Carlo Collodi

Pinocchio, by Enrico Mazzanti (1852–1910), the first illustrator (1883) of The Adventures of Pinocchio

Carlo Lorenzini (Template:IPA; 24 November 1826 – 26 October 1890), better known by the pen name Carlo Collodi (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell; Template:IPA), was an Italian author, humourist,<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref> and journalist,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> widely known for his fairy tale novel The Adventures of Pinocchio.

Early life

Lorenzini was born in Florence on 24 November 1826. His mother Angiolina Orzali Lorenzini was a seamstress from Collodi, the town from which he later took the pen name, and his father Domenico Lorenzini was a cook.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Both parents worked for the Template:Lang Ginori Lisci.<ref name=":0" /> Carlo was the eldest child in the family<ref name=":1">Template:Cite book</ref> and he had ten siblings; seven died at a young age.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He spent most of his childhood in the town of Collodi where his mother was born. He lived there with his maternal grandmother. After attending primary school, he was sent to study at a theological seminary in Colle Val d'Elsa.<ref name=":1" /> An account at the seminary shows that the Template:Lang had offered financial aid, but the boy found that he did not want to be a priest so he continued his education at the College of the Scolopi Fathers in Florence.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite book</ref> In 1844, he started working at the Florentine bookstore Libreria Piatti, where he assisted Giuseppe Aiazzi, a prominent Italian manuscript specialist.<ref name=":2"/>

Career

During the Italian Wars of Independence in 1848 and 1860, Lorenzini served as a volunteer with the Tuscan Army. His active interest in political matters can be seen in his earliest literary works, as well as in the founding of the satirical newspaper Template:Lang in 1853.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This newspaper was censored by order of the Grand Duke of Tuscany.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1854, he published his second newspaper, Template:Lang ("The Controversy").<ref name="JZ">Jack Zines. «Introduction». In: Carlo Collordi. Pinnochio. Penguin Books 2002. Template:ISBN</ref> Lorenzini's first publications were in his periodicals. A debut came in 1856 with the play Template:Lang and parodic guidebook Template:Lang, both in 1856.<ref>Carlo Collodi: other works; pinocchio.it</ref> By 1860, he published his first notable work called Template:Lang (Mr. Alberi Is Right!), which outlined his political and cultural vision of Italy. This is the text where Lorenzini started using the Collodi pseudonym, which was taken from his mother's hometown.<ref name=":0" />

Lorenzini had also begun intense activity on other political newspapers such as Template:Lang; at the same time he was employed by the Censorship Commission for the Theatre. During this period he composed various satirical sketches and stories (sometimes simply by collating earlier articles), including Template:Lang (1880), Template:Lang (1881), and Template:Lang (1887).<ref name=":0" />

Lorenzini became disenchanted with Italian politics afterwards, so he turned to children's literature and his first works involved translating French fairy tales into Italian.<ref name=":1" /> In 1875, for instance, he completed Template:Lang, a translation of French fairy tales by Charles Perrault. In 1876, Lorenzini wrote Template:Lang (inspired by Alessandro Luigi Parravicini's Giannetto), the Template:Lang, and Template:Lang, a pedagogic series which explored the unification of Italy through the ironic thoughts and actions of the character Giannettino.<ref name=":0" />

Lorenzini became fascinated by the idea of using an amiable, rascally character as a means of expressing his own convictions through allegory. In 1880, he began writing Template:Lang (Story of a Marionette), also called Le avventure di Pinocchio, which was published weekly in Template:Lang.<ref name=":0" /> Pinocchio was adapted into a 1940 film by Disney that is considered to be one of Disney's greatest films.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Lorenzini died suddenly in Florence on 26 October 1890 at the age of 63 and is interred at Cimitero Monumentale Delle Porte Sante in Florence.Template:Sfn The National Carlo Collodi Foundation was established in 1962 to promote education and the works of Collodi,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Pinocchio Park, which was opened in 1956 in the town of Collodi and remains a popular attraction today.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>