Maria Cumani Quasimodo (20 May 1908 - 22 November 1995) was an
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
actress and dancer.
Born Maria Cumani in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, she studied
dance under
Jia Ruskaja.
In 1936, she became the companion of the poet
Salvatore Quasimodo
Salvatore Quasimodo (; August 20, 1901 – June 14, 1968) was an Italian poet and translator. In 1959, he won the Nobel Prize in Literature "for his lyrical poetry, which with classical fire expresses the tragic experience of life in our own time ...
, with whom she had a son, Alessandro.
In 1937, she made her professional debut as a
dancer, and shortly later she specialized in "poetic dance", a personal style in which dance was combined with poetic verses.
She was married to Quasimodo from 1948 to 1960.
In the meanwhile, Cumani Quasimodo started a double career as a choreographer and a stage and film
character actress
A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to be ...
.
Shortly before her death, she released an autobiography, ''L'arte del silenzio'', which particularly focuses on her years alongside Salvatore Quasimodo.
Filmography
References
External links
*
1908 births
1995 deaths
Actresses from Milan
Italian film actresses
20th-century Italian actresses
Italian stage actresses
Italian ballerinas
Dancers from Milan
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