Sebastiano Vassalli (24 October 1941 – 26 July 2015) was an Italian author. He wrote the 2007 novel ''The Italian (L'italiano)''. Vassalli was born in

Genoa, Italy Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitants ...

in 1941. His mother was from

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

and his father was from

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

. At a very young age, he was abandoned to relatives in

Novara Novara (; Novarese Lombard, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous ...

for some flour and oil. He went on to complete his Bachelor of arts degree in Milan. Soon after, Vassalli partnered with Cesare Musatti and wrote a book on ''Psychoanalysis and Contemporary Art'' which ultimately began his career as a notable author. Vassalli devoted himself to teaching and researching artistic

Neoavanguardia The Neoavanguardia ("New Vanguard") was a postmodern avant-garde literature of Italy, Italian literary movement oriented towards radical forms of experimentation with language and art. Some of its most prominent members include Nanni Balestrini, E ...

and was also involved with the Gruppo 63. He was a very dedicated man especially when it came to writing. He wrote for ''

La Repubblica (; English: "the Republic") is an Italian daily general-interest newspaper with an average circulation of 151,309 copies in May 2023. It was founded in 1976 in Rome by Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso (now known as GEDI Gruppo Editoriale) and l ...

'', ''

La Stampa (English: "The Press") is an Italian daily newspaper published in Turin with an average circulation of 87,143 copies in May 2023. Distributed in Italy and other European nations, it is one of the oldest newspapers in Italy. Until the late 1970 ...

'' and ''

Corriere della Sera (; ) is an Italian daily newspaper published in Milan with an average circulation of 246,278 copies in May 2023. First published on 5 March 1876, is one of Italy's oldest newspapers and is Italy's most read newspaper. Its masthead has remain ...

''. Vassalli's works are established based on historical research relating to the evolution of religion, politics, and gender differences. His novels are normally set in a certain historical context (Italy in the sixties, the Middle Ages, and times of counter-fascism). He devotes his works to realistic representations of characters. Vassalli's works are known for their ability to represent the extremely simple yet effective nature of the characters of the novels in a sort of fictional manner. This aspect, together with historical accuracy gives Vassalli’s works valuable qualities in terms of teaching them.

Literary works

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * '' Cuore di pietra.'' 1996. * ''Un infinito numero''. ''1998.'' * * ''Dux. Casanova in Boemia'' 2003 *

Other works

* La morte di Marx e altri racconti, 2007. * Un nulla pieno di storie. 2010.

References

•"Italian Literature: Fiction at the Turn of the 21st Century." Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica, n.d. Web. 29 May 2013. {{DEFAULTSORT:Vassali, Sebastiano Italian male novelists Writers from Genoa 1941 births 2015 deaths 20th-century Italian novelists 20th-century Italian male writers 21st-century Italian novelists 21st-century Italian male writers Gruppo 63