INDEX - Literature in Turin

Skim through a book, immerse yourself in its pages and find yourself in a city, explicitly described or only implied, in all its colour and nuance.

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), who lived in Turin for one year, where he devised "Ecce Homo", wrote: "Turin impresses because here you feel the flow of life". Not only he thought so...

Indeed, the young Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1772) who was not a lover of the size and customs of Paris, enjoying instead the relative calm of the smaller Turin. In his autobiography "The Confessions", the restless thinker of the enlightenment recounts his Turinese experiences: the Catholic baptism in the Church of Spirito Santo (via Porta Palatina), and his life as a valet in Palazzo Solaro della Chiusa e di Govone (today Palazzo Mazzonia, in via San Domenico 11).

Also the Venetian Giacomo Casanova (1725-1798) author of "History of my life" loved Turin and Turinese women, even if he was in Turin only for a few days after the legendary escape from Piombi.

Vittorio Alfieri (1749-1803), born in Asti studied at the Accademia di Torino, and after a stay in Europe came to live in the city again. As he recounts in his autobiography "Life", in order to pursue his writing vocation without distractions he had himself tied to the chair of his desk, in order to follow the motto "volli, sempre volli, fortissimamente volli" (I wanted, I always wanted, I wanted to the utmost).
Alfieri had a love/hate relationship with the city; it was where he had his first successes (his tragedy "Cleopatra" was shown in Carignano to much applause) but he later moved to the more liberal Tuscany, unable to bear the obscurantism imposed by the Savoy family.

Turin was also home for Silvio Pellico (1789-1854), who, hired as a secretary by the Falletti di Barolo family, lived in Palazzo Barolo in Via delle Orfane 7. Here he completed the edit of his work "My prisons", tales of his severe experiences in the Spielburg jail, where the Austrians incarcerated him for having participated in the Milanese revolts.

Among the most noted personalities of the 19th century was the Turin nobleman Massimo D'Azeglio (1798-1866). Born in the family Palace in via Principe Amedeo 34, he was a man of letters, a politician and a painter. Among his more significant works was his autobiography "My memories" and a historical novel "Ettore Fieramosca".

The Ligurian Edmondo De Amicis (1846- 1908), lived in via Pietro Micca 10, where he wrote "Cuore", a major work in children's literature.

Another author of children's books living in Turin was Emilio Salgari (1862-1911), father of Sandokan. Despite the success of his books, Salgari died in poverty, committing suicide in the hills above corso Casale.

Born in Turin was the crepuscular poet Guido Gozzano (1883-1916), who participated in the city's cultural life at the beginning of the 19th century, collaborating with many magazines.

When speaking of Turin's literature, one must quote the comedy written in dialect by Vittorio Bersezio (1828-1900), entitled "Le miserie 'd monsu Travèt", (The miseries of Mr. Travèt), telling of a poor clerk's sufferings at the hands of his superiors. Together with the publisher Favale, Bersezio was also founder of the "Gazzetta Piemontese", which subsequently became "La Stampa".

Bersezio's comedy was later made into a film by Turin's Mario Soldati (1906-1999). Before becoming a film director Soldati was a writer, author amongst others of "Letters from Capri" and "The Green Jacket".

The dramatic stories of Fascism and the Second World War have been recounted by many of Turin's famous writers. Carlo Levi (1902-1975), painter as well as writer, is the author of the novel "Christ stopped at Eboli", an autobiographical account of confinement in Lucania during Fascism.

Primo Levi (1919-1987) told instead of the tragedy of Auschwitz, which the author himself underwent, in various works, the most famous of which is "If this is a man". Levi took his life in 1987 by throwing himself down the stairwell of his residence in Turin.

Cesare Pavese (1908-1950) who lived in Turin, but who mainly celebrated the landscape of the Langhe where he was born, committed suicide, poisoning himself in a room in Hotel Roma.

A friend of the author of "La Luna e i falò" was, Italo Calvino (1923-1985) who spent some time in Turin, where he wrote "Il sentiero dei nidi di ragno" and "Trilogia degli antenati" and where he worked for the Einaudi publishing house.

Among the other writers tied to the city are the neorealist Giovanni Arpino (1927- 1987), who set his delicate story of brief romance in Turin "La suora giovane" - the young nun.

Natalia Ginzburg (1916- 1991) tells in the pages of "Lessico Famigliare" experiences of her youth in the Piedmont capital, as does Lalla Romano (1906-2001), author of "Le parole tra noi leggere".

Contemporary authors connected to Turin are Umberto Eco, Maria Luisa Spanziani, Rossana Ombres, Ellemire Zolla and Guido Cernetti.

TURIN IN LITERATURE

Carlo Fruttero and Franco Lucentini, one born in Turin, the other adopted the city, set their co-written thrillers amongst the city streets, the Balòn and the hills above the river.Amongst them are classics of the genre "La donna della Domenica" and "A che punto è la notte".
Well-heeled Turin also features in the widely translated thriller novels by Gianni Farinetti, in particular "Un delitto fatto in casa".

Turin also serves as background to the investigations of the teacher-detective created by Margherita Oggero, in her books "La collega tatuata" and "Una piccola bestia ferita".
Turin writer and journalist Bruno Gambarotta has instead written about his city in the thriller "Torino Lungo Dora Napoli".

Turin is also where the main character of the ironic and slightly bitter "Tutti giù per terra" by Giuseppe Culicchia tirelessly seeks his home. The same author, Sicilian by origin, has lived here for a long time and has written a popular guide "Torino è casa mia", where he divides the city into rooms of an apartment.

Some writers have made Turin the only character, such as Renzo Rossotti, who has dedicated all his production to the city.

Let's move on to some illustrious names in contemporary literature that act as spokesmen for modern Turin. Alessandro Baricco became successful with books such as "Oceano Mare" and "Novecento"(made into the film "The pianist on the ocean" by Giuseppe Tornatore), Paolo Giordano, very young prize winner of Strega 2008 with "La solitudine dei numeri primi", Paola Mastrocola, high school teacher, has written "La scuola spiegata al mio cane" and "Come una barca nel bosco", with which he gained much recognition.
Still to mention is Alessandra Montrucchio, author of various novels about young people: "Cardiofitness", "Ondate di Calore" and "Macchie Rosse", and columnist in "Torino Sette"as well as the true Turinese Anna Berra and the acquired Turinese Andrea Bajani.
Stefania Bertola, Christian Frascella and finally Dario Voltolini complete the picture. The first one, with amusing novels such as "Ne parliamo a cena" or "Biscotti e sospetti", discovers with an unusual touch the hidden lightness of the Savoy capital; the second one with "Mia sorella è una foca monaca" well portrays the Turinese suburbs; while the third one, urban beauties estimator makes Fiat, the traffic, the trams, the yellow streetlights and the gasometres animate the city and serve as background in his works "Una intuizione metropolitana" and "Rincorse".

BOOKS IN TURIN: THE FAIR

Every year in May Turin lives a particularly intense period for literature and the book industry in the Fiera del Libro over a thousand international exhibitors, international lecturers, meetings, seminars and workshops with writers, critics and intellectuals.
The Fair is held at Lingotto (via Nizza)
www.fieralibro.it