Rocco Scotellaro (19 April 1923 – 15 December 1953) was an Italian poet, writer and politician.

Life and career

Born in Tricarico, in the

Province of Matera The province of Matera (; Materano: ) is a province in the Basilicata region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Matera. It has an area of and a total population of 201,133; the city of Matera has a population of 61,204. The province contains ...

, the son of a shoemaker and a homemade seamstress, Scotellaro studied law at the Universities of Rome,

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

and

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

without graduating, as the early death of his father forced him to return to his hometown.Vitelli, Franco (2018).
Scotellaro, Rocco
. ''

Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani The ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani'' () is a biographical dictionary published in 100 volumes by the Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, started in 1960 and completed in 2020. It includes about 40,000 biographies of distinguished Italia ...

'', Volume 91.

Treccani Institute Giovanni Treccani for the publication of the Italian Encyclopedia (), also known as Treccani Institute or simply Treccani, is a cultural institution of national interest, active in the publishing field, founded by Giovanni Treccani ...

. In December 1943 he joined the

Italian Socialist Party The Italian Socialist Party (, PSI) was a Social democracy, social democratic and Democratic socialism, democratic socialist political party in Italy, whose history stretched for longer than a century, making it one of the longest-living parti ...

, and after having been part of the local department of

National Liberation Committee The National Liberation Committee (, CLN) was a political umbrella organization and the main representative of the Italian resistance movement fighting against the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationist forces of the ...

in 1946 he became mayor of Tricarico.Iarussi, Oscar (2006).
Ritratti critici di contemporanei: Rocco Scotellaro
. ''Belfagor'', vol. 61, no. 2, Casa Editrice Leo S. Olschki s.r.l. pp. 169–79. His tenure as mayor was inspired by the theories of vita activa by

Hannah Arendt Hannah Arendt (born Johanna Arendt; 14 October 1906 – 4 December 1975) was a German and American historian and philosopher. She was one of the most influential political theory, political theorists of the twentieth century. Her work ...

, and spent a great deal of effort in improving the living conditions of his fellow citizens. On 8 February 1950 Scotellaro was arrested for an alleged

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...

; the subsequent trial acquitted him "for not having committed the fact and because the fact does not constitute an offence", and in their sentence the judges explicitly referred to the case as motivated by "a political vengeance", but as a consequence a then disillusioned Scotellaro left his office and his hometown. He then collaborated with the Agrarian Economics Observatory and with the Association for the Industrial Development of Southern Italy ( SVIMEZ), studying various projects and reforms. Scotellaro suddenly died of a heart attack on 15 December 1953, at the age of 30. Almost all his literary works were published posthumously, and earned him critical acclaim as well as various prizes and awards, including the Viareggio Prize in 1954. His style belongs to New Realism, and Eugenio Montale described him as a "poeta contadino" ("peasant poet") and paired him to Sergei Yesenin and Attila József.

In popular culture

* Upon his death, poet Amelia Rosselli composed the heartfelt collection ''Cantilena (poesie per Rocco Scotellaro)'' (1953) in his memory. *

Luchino Visconti Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo (; 2 November 1906 – 17 March 1976) was an Italian filmmaker, theatre and opera director, and screenwriter. He was one of the fathers of Italian neorealism, cinematic neorealism, but later ...

's 1960 film ''

Rocco and His Brothers ''Rocco and His Brothers'' () is a 1960 drama film directed by Luchino Visconti and starring Alain Delon, Annie Girardot, Renato Salvatori, Katina Paxinou, Roger Hanin, Paolo Stoppa, and Claudia Cardinale in one of her early roles. Set in 1 ...

'' pays homage to Scotellaro in its title. * In 1979, he was portrayed by Bruno Cirino in the Rai Due television film ''Rocco Scotellaro'', which depicted his life.

References

External links

Rocco Scotellaro
at

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Scotellaro, Rocco 1923 births 1953 deaths People from the Province of Matera 20th-century Italian novelists 20th-century Italian poets Italian male poets Italian Socialist Party politicians Sapienza University of Rome alumni University of Bari alumni University of Naples Federico II alumni Viareggio Prize winners