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Malavoglia
''I Malavoglia'' () is the best known novel by Giovanni Verga. It was first printed in 1881. Background The readers' good reception of the short story ''Nedda'', published in 1874, encouraged the project of a "sea sketch" entitled ''Padron 'Ntoni''. In a letter dated September 1875, Verga informs the publisher Treves that he has almost finished a new story and he will receive it soon. Six years will pass instead: ''Padron 'Ntoni'' will be transformed into a novel, entitled ''I Malavoglia''. In a letter to his friend Salvatore Paolo Verdura, Verga states that ''I Malavoglia'' is the first of a cycle of five narrative works, the '' Ciclo dei Vinti'', a "phantasmagoria of the struggle for life, which extends from the ragman to the minister and the artist". The other works of the cycle are ''Mastro-don Gesualdo'', ''La Duchessa di Leyra'', ''L'Onorevole Scipioni'' and ''L'uomo di lusso'', works which deal with the problem of social and economical advancement. ''La Duchessa de Leyra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
I Malavoglia
''I Malavoglia'' () is the best known novel by Giovanni Verga. It was first printed in 1881. Background The readers' good reception of the short story ''Nedda'', published in 1874, encouraged the project of a "sea sketch" entitled ''Padron 'Ntoni''. In a letter dated September 1875, Verga informs the publisher Treves that he has almost finished a new story and he will receive it soon. Six years will pass instead: ''Padron 'Ntoni'' will be transformed into a novel, entitled ''I Malavoglia''. In a letter to his friend Salvatore Paolo Verdura, Verga states that ''I Malavoglia'' is the first of a cycle of five narrative works, the '' Ciclo dei Vinti'', a "phantasmagoria of the struggle for life, which extends from the ragman to the minister and the artist". The other works of the cycle are '' Mastro-don Gesualdo'', '' La Duchessa di Leyra'', ''L'Onorevole Scipioni'' and ''L'uomo di lusso'', works which deal with the problem of social and economical advancement. ''La Duchessa de Ley ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Giovanni Verga
Giovanni Carmelo Verga di Fontanabianca (; 2 September 1840 – 27 January 1922) was an Italian realist ('' verista'') writer, best known for his depictions of life in his native Sicily, especially the short story and later play ''Cavalleria rusticana'' and the novel ''I Malavoglia'' (''The House by the Medlar Tree''). Life and career The first son of Giovanni Battista Catalano Verga and Caterina Di Mauro, Verga was born into a prosperous family of Catania in Sicily. He began writing in his teens, producing the largely unpublished, but currently quite famous, historical novel ''Amore e Patria'' (''Love and Homeland''); then, although nominally studying law at the University of Catania, he used money his father had given him to publish his ''I carbonari della montagna'' (''The Carbonari of the Mountain'') in 1861 and 1862. This was followed by ''Sulle lagune'' (''On the Lagoons'') in 1863. Meanwhile, Mr. Verga had been serving in the Catania National Guard (1860–64), after ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aci Trezza
Aci Trezza () is a town in Sicily, southern Italy, a ''frazione'' of the comune of Aci Castello, c. 10 km north of Catania, with a population of around 5,000 people. Located on the coast of the Ionian Sea, the village has a long history of maritime activity. Aci Trezza is a popular spot for Italian vacationers in the summer. The patron Saint of the town is St. John the Baptist. The Festa of San Giovanni is celebrated each year during the last week of June in his honor. The Islands of the Cyclops Off the coast of Aci Trezza are three tall, prominent sea stacks. According to local legend, these were the great stones thrown at Odysseus in the epic poem ''The Odyssey'' by the monster Cyclops. The islands are thus referred to as the "isole dei ciclopi" (islands of the Cyclops, or Cyclopean Isles) by locals. This complements the notion that the Cyclops once had a smithy below Mount Etna, which looms over the village to the northwest. Cultural references Giovanni Verga's novel '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Luchino Visconti
Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo (; 2 November 1906 – 17 March 1976) was an Italian filmmaker, stage director, and screenwriter. A major figure of Italian art and culture in the mid-20th century, Visconti was one of the fathers of cinematic neorealism, but later moved towards luxurious, sweeping epics dealing with themes of beauty, decadence, death, and European history, especially the decay of the nobility and the bourgeoisie. He was the recipient of many accolades, including the Palme d'Or and the Golden Lion, and many of his works are regarded as highly-influential to future generations of filmmakers. Born to a Milanese noble family, Visconti explored artistic proclivities from an early age, working as an assistant director to Jean Renoir. His 1943 directorial debut, ''Ossessione,'' was condemned by the Fascist regime for its unvarnished depictions of working-class characters resorting to criminality, but is today renowned as a pioneering work of Ital ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mastro-don Gesualdo
''Mastro-don Gesualdo'' is an Italian novel written by Giovanni Verga, published in 1889. The first English edition, ''Master Don Gesualdo'' (1893), was translated by Mary A. Craig and was published in London by J. P. Osgood, McIlvaine publishers. Giovanni Cecchetti, in the introduction to his translation of the 1979 edition, writes that it "is generally regarded as a masterpiece". This work belongs to the '' Ciclo dei vinti'', together with ''I Malavoglia'', '' La Duchessa di Leyra'', ''L'Onorevole Scipioni'' and ''L'uomo di lusso'', works which deal with the problem of social and economical advancement. ''La Duchessa de Leyra'' remained only a draft, while the last two novels planned for the Ciclo, ''L'Onorevole Scipioni'' and ''L'Uomo di Lusso'', were not even started. The novel is divided into four parts, each of which is made up of several chapters. ''Mastro-don Gesualdo'' deals with Gesualdo Motta, a man who focuses his life on his economic assets instead of personal rela ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medlar
''Mespilus germanica'', known as the medlar or common medlar, is a large shrub or small tree in the rose family Rosaceae. The fruit of this tree, also called medlar, has been cultivated since Roman times, is usually available in winter and eaten when bletted. It may be eaten raw and in a range of cooked dishes. When the genus ''Mespilus'' is included in the genus '' Crataegus'', the correct name for this species is ''Crataegus germanica'' (Kuntze). In the southwest of England it historically had a number of vulgar nicknames, such as open-arse and monkey's bottom, due to the appearance of its large calyx. Description Under ideal circumstances, the deciduous plant grows up to tall. Generally, it is shorter and more shrub-like than tree-like. With a lifespan of 30–60 years, the tree is rather short-lived. Its bark is grayish brown with deep vertical cracks forming rectangular plates that tend to lift off. The wild form of ''M. germanica'' is mostly a thorny, more shrub-like ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and muscle cramps may also occur. Diarrhea can be so severe that it leads within hours to severe dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. This may result in sunken eyes, cold skin, decreased skin elasticity, and wrinkling of the hands and feet. Dehydration can cause the skin to turn bluish. Symptoms start two hours to five days after exposure. Cholera is caused by a number of types of ''Vibrio cholerae'', with some types producing more severe disease than others. It is spread mostly by unsafe water and unsafe food that has been contaminated with human feces containing the bacteria. Undercooked shellfish is a common source. Humans are the only known host for the bacteria. Risk factors for the disease include poor sanitation, not enough clea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Family Saga Novels
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as members mature and learn to participate in the community. Historically, most human societies use family as the primary locus of attachment, nurturance, and socialization. Anthropologists classify most family organizations as matrifocal (a mother and her children), patrifocal (a father and his children), conjugal (a wife, her husband, and children, also called the nuclear family), avuncular (a man, his sister, and her children), or extended (in addition to parents and children, may include grandparents, aunts, uncles, or cousins). The field of genealogy aims to trace family lineages through history. The family is also an important economic unit studied in family economics. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Novels Set In Sicily
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself from the la, novella, a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ''novellus'', diminutive of ''novus'', meaning "new". Some novelists, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Ann Radcliffe, John Cowper Powys, preferred the term "romance" to describe their novels. According to Margaret Doody, the novel has "a continuous and comprehensive history of about two thousand years", with its origins in the Ancient Greek and Roman novel, in Chivalric romance, and in the tradition of the Italian renaissance novella.Margaret Anne Doody''The True Story of the Novel'' New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1996, rept. 1997, p. 1. Retrieved 25 April 2014. The ancient romance form was revived by Romanticism, especially the historica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
19th-century Italian Novels
The 19th (nineteenth) century began on 1 January 1801 ( MDCCCI), and ended on 31 December 1900 ( MCM). The 19th century was the ninth century of the 2nd millennium. The 19th century was characterized by vast social upheaval. Slavery was abolished in much of Europe and the Americas. The First Industrial Revolution, though it began in the late 18th century, expanding beyond its British homeland for the first time during this century, particularly remaking the economies and societies of the Low Countries, the Rhineland, Northern Italy, and the Northeastern United States. A few decades later, the Second Industrial Revolution led to ever more massive urbanization and much higher levels of productivity, profit, and prosperity, a pattern that continued into the 20th century. The Islamic gunpowder empires fell into decline and European imperialism brought much of South Asia, Southeast Asia, and almost all of Africa under colonial rule. It was also marked by the collapse of the large S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1881 Novels
Events January–March * January 1– 24 – Siege of Geok Tepe: Russian troops under General Mikhail Skobelev defeat the Turkomans. * January 13 – War of the Pacific – Battle of San Juan and Chorrillos: The Chilean army defeats Peruvian forces. * January 15 – War of the Pacific – Battle of Miraflores: The Chileans take Lima, capital of Peru, after defeating its second line of defense in Miraflores. * January 24 – William Edward Forster, chief secretary for Ireland, introduces his Coercion Bill, which temporarily suspends habeas corpus so that those people suspected of committing an offence can be detained without trial; it goes through a long debate before it is accepted February 2. * January 25 – Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell form the Oriental Telephone Company. * February 13 – The first issue of the feminist newspaper ''La Citoyenne'' is published by Hubertine Auclert. * February 16 – The Canadia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
