Giovannino Guareschi
| Giovannino Guareschi OCI |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | Giovannino Oliviero Giuseppe Guareschi 1 May 1908 Roccabianca, Emilia, Kingdom of Italy |
| Died | 22 July 1968 (aged 60) Cervia, Romagna, Italian Republic |
| Resting place | Church of St Michael Archangel, Le Roncole, Busseto |
| Occupation | Writer, journalist, caricaturist, humorist, movie director |
| Genre | Political satire, war novel, short story |
| Notable works | Creation of character Don Camillo; La rabbia; Anti-communist cartoons |
| Spouse | Ennia Pallini (m. 1940–68); his death |
| Children | Carlotta Alberto |
| Website | |
| www |
|
Giovannino Oliviero Giuseppe Guareschi (Italian: [dʒovanˈniːno ɡwaˈreski]; 1 May 1908 – 22 July 1968) was an Italian journalist, cartoonist and humorist whose most famous creation is the priest Don Camillo.
Giovannino Guareschi was born in Fontanelle di Roccabianca in the Province of Parma in 1908. He hailed from a middle-class family. Guareschi always joked about the fact that he, a large man, was baptized Giovannino, a name meaning "little John" or "Johnny". In 1926 his family went bankrupt, and he could not continue his studies at the University of Parma. After working at various minor jobs, he started to write for a local newspaper, the Gazzetta di Parma. 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 camps in German occupied Poland including Stalag X-B near Sandbostel for almost two 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 weekly satirical magazine, Candido in 1945. 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.
...
Wikipedia