Luigi Ugolini
- Writer
Luigi Ugolini, Italian writer, poet and journalist, debuted to the
Italian general public with novels. Between literature for mainstream
and young adults, didactic works, technical manuals, textbooks, and
scientific discourses, more than 150 of his works were published. He
was also an expert ornithologist, gastronomer, and a prolific painter.
Among Ugolini's many notable novels, "The Nest of Falasco," (Il Nido di
Falasco) published in 1932 by Vallecchi, was adapted to film.
"Musoduro" (Vallecchi 1934), also adapted to film, enjoyed many
editions before going out of print in 1991. "The Story of My Land"
(Paravia 1954) was ordained required reading for middle schools in
Italy. "Voices of the Sea and the Earth" (SEI 1970) was also inducted
required reading for Italian middle schools. Ugolini's novel "La Zolla"
(Vallecchi 1934) won the Biella Award, and was translated into German.
In "Ex Corde," a poetic collection with themes of land, eternal war,
and humanity, Ugolini revealed himself a poet.
Ugolini dedicated himself to young adult literature, creating the
famous series of "Novelized Biography" for the publishing houses
Paravia, SEI, and Minerva Italica, in which he wove history and facts
of great men such as Galileo Galilei, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo,
and Dante Aligieri, into adventurous reading. He also contributed to
leading Italian newspapers such as "La Nazione," "Il Messaggero."
The literary work of Luigi Ugolini has been translated into German,
Romanian, Czechoslovakia, Japanese, Hungarian, Portuguese,
Serb-Croatian, and in all Spanish-speaking countries with the title
"Living Florence" (Firenze Viva). Austria's Ministry of Education
conferred the highest acknowledgment for authors and educators on him.
The noted Austian publication "Jugendbuch Autoren aus allen Welt,"
edited by Lucia Binder for Italy, includes the name of Ugolini. Ugolini
was the recipient of many prizes and acknowledgments.
On April 27, 1940, Ugolini was arrested in Florence, Italy by the
Fascist police for writing anti-Nazi and anti-Fascist propaganda, where
he expressed protest and premonitions of the misfortune of entering
into war and alliance with Hitler. He was tried and condemned by the
Special Court to two years of confinement.
Born in Florence, Italy, Luigi Ugolini was an only son and the grandson
of a medic whose ancestry traces to the 1600s from the nearby province
of Arezzo. The writer's marriage to Lina Vaselli, his first and only
love, lasted for over sixty years. They had seven children, four sons
and three daughters.
In 1983, Ugolini's "Tales of Hunting, Fishing, Life," (Olimpia di
Vallecchi publishers) posthumously earned Italy's Bancerello Sport
prize. Olimpia issued a new edition of this title in 2005.
On December 11, 1991, the Toponomastica Commission convened and voted
to place a commemorative marble plaque on Luigi Ugolini's home in
Florence. In a formal ceremony, the Commune of Florence conducted the
unveiling of the epigraph making the building a monument: "Here for
many years, the Florentine writer and poet Luigi Ugolini gave voice to
the beauty and humanity of his land and his people."
Italian general public with novels. Between literature for mainstream
and young adults, didactic works, technical manuals, textbooks, and
scientific discourses, more than 150 of his works were published. He
was also an expert ornithologist, gastronomer, and a prolific painter.
Among Ugolini's many notable novels, "The Nest of Falasco," (Il Nido di
Falasco) published in 1932 by Vallecchi, was adapted to film.
"Musoduro" (Vallecchi 1934), also adapted to film, enjoyed many
editions before going out of print in 1991. "The Story of My Land"
(Paravia 1954) was ordained required reading for middle schools in
Italy. "Voices of the Sea and the Earth" (SEI 1970) was also inducted
required reading for Italian middle schools. Ugolini's novel "La Zolla"
(Vallecchi 1934) won the Biella Award, and was translated into German.
In "Ex Corde," a poetic collection with themes of land, eternal war,
and humanity, Ugolini revealed himself a poet.
Ugolini dedicated himself to young adult literature, creating the
famous series of "Novelized Biography" for the publishing houses
Paravia, SEI, and Minerva Italica, in which he wove history and facts
of great men such as Galileo Galilei, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo,
and Dante Aligieri, into adventurous reading. He also contributed to
leading Italian newspapers such as "La Nazione," "Il Messaggero."
The literary work of Luigi Ugolini has been translated into German,
Romanian, Czechoslovakia, Japanese, Hungarian, Portuguese,
Serb-Croatian, and in all Spanish-speaking countries with the title
"Living Florence" (Firenze Viva). Austria's Ministry of Education
conferred the highest acknowledgment for authors and educators on him.
The noted Austian publication "Jugendbuch Autoren aus allen Welt,"
edited by Lucia Binder for Italy, includes the name of Ugolini. Ugolini
was the recipient of many prizes and acknowledgments.
On April 27, 1940, Ugolini was arrested in Florence, Italy by the
Fascist police for writing anti-Nazi and anti-Fascist propaganda, where
he expressed protest and premonitions of the misfortune of entering
into war and alliance with Hitler. He was tried and condemned by the
Special Court to two years of confinement.
Born in Florence, Italy, Luigi Ugolini was an only son and the grandson
of a medic whose ancestry traces to the 1600s from the nearby province
of Arezzo. The writer's marriage to Lina Vaselli, his first and only
love, lasted for over sixty years. They had seven children, four sons
and three daughters.
In 1983, Ugolini's "Tales of Hunting, Fishing, Life," (Olimpia di
Vallecchi publishers) posthumously earned Italy's Bancerello Sport
prize. Olimpia issued a new edition of this title in 2005.
On December 11, 1991, the Toponomastica Commission convened and voted
to place a commemorative marble plaque on Luigi Ugolini's home in
Florence. In a formal ceremony, the Commune of Florence conducted the
unveiling of the epigraph making the building a monument: "Here for
many years, the Florentine writer and poet Luigi Ugolini gave voice to
the beauty and humanity of his land and his people."