Pratolini, Vasco

(1913–1991)

   Born in a working-class district on the “wrong” bank of the Arno River (the “Oltrarno”), Pratolini did not have the classical training of most Italian literary luminaries. He was self-taught by following his insatiable literary curiosity. By the time he was 19, he was part of the Fascist literary left, collaborating with the editors of a well-known Fascist weekly, Il Bargello. By 1938, his enthusiasm for the party’s polemics against the traditionally privileged bourgeoisie seemed to be waning. In fact, he had begun another periodical, Campo di marte, which lasted for just one year (August 1938 to August 1939) before being closed by the minister of culture because its neorealism and concern for social issues convinced some Fascists that the editors were leftists. After World War II, Pratolini began a period of feverish writing. He published Il Quartiere (The Neighborhood, 1943), Cronaca familiare (Family Chronicle, 1947), and Diario sentimentale (Sentimental Diary, 1957), all representations of life in the Oltrarno. These early works were followed by a series of mature works, several of which were made into successful films. L’eroe del nostro tempo (The Hero of Our Times, 1949) and the three-part Una storia italiana (An Italian Story, 1955–1966) are probably the best-known of these books. Pratolini died in Rome in January 1991.