Leonardo Sciascia
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The Honourable Leonardo Sciascia |
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| Member of the Italian Chamber | |
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In office 20 June 1979 – 10 July 1983 |
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| Member of the European Parliament for Southern Italy |
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In office 10 June 1979 – 16 June 1984 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
8 January 1921 Racalmuto, Sicily, Kingdom of Italy |
| Died | 20 November 1989 (aged 68) Palermo, Sicily, Italy |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Political party |
Italian Communist Party (1975–1977) Radical Party (1979–1984) |
| Spouse(s) | Maria Andronico (m. 1944–89); his death |
| Children | Laura, Anna Maria |
| Parents | Pasquale Sciascia and Genoveffa Martorelli |
| Residence | Palermo, Sicily |
| Profession | Writer, novelist, journalist, political activist |
| Religion | Deism |
Leonardo Sciascia (Italian pronunciation: [leoˈnardo ʃˈʃaʃʃa]; January 8, 1921 – November 20, 1989) was an Italian writer, novelist, essayist, playwright, and politician. Some of his works have been made into films, including Porte Aperte (1990; Open Doors), Cadaveri Eccellenti (1976; Illustrious Corpses), and Il giorno della civetta (1968; The Day of the Owl).
Sciascia was born in Racalmuto, Sicily. In 1935, his family moved to Caltanissetta, where Sciascia studied under Vitaliano Brancati, who would become his model in writing and introduce him to French novelists. From Giuseppe Granata, future Communist member of the Italian Senate, Sciascia learned about the French Enlightenment and American literature. In 1944, he married Maria Andronico, an elementary school teacher in Racalmuto. In 1948, his brother committed suicide, an event which profoundly impacted Sciascia.
Sciascia's first work, Favole della dittatura (Fables of the Dictatorship), a satire on fascism in Italy, was published in 1950 and included 27 short poems. This was followed in 1952 by La Sicilia, il suo cuore (Sicily, His Heart), also a poetry collection, illustrated by Emilio Greco. The following year Sciascia won the Premio Pirandello, awarded by the Sicilian Region, for his essay "Pirandello e il pirandellismo" ("Pirandello and Pirandellism").
In 1954, he began collaborating with literature and ethnology magazines published by Salvatore Sciascia in Caltanissetta. In 1956, he published Le parrocchie di Regalpetra (The Parishes of Regalpetra), an autobiographic novel inspired by his experience as an elementary school teacher in his home town. In the same year he moved to teach in Caltanissetta, only to move again to Rome in 1957. In the autumn of 1957 he published Gli zii di Sicilia (Uncles of Sicily), which includes sharp views about themes such as the influence of the U.S. and of communism in the world, and the 19th century unification of Italy.
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