Giovannino Guareschi
Encyclopedia
Giovannino Oliviero Giuseppe Guareschi (May 1, 1908 - July 22, 1968) was an Italian
journalist
, cartoonist and humorist whose most famous creation is the priest Don Camillo
.
in the Province of Parma
into a middle-class family. In 1926 his family went bankrupt and he could not continue his studies. After unsuccessful studies in the University of Parma
and various minor jobs, he started to write for a local newspaper. In 1929 he became editor of the satirical magazine Corriere Emiliano and from 1936 to 1943 he was the chief editor of a similar magazine called Bertoldo.
In 1943 he was drafted into the army, which apparently helped him to avoid trouble with the fascist authorities. He ended up as an artillery
officer.
When Italy signed the armistice with Allied troops in 1943, he was arrested and imprisoned in prison camp
s in German occupied Poland
for three years alongside other Italian soldiers. He later wrote about this time in Diario Clandestino (My secret Diary).
After the war, Guareschi returned to Italy and founded a monarchist satirical magazine, Candido. After Italy became a republic, he began to support Democrazia Cristiana
. He criticized and satirized the Communists in his magazine, famously drawing a Communist as a man with an extra nostril
. When the Communists were soundly defeated in the 1948 Italian elections, Guareschi did not put his pen down but criticized Democrazia Cristiana
as well.
In 1954 Guareschi was charged with libel after he had published two facsimile wartime letters from resistance leader and former Prime Minister Alcide De Gasperi
requesting the Allies
to bomb the outskirts of Rome
in order to demoralize German
collaborators. The legitimacy of the letters was never established by the court but after a two month trial it found in favour of De Gasperi. Guareschi declined to appeal the verdict and spent 409 days in Parma
's San Francesco jail, and another six months on probation at his home.
By 1956 his health had deteriorated and he began to spend time in Switzerland
for health reasons. In 1957 he retired from the post of editor of Candido but remained a contributor. In 1968 he suffered a fatal heart attack
.
Some books (see also Don Camillo
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, cartoonist and humorist whose most famous creation is the priest Don Camillo
Don Camillo
Don Camillo is the main character created by the Italian writer and journalist Giovannino Guareschi , and is based on the historical Roman Catholic priest, WW II partisan and detainee of the concentration camps of Dachau and Mauthausen, Don Camillo Valota . Don Camillo is one of two protagonists,...
.
Life and career
Giovannino Guareschi was born in Fontanelle di RoccabiancaRoccabianca
Roccabianca is a comune in the Province of Parma in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about 110 km northwest of Bologna and about 25 km northwest of Parma....
in the Province of Parma
Province of Parma
The Province of Parma is a province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Parma.It has an area of 3,449 km², and a total population of 413,198...
into a middle-class family. In 1926 his family went bankrupt and he could not continue his studies. After unsuccessful studies in the University of Parma
University of Parma
The University of Parma is one of the oldest universities in the world, founded in the 11th century. It is organised in twelve faculties. The University of Parma has currently about 30,000 students.-History:...
and various minor jobs, he started to write for a local newspaper. In 1929 he became editor of the satirical magazine Corriere Emiliano and from 1936 to 1943 he was the chief editor of a similar magazine called Bertoldo.
In 1943 he was drafted into the army, which apparently helped him to avoid trouble with the fascist authorities. He ended up as an artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
officer.
When Italy signed the armistice with Allied troops in 1943, he was arrested and imprisoned in prison camp
Italian military internees
Italian military internees was the official name given by Germany to the Italian soldiers captured, rounded up and deported in the territories of the Third Reich in Operation Achse in the days immediately following the Armistice between Italy and Allied armed forces .After disarmament by the...
s in German occupied Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
for three years alongside other Italian soldiers. He later wrote about this time in Diario Clandestino (My secret Diary).
After the war, Guareschi returned to Italy and founded a monarchist satirical magazine, Candido. After Italy became a republic, he began to support Democrazia Cristiana
Christian Democracy (Italy)
Christian Democracy was a Christian democratic party in Italy. It was founded in 1943 as the ideological successor of the historical Italian People's Party, which had the same symbol, a crossed shield ....
. He criticized and satirized the Communists in his magazine, famously drawing a Communist as a man with an extra nostril
Nostril
A nostril is one of the two channels of the nose, from the point where they bifurcate to the external opening. In birds and mammals, they contain branched bones or cartilages called turbinates, whose function is to warm air on inhalation and remove moisture on exhalation...
. When the Communists were soundly defeated in the 1948 Italian elections, Guareschi did not put his pen down but criticized Democrazia Cristiana
Christian Democracy (Italy)
Christian Democracy was a Christian democratic party in Italy. It was founded in 1943 as the ideological successor of the historical Italian People's Party, which had the same symbol, a crossed shield ....
as well.
In 1954 Guareschi was charged with libel after he had published two facsimile wartime letters from resistance leader and former Prime Minister Alcide De Gasperi
Alcide De Gasperi
Alcide De Gasperi was an Italian statesman and politician and founder of the Christian Democratic Party. From 1945 to 1953 he was the prime minister of eight successive coalition governments. His eight-year rule remains a landmark of political longevity for a leader in modern Italian politics...
requesting the Allies
Allies
In everyday English usage, allies are people, groups, or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out between them...
to bomb the outskirts of Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in order to demoralize German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
collaborators. The legitimacy of the letters was never established by the court but after a two month trial it found in favour of De Gasperi. Guareschi declined to appeal the verdict and spent 409 days in Parma
Parma
Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
's San Francesco jail, and another six months on probation at his home.
By 1956 his health had deteriorated and he began to spend time in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
for health reasons. In 1957 he retired from the post of editor of Candido but remained a contributor. In 1968 he suffered a fatal heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
.
Some books (see also Don CamilloDon CamilloDon Camillo is the main character created by the Italian writer and journalist Giovannino Guareschi , and is based on the historical Roman Catholic priest, WW II partisan and detainee of the concentration camps of Dachau and Mauthausen, Don Camillo Valota . Don Camillo is one of two protagonists,...
)
- La scoperta di Milano (1941)
- Il destino si chiama Clotilde (1943)
- Il marito in collegio (1944)
- Favola di natale (1945)
- Diario Clandestino 1943-1945 (1946)
- Italia Provvisoria (1947)
- Lo zibaldino (1948)
- Corrierino delle famiglie (1954)
- Vita in famiglia (1968)
Published English translations
- The Little World of Don Camillo (1950)
- Don Camillo and his Flock (in USA); Don Camillo and the Prodigal Son (in UK) (1952)
- The House That Nino Built (1953)
- Don Camillo's Dilemma (1954)
- Don Camillo Takes the Devil by the Tail (in USA); Don Camillo and the Devil (in UK) (1957)
- My Secret Diary (1958)
- Comrade Don Camillo (1964)
- My Home, Sweet Home (1966)
- A Husband in a Boarding School (1967)
- Duncan & Clotilda: An Extravaganza with a Long Digression (1968)
- Don Camillo Meets the Flower Children (in USA); Don Camillo Meets Hell's Angels (in UK) (1969)
- The Family Guareschi: Chronicles of the Past and Present (1970)
External links
- Tutto il mondo di Guareschi (Official Site)
- A review of Little World of Don Camillo at Open Letters Monthly
- World of Giovannino Guareschi
- Virtual Travel in the Little World of Guareschi