Italo Svevo

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Italo Svevo (real name Aron Ettore Schmitz) was born on December 19, 1861 in Trieste, Italy. He was an Italian Jewish novels author, plays, and short stories writer.

Biography and Career :

He was the fifth of the eight children of Francesco and Allegra Schmitz.

In 1874 he was sent to the Seygntz High-school in Germany where had read for the first time Schopenhauer, Goethe, Shakespeare and Turgheniev. After 4 years came back in Trieste where studied for two years economical sciences.

In 1880 he published his first novellas ""Ariosto Governatore", "Il Primo Amore", "Le Roi est Mort, Vive le Roi" and "I Due Poeti". After his father's business was a bankruptcy he was hired at the local branch of Unionsbank.

In 1881 he published the novellas: "Di Fetto Moderno", "La Storia

Dei Miei Lavori" and "I Tre Caratteri" named later "La Gente Superiore".

In the same year he started to collaborate with Indipendente newspaper under the nickname E. Samigli.

Between 1882-1890 he traveled a lot especially in England and in 1890 he published the large novella "L'Assassinio di Via Belpoggio" with influences from Emile Zola.

In April 1892 his father passed away and with this occasion he met his cousin, Livia Veneziani, with whom he would marry in 1896. They had a girl named Letizia.
In the Autumn of 1892 he published his first novel "Una Vita" and this was the first time when he signed as Italo Svevo.

In 1898 appeared his second novel "Senilita".

Between 1899-1902 he traveled for business especially in France and England and in the same time he read Ibsen, Dostoievski, Tolstoi and Cehov.
In 1903 he published "Un Marito".

He met James Joyce in 1906 who would become a great friend of him.

Between 1922-1923 worked on a translation after Frued "Dreams Interpretation", wrote a project about the universal peace and published "La Conscienza di Zeno".
In 1926 he wrote the novellas "La Madre", "Una Burla Riuscita", "Vino Generoso" and "La Novella Del Buon Vecchio et Della Bella Fanciulla".

In 1927 was played at the Independence's Theatre in Rome his only play "Terzetto Spezzato". Svevo read Kafka's writings.

He began to write the novel "Il Vecchione" but remained unfinished because on the 13th of September 1928 the writer died in a car accident.

Important Writings :

1892 "Una vita" ("A Life")
1898 "Senilità" ("As a Man Grows Older/Emilio's Carnival")
1923 "La Coscienza di Zeno" ("The Confessions of Zeno")
_{Italo Svevo Image : trieste.it}

Italo Svevo Videos

SenilitÃ - di M. Bolognini 1962 con Claudia Cardinale