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Perhaps someone has not heard of Rodari, but everyone knows the tale of Cipollino.
Gianni Rodari: biography briefly
On October 23, 1920, in the town of Omegna in northern Italy, the first child, Giovanni (Gianni) Francesco Rodari, was born into a baker’s family. A year later, his younger brother, Cesare, appeared. Giovanni was a sickly and weak child, but he persistently learned to play the violin. He enjoyed writing poetry and drawing.
When the boy was ten years old, his father died. These are difficult times. Rodari had to study in a theological seminary: the children of the poor studied there. They were fed and clothed free of charge.
At the age of 17, Giovanni graduated from seminary. Then he worked as a tutor and was engaged in tutoring. In 1939 he attended the Catholic University of Milan for some time.
As a student, he joined the fascist organization “Italian Lictor Youth”. There is an explanation for this. During the period of Mussolini’s totalitarian rule, part of the rights and freedoms of the population was limited.
In 1941, while working as an elementary school teacher, he became a member of the National Fascist Party. But after the imprisonment of his brother Cesare in a German concentration camp, he becomes a member of the Resistance Movement. In 1944 he joined the Italian Communist Party.
After the war, the teacher became a journalist for the communist newspaper Unita and began writing books for children. In 1950 he became editor of the new children’s magazine Pioneer in Rome.
Soon he published a collection of poems and “The Adventures of Cipollino”. In his tale, he denounced greed, stupidity, hypocrisy and ignorance.
Children’s writer, storyteller and journalist died in 1980. Cause of death: complications after surgery. Buried in Rome.
Personal life
He married once and for life. They met Maria Teresa Ferretti in 1948 in Modena. There she worked as a secretary for the parliamentary elections, and Rodari was a correspondent for the Milan newspaper Unita. They got married in 1953. Four years later, their daughter Paola was born.
Gianni Rodari with his wife and daughter
Relatives and friends of Rodari noted accuracy and punctuality in his character.
Gianni Rodari: list of works
Read fairy tales to children! It is very important!
- 1950 – “The Book of Funny Poems”;
- 1951 – “The Adventures of Cipollino”;
- 1952 – “The Train of Poems”;
- 1959 – “Jelsomino in the Land of Liars”;
- 1960 – “Poems in Heaven and on Earth”;
- 1962 – “Tales on the Phone”;
- 1964 – The Blue Arrow’s Journey;
- 1964 – “What are the mistakes”;
- 1966 – “Cake in the Sky”;
- 1973 – “How Giovannino, nicknamed the Loafer, traveled”;
- 1973 – “The Grammar of Fantasy”;
- 1978 – “Once upon a time there was Baron Lamberto”;
- 1981 – “Tramps”.
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