View source for Carlo Collodi

{{short description|Italian writer (1826–1890)}}
{{redirect|Collodi|the fraction of the municipality of Pescia in Tuscany, Italy|Collodi (Italy)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{expand Italian|topic=bio|date=July 2018}}

{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| name             = Carlo Collodi
| image            = Carlo Collodi.jpg
| caption          = 1890 sketch of Collodi
| birth_name       = Carlo Lorenzini
| birth_date       = {{birth date|1826|11|24|df=y}}
| birth_place      = [[Florence]], Grand Duchy of Tuscany
| death_date       = {{death date and age|1890|10|26|1826|11|24|df=y}}
| death_place      = Florence, Italy
| occupation       = {{cslist|Writer|novelist}}
| nationality      = Italian
| genre            = {{cslist|Children's literature|[[political satire]]|journalism}}
| movement         = 
| website          = 
}}
[[File:Pinocchio.jpg|thumb|Pinocchio, by [[Enrico Mazzanti]] (1852–1910), the first illustrator (1883) of ''[[The Adventures of Pinocchio]]'']]

'''Carlo Lorenzini''' ({{IPA|it|ˈkarlo lorenˈtsiːni|lang}}; 24 November 1826 – 26 October 1890), better known by the pen name '''Carlo Collodi''' ({{IPAc-en|k|ə|ˈ|l|əʊ|d|i}} {{respell|kə|LOH|dee}}; {{IPA|it|ˈkarlo kolˈlɔːdi|lang}}), was an Italian author, humourist,<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Italian Literary Studies|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaital00marr|url-access=limited|last1=Marrone|first1=Gaetana|last2=Puppa|first2=Paolo|publisher=Routledge|year=2006|isbn=9781579583903|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaital00marr/page/n523 485]}}</ref> and journalist,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/C-Collodi|title=C. Collodi &#124; Italian author|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|date=22 October 2023 }}</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 (Italy)|Collodi]], the town from which he later took the pen name, and his father Domenico Lorenzini was a cook.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Carlo Collodi |url=http://authorscalendar.info/collodi.htm |access-date=12 June 2023 |website=authorscalendar.info}}</ref> Both parents worked for the ''{{lang|it|marchese}}'' Ginori Lisci.<ref name=":0" /> Carlo was the eldest child in the family<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Multi-Grade Readers Theatre: Stories about Short Story and Book Authors|last1=Barchers|first1=Suzanne|last2=Pfeffinger|first2=Charla|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2011|isbn=9781598848014|location=Santa Barbara, CA|pages=55}}</ref> and he had ten siblings; seven died at a young age.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Pinocchio: Carlo Collodi {{!}} Encyclopedia.com |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/children/academic-and-educational-journals/pinocchio-carlo-collodi |access-date=12 June 2023 |website=www.encyclopedia.com}}</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 di Val d'Elsa|Colle Val d'Elsa]].<ref name=":1" /> An account at the seminary shows that the ''{{lang|it|marchese}}'' 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">{{Cite book|title=Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales, Children, and the Culture Industry|last=Zipes|first=Jack|publisher=Routledge|year=1997|isbn=0415918502|location=New York|pages=74}}</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 [[Unification of Italy|Italian Wars of Independence]] in 1848 and 1860, Lorenzini served as a volunteer with the [[Grand Duchy of Tuscany#Army|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 {{lang|it|Il Lampione}} in 1853.<ref>{{Cite web |date=11 October 2022 |title=Carlo Collodi: the Florentine Father of Pinocchio - Villa Campestri Olive Oil Resort |url=https://www.villacampestri.com/blog/en/carlo-collodi-pinocchio-2/ |access-date=12 June 2023 |language=en}}</ref> This newspaper was censored by order of the [[Grand duke of tuscany|Grand Duke of Tuscany]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Carlo Collodi Biography {{!}} Authors {{!}} Read & Co. Books |url=https://www.readandcobooks.co.uk/book-author/carlo-collodi/ |access-date=12 June 2023 |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Carlo Collodi |url=https://www.nyrb.com/collections/carlo-collodi |access-date=12 June 2023 |website=New York Review Books |language=en}}</ref> In 1854, he published his second newspaper, ''{{lang|it|Lo scaramuccia}}'' ("The Controversy").<ref name="JZ">Jack Zines. «Introduction». In: Carlo Collordi. ''Pinnochio''. Penguin Books 2002. {{ISBN|0-14-243706-9}}</ref> Lorenzini's first publications were in his periodicals. A debut came in 1856 with the play ''{{lang|it|Gli amici di casa}}'' and parodic guidebook {{lang|it|Un romanzo in vapore}}, both in 1856.<ref>[http://www.pinocchio.it/?idcnt=885&lang=en Carlo Collodi: other works]; pinocchio.it</ref> By 1860, he published his first notable work called ''{{lang|it|Il signor Alberi ha ragione!}}'' (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 ''{{lang|it|Il Fanfulla}}''; 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 ''{{lang|it|[[Macchiette]]}}'' (1880), ''{{lang|it|Occhi e nasi}}'' (1881), and ''{{lang|it|Storie allegre}}'' (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 ''{{lang|it|Racconti delle fate}}'', a translation of French fairy tales by [[Charles Perrault]]. In 1876, Lorenzini wrote ''{{lang|it|Giannettino}}'' (inspired by Alessandro Luigi Parravicini's ''Giannetto''), the ''{{lang|it|Minuzzolo}}'', and ''{{lang|it|Il viaggio per l'Italia di Giannettino}}'', 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 ''{{lang|it|Storia di un burattino}}'' (''Story of a [[Marionette]]''), also called ''[[The Adventures of Pinocchio|Le avventure di Pinocchio]]'', which was published weekly in ''{{lang|it|[[Giornale per i bambini]]}}''.<ref name=":0" /> ''Pinocchio'' was adapted into [[Pinocchio (1940 film)|a 1940 film by Disney]] that is considered to be one of Disney's greatest films.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Disney Book: Pinocchio|last=Maltin|first=Leonard|publisher=Crown Publishers, Inc.|year=1973|editor-last=Maltin|editor-first=Leonard|location=New York|pages=37}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.afi.com/10top10/category.aspx?cat=1|title=AFI: 10 Top 10|website=www.afi.com|access-date=19 February 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1940/02/08/archives/the-screen-in-review-pinocchio-walt-disneys-longawaited-successor.html|title=THE SCREEN IN REVIEW; 'Pinocchio,' Walt Disney's Long-Awaited Successor to 'Snow White,' Has Its Premiere at the Center Theatre--Other New Films|last=Nugent|first=Frank S.|date=8 February 1940|work=The New York Times|access-date=19 February 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</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.{{sfn|Proietti|2006}} The National Carlo Collodi Foundation was established in 1962 to promote education and the works of Collodi,<ref>{{Cite web |last=info@e-project.it |first=e-Project- |title=The Carlo Collodi National Foundation - Fondazione Collodi |url=https://www.fondazionecollodi.it/en/fondazione-carlo-collodi |access-date=12 June 2023 |website=www.fondazionecollodi.it |language=en}}</ref> and Pinocchio Park, which was opened in 1956 in the town of Collodi and remains a popular attraction today.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/pinocchio-park|title=Pinocchio Park|publisher=[[Atlas Obscura]]|access-date=14 September 2023}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{sfn whitelist|CITEREFProietti2006}}
* {{DBI|title=LORENZINI, Carlo|first=Domenico|last=Proietti|volume=66|url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/carlo-lorenzini_(Dizionario-Biografico)}}

==External links==
* {{Wikisource author-inline}}
* {{commons-inline}}
* {{StandardEbooks|Standard Ebooks URL=https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/carlo-collodi}}
** {{StandardEbooks|Standard Ebooks ULR=|Standard Ebooks URL=https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/carlo-collodi/the-adventures-of-pinocchio|Display Name=The Adventures of Pinocchio}}
* {{Gutenberg author |id=268| name=Carlo Collodi}}
** ''[https://www.gutenberg.org/etext/500 The Adventures of Pinocchio]'' at [[Project Gutenberg]] (translated from the Italian by Carol Della Chiesa)
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Carlo Collodi}}
* {{Librivox author |id=125}}
* ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20080225143938/http://www.pinocchio.it/park.htm Pinocchio Park] ''Collodi Tuscany
* ''[http://www.nybooks.com/articles/22633 New York Review of Books]''
* ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20080302225929/http://www.pinocchio.it/eng/fondazionecollodi/ Carlo Collodi National Foundation] ''Collodi Tuscany
* {{Find a Grave|9904286}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071010113905/http://www.i-rabia.com/circusA.html Carlo Collodi and Modern Politics – Any Parallels ?]
* [https://archive.today/20130415024840/http://www.ilnarratore.org/show.php?type=author&language=en&aid=41&tpl=/eng/autore.tpl.html from "Pinocchio. Le avventure di un burattino"] listen to chapt.1 – 2 – 12 audio mp3 for free

{{Pinocchio}}

{{portal bar|Literature|Italy}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Collodi, Carlo}}
[[Category:1826 births]]
[[Category:1890 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century Italian male writers]]
[[Category:19th-century Italian novelists]]
[[Category:19th-century Italian short story writers]]
[[Category:19th-century journalists]]
[[Category:19th-century pseudonymous writers]]
[[Category:Italian Army personnel]]
[[Category:Italian children's writers]]
[[Category:Italian fantasy writers]]
[[Category:Italian male journalists]]
[[Category:Italian male novelists]]
[[Category:Italian male short story writers]]
[[Category:Italian people of the Italian unification]]
[[Category:Journalists from Florence]]
[[Category:People from Pescia]]
[[Category:People of the Revolutions of 1848]]
[[Category:Writers from Florence]]
[[Category:Writers from the Grand Duchy of Tuscany]]
[[Category:Pinocchio]]
[[Category:Writers of Gothic fiction]]