Antonio Fogazzaro

Antonio Fogazzaro (Italian pronunciation: [anˈtɔnjo foɡatˈtsaro]; 25 March 1842 – 7 March 1911) was an Italian novelist. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature seven times.

Biography

Fogazzaro was born in Vicenza to a rich family. In 1864 he got a law degree in Turin. In Milan he followed the scapigliatura movement. In 1869 he was back in Vicenza to work as lawyer, but he left this path very soon to write books full-time.

In his works one finds a constant conflict between sense of duty and passions, faith and reason. In some cases this brings the tormented soul of characters into mystic experiences. Arguably his masterpiece was Piccolo Mondo Antico (variously titled in English translations as The Patriot or as The Little World of the Past). This well written novel is set in his beloved Valsolda on Lake Lugano, Italy, in the 1850s. It has delightful evocations of the landscape, and strong characterizations which reveal the inner psychological conflicts of the characters.

Fogazzaro was a deeply religious man but supported reform in the Catholic Church and toured Italy proposing to reconcile Darwin's theory of evolution with Christianity. He found new interpretations in positivist and evolutionist theories, but because of this the Roman Catholic Church banned the novels Il Santo in 1905 and Leila in 1910. He died in 1911 in his birthplace, Vicenza.

Works

Novels

• Malombra (1881).
• Daniele Cortis (1885).
• Il Mistero del Poeta (The Mystery of the Poet, 1888).
• Piccolo Mondo Antico (The Little World of the Past, 1895).
• Piccolo Mondo Moderno (The Man of the World, 1901).
• Il Santo (The Saint, 1905).
• Leila (1910).

Other works

• Miranda (1874, verse romance).
• Valsolda (1876, lyrics collection).
• Fedele (1887, short story collection).
• Discorsi (1898, essay).
• Scienza e Dolore (Science And Suffering, 1898, essay).
• Il Dolore nell'Arte (Suffering in Art, 1901, essay).
• Scene (1903, plays).

Translated into English

• Daniele Cortis: A Novel (1887).
• "Pereat Rochus." In: Stories by Foreign Authors (1898).
  • Pereat Rochus and Un' Idea di Ermes Torránza (1909).
• "For the Beauty of an Ideal," The Contemporary Review, Vol. LXVII (1895).
  • "For the Beauty of an Ideal." In: The World's Best Essays (1900).
• The Poet's Mystery: A Novel (1903).
• The Trilogy of Rome:
  • The Patriot (1906).
  • The Saint (1906).
  • The Sinner (1907).
• The Man of the World (1907).
• The Woman (1907).
• The Politician (1908).
• "The Silver Crucifix." In: Short Story Classics (1907).
• "Evening: The Bells." In: An Anthology of Italian Authors (poem, 1907).
• "The Imp in the Mirror." In: Spanish, Italian and Oriental Tales (1909).
• Leila (1911).
• "Fidele: The Story of a Singer." In: Tales from the Italian and Spanish (1920).
• "Malgari: A Tale of Venice." In: Tales from the Italian and Spanish (1920).
• "R. Schumann: Op. 68." In: Tales from the Italian and Spanish (1920).
• "Eden Anto." In: Tales from the Italian and Spanish (1920).