodari (; 23 October 1920 – 14 April 1980) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

writer and journalist, most famous for his works of

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...

, notably '' Il romanzo di Cipollino''. For his lasting contribution as a children's author, he received the biennial

Hans Christian Andersen Medal The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are two literary awards given by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), recognising one living author and one living illustrator for their "lasting contribution to children's literature". Th ...

in 1970. He is considered as Italy's most important 20th-century children's author and his books have been translated into many languages, though few have been published in English.

Biography

Rodari was born in

Omegna Omegna (, , ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola in the Italy, Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about southwest of Verbania at the northernmost point of Lago d’Orta and traversed ...

, a small town on

Lake Orta Lake Orta (; Lombard and ) or Cusio (Lombard and ; ) is a lake in northern Italy, west of Lake Maggiore. It has been so named since the 16th century, but was previously called Lago di San Giulio, after Saint Julius (4th century), the patron s ...

in the province of Verbania-Cusio-Ossola in northern Italy. His father, a baker, died when Rodari was only eight. Rodari and his two brothers, Cesare and Mario (who were younger than him), were raised by his mother in her native village, in the

province of Varese The province of Varese () is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Varese (population of 80,857 inhabitants), but its largest city is Busto Arsizio. The headquarters of AgustaWestland, the compa ...

. After three years at the seminary in

Seveso Seveso (; ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Monza and Brianza, in the Region of Lombardy. The economy of the town has traditionally been based on the furniture industry. Its name comes from the river of the same name which crosse ...

, Rodari received his teacher's diploma at the age of seventeen and began to teach elementary classes in rural schools of the Varese district. He had an interest in music (three years of

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

lessons) and literature (discovered the works of

Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche became the youngest pro ...

Schopenhauer Arthur Schopenhauer ( ; ; 22 February 1788 – 21 September 1860) was a German philosopher. He is known for his 1818 work '' The World as Will and Representation'' (expanded in 1844), which characterizes the phenomenal world as the manife ...

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

and

Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky,; ; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky'' was a Russian revolutionary, Soviet politician, and political theorist. He was a key figure ...

which sharpened his critical sense). In 1939, for a short time, Rodari attended the

Catholic University of Milan The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Rodari had a deferment from the army due to his ill health. Due to his precarious financial situation, he applied for work at the

Casa del Fascio A ''casa del Fascio'', ''casa Littoria'', or ''casa del Littorio'' () was a building housing the local branch of the National Fascist Party and later the Republican Fascist Party under the regime of Italian Fascism, in Italy and Italian Empire, i ...

and was forced to join the

National Fascist Party The National Fascist Party (, PNF) was a political party in Italy, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of Italian fascism and as a reorganisation of the previous Italian Fasces of Combat. The party ruled the Kingdom of It ...

. Traumatized by the loss of his two best friends and his favourite brother Cesare's incarceration in a

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concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

, Rodari joined the

Italian Communist Party The Italian Communist Party (, PCI) was a communist and democratic socialist political party in Italy. It was established in Livorno as the Communist Party of Italy (, PCd'I) on 21 January 1921, when it seceded from the Italian Socialist Part ...

in 1944 and participated in the

Italian resistance movement The Italian Resistance ( ), or simply ''La'' , consisted of all the Italian resistance groups who fought the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationists of the Italian Social Republic during the Second World War in Italy ...

. In 1948, as a journalist for the Communist periodical ''

L'Unità (; English: "the Unity") is an Italian newspaper, founded as the official newspaper of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) in 1924. It was supportive of that party's successor parties, the Democratic Party of the Left, Democrats of the Left, a ...

'', he began writing books for children. In 1950, the Party installed him as editor of the new weekly children's magazine ''

Il Pioniere ''Il Pioniere'' () was a weekly children's comic magazine which existed between 1950 and 1970. It was headquartered in Rome, Italy. The magazine was close to the Italian Communist Party although it did not overtly contain political writings. H ...

'' in Rome. In 1951, Rodari published his first books, ''Il Libro delle Filastrocche'' and ''Il Romanzo di Cipollino''. In 1952, he travelled for the first time to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, which he frequented thereafter. In 1953, he married Maria Teresa Feretti, who four years later gave birth to their daughter, Paola. In 1957, Rodari passed the exam to become a professional journalist. Rodari spent the years 1966–1969 working intensively on collaborative projects with children. In 1970 he received the

for children's literature, which gained him a wide international reputation as the best modern children's writer in Italian. The biennial award by the

International Board on Books for Young People International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

is the highest recognition available to a writer or illustrator of children's books. His works have been translated into numerous languages. In 1979, after another trip to the Soviet Union, his health, never very robust, declined and his productivity diminished. He died in Rome, following a surgical operation, in April 1980.

Works

He is perhaps best known for developing the story of

Cipollino Cipollino (), or Little Onion as translated from the original, is a fictional character from Gianni Rodari's eponymous ''Tale of Cipollino'' (), also known under its 1957 renamed title ''Adventures of Cipollino'' (), a children's tale about poli ...

. The story of Cipollino was popular enough to have a ballet staged in the Soviet Union in 1973, composed by

Karen Khachaturian Karen Surenovich Khachaturian (, ; Moscow, 19 September 1920 – Moscow, 19 July 2011) was a Soviet and Russian composer of Armenian ethnicity and the nephew of composer Aram Khachaturian. Khachaturian was born in Moscow, the son of Suren Khachat ...

and choreographed by Henrich Mayorov. Cipollino, or Little Onion, fights the unjust treatment of his fellow vegetable townfolk by the fruit royalty (Prince Lemon and the overly proud Tomato) in the garden kingdom. The main theme is the "struggle of the underclass and the powerful, good versus evil" and the importance of friendship in the face of difficulties. Rodari's works have continued to be published and re-illustrated by other authors after his death, including Nicoletta Costa. * ''Il libro delle filastrocche'' (“The Book of Children's Poems”, 1950) * ''Il romanzo di

'' (“The Adventures of Cipollino, the Little Onion”, 1951) * ''La Freccia Azzurra'' (“The Blue Arrow”, 1954) * ''Gelsomino nel paese dei bugiardi'' (“Gelsomino in the Country of Liars”, 1958) * ''Filastrocche in cielo e in terra'' (“Nursery Rhymes in the Sky and on Earth”, 1960) * ''Favole al telefono'' (“Telephone Tales”, 1962) * ''Gip nel televisore'' (“Gip in the Television”, 1962) * ''La freccia azzurra'' (“The Blue Arrow”, 1964) * ''La torta in cielo'' (“The Cake in the Sky”, 1966) * ''La grammatica della fantasia'' (“The Grammar of Fantasy”, 1974) * ''C'era due volte il barone Lamberto'' ovvero ''I misteri dell'isola di San Giulio'' (''Twice Upon a Time there was a Baron called Lamberto'' or ''The Mysteries of the Isle of San Giulio'', 1978, ) * ''Novelle fatte a macchina'' (“Stories written on a typewriter”) * ''Atalanta'' * ''Piccoli Vagabondi'' * ''Il libro dei perché'' ('' The Book of Whys'', 1984)

Tribute

On 23 October 2020

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celebrated his 100th birthday with a

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References

External links

*
A Rodari short story, ''Polenta Fritta'', translated into English

Rodari-Website (Italian)

a Russian Chippolino cartoonanswers.com
* ''

The Cafe Irreal ''The Cafe Irreal'' is an Internet journal dedicated to the publication and propagation of irrealist literature. History and profile Online since 1998, it has published a number of notable authors whose work sometimes fits into this non-realist ...

''
"Trolley Number 75" by Gianni Rodari (English translation)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodari, Gianni 1920 births 1980 deaths Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing winners Italian children's writers Italian science fiction writers Italian male journalists Italian magazine editors Italian anti-fascists Italian resistance movement members Italian Communist Party politicians 20th-century Italian journalists 20th-century Italian politicians Italian Marxist journalists Italian Marxist writers People from Omegna 20th-century Italian novelists Italian male novelists Burials at Campo Verano

Biography

Works

Tribute

See also

References

Further reading

External links