Diego Fabbri (July 2, 1911 – August 14, 1980) was an Italian playwright whose plays centered on religious (

Catholic 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 ...

) themes.

Early career

Fabbri graduated from the

University of Bologna The University of Bologna (, abbreviated Unibo) is a Public university, public research university in Bologna, Italy. Teaching began around 1088, with the university becoming organised as guilds of students () by the late 12th century. It is the ...

in 1936 with a degree in economics and business. But his writing career had begun well before that. His first play, ''The Flowers of Pain'', was published in 1928. He followed it with ''The Node'', which was banned by the fascist government. In 1938, he collaborated with Guido Chiesa to write the play ''Absent''. In 1939 Fabbri received an invitation to Rome, to become director of the Publisher Avenue. Then, in 1940, he was appointed secretary of the Catholic Film Center. He held the post until 1959. During this time, Fabbri began work on ''The Literary Fair''. His co-director on this project was the poet

Vincenzo Cardarelli Vincenzo Cardarelli, pseudonym of Nazareno Caldarelli (1 May 1887 – 18 June 1959) was an Italian poet and a journalist. Cardarelli was born in Corneto, Lazio, in a family of Marche origin. His father was Antonio Romagnoli. His studies were i ...

. The project could not be completed until 1966, and Vincenzo Cardarelli did not live to see it. Fabbri was particularly prolific in 1940. In that year, he wrote three plays: “Marshes”, “Meadow”, and “Fun”. The following year he came out with “Orbits”, which was staged at the

Teatro Quirino The Teatro Quirino is an opera house in Rome opened in 1871. It hosted the premiere of Pietro Mascagni's operetta '' Sì''. Its historical name has been joined by the recognition for one of the most acclaimed Italian theatrical actors of the tw ...

in Rome. “Marshes” was staged in the same theater in 1942.

Films

One of Fabbri's best known works is ''Inquisition'', which was written in 1946. His career as a screenwriter and scriptwriter began with collaborations with directors as

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Alessandro Blasetti Alessandro Blasetti (3 July 1900 – 1 February 1987) was an Italian film director and screenwriter who influenced Italian neorealism with the film ''Four Steps in the Clouds''. Blasetti was one of the leading figures in Italian cinema during the ...

, and Germs. He also worked with other film makers such as

Roberto Rossellini Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director, screenwriter and producer. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such a ...

Federico Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He is known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and ...

, Paw,

Michelangelo Antonioni Michelangelo Antonioni ( ; ; 29 September 1912 – 30 July 2007) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and editor. He is best known for his "trilogy on modernity and its discontents", ''L'Avventura'' (1960), ''La Notte'' (1961), and '' ...

René Clair René Clair (; 11 November 1898 – 15 March 1981), born René-Lucien Chomette (), was a French filmmaker and writer. He first established his reputation in the 1920s as a director of silent films in which comedy was often mingled with fantasy. H ...

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and Fleischer. In 1951 his ''The Seducer'' was represented. Fabbri wrote the screenplay for films like the ''Family Process'' (1953), ''The Liar'' (1954), ''Trial of Jesus'' (1955), ''Vigil of Arms'' (1956), ''Delirium'' (1957), ''Sons of Art'' (1959), ''Process Karamazov'' (1960), ''The Squirrel'' (1961), ''At the Table Do Not Talk About Love'' (1962), ''The Confidant'' (1964) and ''The Event'' (1967). Fabbri was head of the Roman Theatre La Cometa from 1960 to 1962. In 1968 he became President of ETI (Italian Theatre). His term there was marked by a policy of expansion and inculcating a theater culture throughout the country. Fabbri commitment to creating a national theater is reflected in the declaration of the manifesto for a theater of the people, which he signed in 1943, along with other prominent literati such as Pandolfi and

Pinelli Pinelli is an Italian surname, and may refer to: * Antonia Bertucci-Pinelli (died c. 1640), Italian painter of the Baroque *Babe Pinelli Ralph Arthur "Babe" Pinelli, born Rinaldo Angelo Paolinelli (October 18, 1895 – October 22, 1984), was a ...

. Fabbri was one of the founders of the National Union of Drama Writers in 1945. Fabbri was born in

Forlì Forlì ( ; ; ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is, together with Cesena, the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena.The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the east of the Montone river, ...

, where a theatre is named after him. His best known plays are ''Inquisizione'' (Inquisition) and ''Processo a Gesú'' (The Trial of Jesus). He died in

Riccione Riccione (; ) is a (municipality) in the Province of Rimini, Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. Riccione is centred on the Rio Melo, a minor river that flows into the Adriatic Sea. In the decades following the construction of the Bologna–Ancona r ...

Works

*''Rancore'' ("Rancor", 1946) *''Inquisizione'' ("Inquisition", 1950) *''Il seduttore'' ("The Seducer", 1951) *''Processo di famiglia'' ("Trial of the family", 1953) *''Processo a Gesù'' ("The Trial of Jesus", 1955) *''La bugiarda'' ("The Deceitful Woman", 1956) *''Veglia d'armi'' ("Vigil of Arms", 1956)

Selected filmography

* ''

The Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (), or the Decalogue (from Latin , from Ancient Greek , ), are religious and ethical directives, structured as a covenant document, that, according to the Hebrew Bible, were given by YHWH to Moses. The text of the Ten C ...

'' (1945) * ''

The Gates of Heaven ''The Gates of Heaven'' () is a 1945 Italian drama film directed by Vittorio De Sica. The film was made during the German occupation of Rome, with support from the Vatican. This and another film '' The Ten Commandments'' allowed a number of act ...

'' (1945) * '' The Testimony'' (1946) * ''

Fugitive in Trieste A fugitive or runaway is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also known a ...

'' (1951) * '' The Corsican Brothers'' (1961) * ''

The Mysteries of Paris ''The Mysteries of Paris'' () is a novel by Eugène Sue. It was published serially in 90 parts in ''Journal des débats'' from 19 June 1842 until 15 October 1843, making it one of the first serial novels (''feuilleton'') published in France. I ...

'' (1962) * ''

Destination Rome ''Destination Rome'' (, ) is a 1963 French-Italian comedy film directed by Denys de La Patellière and starring Charles Aznavour, Serena Vergano, Marisa Merlini and Arletty. It was one of a large number of co-productions made between the countries ...

'' (1963)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fabbri, Diego 1911 births 1980 deaths People from Forlì Italian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Italian dramatists and playwrights