Ignazio Silone
Encyclopedia
Ignazio Silone was the pseudonym of Secondino Tranquilli, an Italian
author and politician.
of Pescina
in the Abruzzo
region and lost many family members, including his mother, in the 1915 Avezzano earthquake
. His father had died in 1911. Silone joined the Young Socialists group of the Italian Socialist Party
(PSI), rising to be their leader.
He was a founding member of the breakaway Italian Communist Party
(PCI) in 1921, and became one of its covert leaders during the Fascist regime
. Ignazio's brother Romolo Tranquilli was arrested in 1928 for being a member of the PCI, and he died in prison in 1931 as a result of the severe beatings he received.
, and settled in Switzerland
in 1930. While there, he declared his opposition to Joseph Stalin
, and the leadership of Comintern
; consequently, he was expelled from the PCI. He suffered from tuberculosis
and severe clinical depression
, and spent nearly a year in Swiss
clinics. As he recovered, Silone began writing his first novel, Fontamara, published in German
translation in 1933. The English
edition, first published by Penguin Books
in September 1934, went through frequent reprintings during the 1930s, with the events of the Spanish Civil War
and the escalation towards the outbreak of World War II
increasing attention for its subject material.
The United States Army
printed unauthorised versions of Fontamara and Bread and Wine
and distributed them to the Italians during the liberation of Italy after 1943. These two books together with The Seed Beneath the Snow form the Abruzzo Trilogy. Silone returned to Italy only in 1944, and two years later he was elected as a PSI deputy.
In the course of World War II
, he had become the leader of a clandestine Socialist organization operating from Switzerland to support resistance groups
in Nazi Germany
-occupied Northern Italy
. He also became an Office of Strategic Services
(OSS) agent under the pseudonym of Len.
Following his contribution to anti-communist
anthology The God That Failed
(1949), Silone joined the Congress of Cultural Freedom
and edited Tempo Presente. In 1967, with the discovery that the journal received secret funds from the United States
Central Intelligence Agency
, Silone resigned and devoted all his energies to the writing of novels and autobiographical essays.
In 1969 he was awarded the Jerusalem Prize
, a literary award for writers who deal with the theme of individual freedom and society. In 1971 he was the recipient of the prestigious Prix mondial Cino Del Duca
.
Silone was married to Darina Laracy, an Irish
student of Italian literature
. He died in Geneva
in 1978.
and Mauro Canali found documents which, they claimed, 'proved' that Silone acted as an informant for the Fascist police from 1922 until 1930. The two historians published the results of their research in a work titled L'informatore. Silone, i comunisti e la polizia. In spite of bitter controversy in the Italian press, Biocca's and Canali's work proved to be substantiated and was reviewed in a positive light by the London Review of Books
, The Times Literary Supplement
, The New Yorker
, The Nation
, New Left Review
and others.
Italian historian Giuseppe Tamburrano, however, maintains that some police documents produced by Biocca and Canali cannot be attributed to Silone.
A 2005 biography by Biocca also includes documents showing Silone's involvement with the American intelligence during and after the World War, ultimately suggesting that Silone's political stands (as well as extensive literary work) should be reconsidered in light of a more complex personality and a deep sense of remorse.
Three of Silone's poems were included by Hanns Eisler
in his Deutsche Sinfonie
, along with poetry by Bertolt Brecht
.
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...
author and politician.
Early life and career
He was born in the townTown
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
of Pescina
Pescina
Pescina is a township and comune in the province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo, centrl Italy. It is a part of the mountain community Valle del Giovenco.-Geography:...
in the Abruzzo
Abruzzo
Abruzzo is a region in Italy, its western border lying less than due east of Rome. Abruzzo borders the region of Marche to the north, Lazio to the west and south-west, Molise to the south-east, and the Adriatic Sea to the east...
region and lost many family members, including his mother, in the 1915 Avezzano earthquake
1915 Avezzano earthquake
The 1915 Avezzano earthquake or 1915 L'Aquila earthquake occurred on January 13 in southern Italy, near the city of L'Aquila. The epicenter was located in the town of Avezzano in southern Italy...
. His father had died in 1911. Silone joined the Young Socialists group of the Italian Socialist Party
Italian Socialist Party
The Italian Socialist Party was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy founded in Genoa in 1892.Once the dominant leftist party in Italy, it was eclipsed in status by the Italian Communist Party following World War II...
(PSI), rising to be their leader.
He was a founding member of the breakaway Italian Communist Party
Italian Communist Party
The Italian Communist Party was a communist political party in Italy.The PCI was founded as Communist Party of Italy on 21 January 1921 in Livorno, by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party . Amadeo Bordiga and Antonio Gramsci led the split. Outlawed during the Fascist regime, the party played...
(PCI) in 1921, and became one of its covert leaders during the Fascist regime
Italian Fascism
Italian Fascism also known as Fascism with a capital "F" refers to the original fascist ideology in Italy. This ideology is associated with the National Fascist Party which under Benito Mussolini ruled the Kingdom of Italy from 1922 until 1943, the Republican Fascist Party which ruled the Italian...
. Ignazio's brother Romolo Tranquilli was arrested in 1928 for being a member of the PCI, and he died in prison in 1931 as a result of the severe beatings he received.
Opposition to Stalinism and return to the PSI
Ignazio Silone left Italy in 1927 on a mission to the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, and settled 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....
in 1930. While there, he declared his opposition to Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
, and the leadership of Comintern
Comintern
The Communist International, abbreviated as Comintern, also known as the Third International, was an international communist organization initiated in Moscow during March 1919...
; consequently, he was expelled from the PCI. He suffered from tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
and severe clinical depression
Clinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
, and spent nearly a year in Swiss
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....
clinics. As he recovered, Silone began writing his first novel, Fontamara, published in German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
translation in 1933. The English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
edition, first published by Penguin Books
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
in September 1934, went through frequent reprintings during the 1930s, with the events of the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
and the escalation towards the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
increasing attention for its subject material.
The United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
printed unauthorised versions of Fontamara and Bread and Wine
Bread and Wine (novel)
Bread and Wine is an anti-fascist and anti-Stalinist novel written by Ignazio Silone. It was finished while the author was in exile from Benito Mussolini's Italy. It was first published in 1936 in a German language edition in Switzerland as Brot und Wein, and in an English translation in London...
and distributed them to the Italians during the liberation of Italy after 1943. These two books together with The Seed Beneath the Snow form the Abruzzo Trilogy. Silone returned to Italy only in 1944, and two years later he was elected as a PSI deputy.
In the course of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he had become the leader of a clandestine Socialist organization operating from Switzerland to support resistance groups
Italian resistance movement
The Italian resistance is the umbrella term for the various partisan forces formed by pro-Allied Italians during World War II...
in Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
-occupied Northern Italy
Italian Social Republic
The Italian Social Republic was a puppet state of Nazi Germany led by the "Duce of the Nation" and "Minister of Foreign Affairs" Benito Mussolini and his Republican Fascist Party. The RSI exercised nominal sovereignty in northern Italy but was largely dependent on the Wehrmacht to maintain control...
. He also became an Office of Strategic Services
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
(OSS) agent under the pseudonym of Len.
Following his contribution to anti-communist
Anti-communism
Anti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...
anthology The God That Failed
The God that Failed
The God That Failed is a 1949 book which collects together six essays with the testimonies of a number of famous ex-communists, who were writers and journalists. The common theme of the essays is the authors' disillusionment with and abandonment of communism...
(1949), Silone joined the Congress of Cultural Freedom
Association for Cultural Freedom
The Congress for Cultural Freedom was an anti-communist advocacy group founded in 1950. In 1967, it was revealed that the United States Central Intelligence Agency was instrumental in the establishment and funding of the group , and it was subsequently renamed the...
and edited Tempo Presente. In 1967, with the discovery that the journal received secret funds from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
, Silone resigned and devoted all his energies to the writing of novels and autobiographical essays.
In 1969 he was awarded the Jerusalem Prize
Jerusalem Prize
The Jerusalem Prize for the Freedom of the Individual in Society is a biennial literary award given to writers whose works have dealt with themes of human freedom in society. It is awarded at the Jerusalem International Book Fair, and the recipient usually delivers an address when accepting the award...
, a literary award for writers who deal with the theme of individual freedom and society. In 1971 he was the recipient of the prestigious Prix mondial Cino Del Duca
Prix mondial Cino Del Duca
The Prix mondial Cino Del Duca is an international literary award.-Origins and operations:It was established in 1969 in France by Simone Del Duca to continue the work of her husband, publishing magnate Cino Del Duca .Designed to recognize and reward an author whose work constitutes, in a...
.
Silone was married to Darina Laracy, an Irish
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
student of Italian literature
Italian literature
Italian literature is literature written in the Italian language, particularly within Italy. It may also refer to literature written by Italians or in Italy in other languages spoken in Italy, often languages that are closely related to modern Italian....
. He died in Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
in 1978.
Controversy
Italian historians Dario BioccaDario Biocca
Dario Biocca teaches European history at the University of Perugia, Italy and is Coordinatore at Scuola di giornalismo Radiotelevisivo . He has a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley and has taught at various institutions in the US and Italy...
and Mauro Canali found documents which, they claimed, 'proved' that Silone acted as an informant for the Fascist police from 1922 until 1930. The two historians published the results of their research in a work titled L'informatore. Silone, i comunisti e la polizia. In spite of bitter controversy in the Italian press, Biocca's and Canali's work proved to be substantiated and was reviewed in a positive light by the London Review of Books
London Review of Books
The London Review of Books is a fortnightly British magazine of literary and intellectual essays.-History:The LRB was founded in 1979, during the year-long lock-out at The Times, by publisher A...
, The Times Literary Supplement
The Times Literary Supplement
The Times Literary Supplement is a weekly literary review published in London by News International, a subsidiary of News Corporation.-History:...
, The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, The Nation
The Nation
The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
, New Left Review
New Left Review
New Left Review is a 160-page journal, published every two months from London, devoted to world politics, economy and culture. Often compared to the French-language Les Temps modernes, it is associated with Verso Books , and regularly features the essays of authorities on contemporary social...
and others.
Italian historian Giuseppe Tamburrano, however, maintains that some police documents produced by Biocca and Canali cannot be attributed to Silone.
A 2005 biography by Biocca also includes documents showing Silone's involvement with the American intelligence during and after the World War, ultimately suggesting that Silone's political stands (as well as extensive literary work) should be reconsidered in light of a more complex personality and a deep sense of remorse.
Works
- FontamaraFontamaraFontamara is a 1930 novel by the Italian author Ignazio Silone written whilst he was a refugee from the Fascist Police in Davos, Switzerland. It is Silone's first novel and is regarded as his most famous work. It has received public acclaim throughout the world and has sold more than a million and...
(1930) - Fascism - Its Origin and Development (1934)
- Bread and WineBread and Wine (novel)Bread and Wine is an anti-fascist and anti-Stalinist novel written by Ignazio Silone. It was finished while the author was in exile from Benito Mussolini's Italy. It was first published in 1936 in a German language edition in Switzerland as Brot und Wein, and in an English translation in London...
(1937) (original Italian title: Pane e Vino) - The School for Dictators (1938)
- The Living Thoughts of Mazzini (1939)
- The Seed Beneath the Snow (1940)
- Ed egli si nascose. Dramma in quattro atti (1944)
- The God that FailedThe God that FailedThe God That Failed is a 1949 book which collects together six essays with the testimonies of a number of famous ex-communists, who were writers and journalists. The common theme of the essays is the authors' disillusionment with and abandonment of communism...
(contribution) (1949) - Emergency Exit (1951)
- Handful of Blackberries (1952)
- Wine and BreadBread and Wine (novel)Bread and Wine is an anti-fascist and anti-Stalinist novel written by Ignazio Silone. It was finished while the author was in exile from Benito Mussolini's Italy. It was first published in 1936 in a German language edition in Switzerland as Brot und Wein, and in an English translation in London...
(1955 revised version of the 1937 title) (orig. Italian Vino e pane) - Luca's SecretLuca's SecretLuca's Secret is a 1956 romance novel by Ignazio Silone. The romance is set in Marsica, Abruzzo....
(1956) (orig. Italian Il Segreto di Luca) - Story of a Humble ChristianStory of a Humble ChristianStory of a Humble Christian is a historical novel by the Italian writer Ignazio Silone, translated to English in 1970. It tells the story of Pope Celestine V....
(1968) (orig. Italian L'avventura di un povero cristiano)
Three of Silone's poems were included by Hanns Eisler
Hanns Eisler
Hanns Eisler was an Austrian composer.-Family background:Eisler was born in Leipzig where his Jewish father, Rudolf Eisler, was a professor of philosophy...
in his Deutsche Sinfonie
Deutsche Sinfonie
Deutsche Sinfonie, Op. 50, is a composition for soloists, chorus and orchestra by Hanns Eisler. Despite the title, it is considered to be more in the style of a cantata than a symphony...
, along with poetry by Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht was a German poet, playwright, and theatre director.An influential theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht made equally significant contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production, the latter particularly through the seismic impact of the tours undertaken by the...
.
Cinematic versions
- A version of Fontamara, directed by Carlo Lizzani and starring Michele PlacidoMichele PlacidoMichele Placido is an internationally known Italian actor and director. He is best known for the role of Corrado Cattani in the TV series La Piovra.-Life and career:...
, was released in 1977.