Giuseppe Rovani (12 January 181826 January 1874) was an Italian novelist and essayist. He took part in the Italian

Risorgimento The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the annexation of various states of the Italian peninsula and its outlying isles to the Kingdom of ...

and was a forerunner of the Milanese

Scapigliatura ''Scapigliatura'' () is the name of an artistic movement that developed in Italy after the Risorgimento period (1815–71). The movement included poets, writers, musicians, painters and sculptors. The term Scapigliatura is the Italian equivalent ...

Biography

Rovani was born in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. A staunch republican, he was exiled in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

with

Giuseppe Mazzini Giuseppe Mazzini (, ; ; 22 June 1805 – 10 March 1872) was an Italian politician, journalist, and activist for the unification of Italy (Risorgimento) and spearhead of the Italian revolutionary movement. His efforts helped bring about the ...

and

Carlo Cattaneo Carlo Cattaneo (; 15 June 1801 – 6 February 1869) was an Italian philosopher, writer, and activist, famous for his role in the Five Days of Milan in March 1848, when he led the city council during the rebellion. Early life and education Cat ...

after the

revolution of 1848 The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

. He was eventually driven by debts to agree to write the official account of the visit of the Emperor

Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

in 1857. By that stage he was closely associated with the Scapigliati,

Carlo Dossi Carlo Alberto Pisani Dossi (born March 27, 1849, in Zenevredo; died November 19, 1910, Cardina, Como) was an Italian writer, politician and diplomat. He belonged to the Scapigliati. Dossi was a member of the first generation of Lombard line. ...

in particular, and a prey to the

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

that would eventually kill him. Rovani was known for criticism of historical novels of the Romantic style, which were popular in Italy at the time and whose stereotypes and old fashioned plots he pointed out. His historical novels, which begin with ''Lamberto Malatesta'' (1843), replace Romantic idealism with scepticism, and focus on the glamour and squalor of bohemian existence rather in the manner of operatic realism. His major work, ''Cento anni'', which appeared first in serial form in 1857–8, attempts to reproduce the successes of Balzac and Dumas. Basically the memoirs of a thief turned banker, it tells in a somewhat episodic manner the history of a family over five generations. Together with

Ippolito Nievo Ippolito Nievo (; 30 November 1831 – 4 March 1861) was an Italians, Italian writer, journalist and patriot. His ''Confessions of an Italian'' is widely considered the most important novel about the Italian ''Italian unification, Risorgimento'' ...

's ''Confessioni di un italiano'', Rovani's ''Cento Anni'' had an important impact on the evolution of Italian novel. In 1859 he was part of a consortium of writers who co-edited the newspaper '' Gazzetta di Milano''. Rovani had always been interested in the relations between the arts, and in the essays gathered in ''Le tre arti'' (1874) he theorized his ideas on

synaesthesia Synesthesia (American English) or synaesthesia (British English) is a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. People with sy ...

. These are already discernible in ''Cento anni'' and become more evident in his late novels, from ''La Libia d'oro'' (1868) onwards. Giuseppe Rovani grave Milan 2015

Rovani died in Milan in 1874. His body was embalmed by Paolo Gorini and was buried in the

Cimitero Monumentale di Milano The Cimitero Monumentale ( " Monumental Cemetery") is one of the two largest cemeteries in Milan, Italy, the other one being the Cimitero Maggiore. It is noted for the abundance of artistic tombs and monuments. Designed by the architect Carlo ...

Works

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References

External links

* * * 1818 births 1874 deaths Writers from Milan Italian newspaper editors Italian male journalists Italian male writers Scapigliatura Movement {{Italy-writer-stub