Paola (''née'' Bianchetti) Drigo (4 January 1876 – 4 January 1938) was an Italian writer of short stories, novellas, and novels. Her first collection of short stories, ''La fortuna'', was published in 1913 and caught the attention of literary critics and the public. Her last major works were two novels, ''Fine d'anno'' and ''Maria Zef'', both published in 1936. With a style rooted in 19th century Italian realism, she was admired for the detailed psychological analysis of her characters and her descriptions of provincial life in her native

Veneto it, Veneto (man) it, Veneta (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = ...

region. The protagonists of her stories (usually women) were people of humble origin or those who had been "humiliated by fate".Bocelli, Arnaldo (1938)
"Drigo, Paola"
''

Enciclopedia Italiana The ''Enciclopedia Italiana di Scienze, Lettere e Arti'' ( Italian for "Italian Encyclopedia of Science, Letters, and Arts"), best known as ''Treccani'' for its developer Giovanni Treccani or ''Enciclopedia Italiana'', is an Italian-language ...

'' (Appendice I). Treccani. Online version retrieved 15 September 2014 .

Life

Drigo was born Paolina Valeria Maria Bianchetti in

Castelfranco Veneto Castelfranco Veneto ( vec, Casteło) is a town and '' comune'' of Veneto, northern Italy, in the province of Treviso, by rail from the town of Treviso. It is approximately inland from Venice. History The town originates from a castle built he ...

. Her father was Count Giuseppe Valerio Bianchetti who had fought with

Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, pat ...

, later becoming a minor literary and political figure. Her mother, Luigia Anna Loro Bianchetti, was the daughter of a lawyer and member of the Italian Parliament. Paolino was educated first at the Liceo Canova in Treviso, where she was the first female student in the school's history, and she completed her studies at the Scuola Normale in

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

.''Il Messaggero Veneto'' (30 December 2003)
"Con il romanzo di Paola Drigo si conclude la prima serie"
Retrieved 15 September 2014 . In 1898 she married the engineer and agronomist Giulio Giovanni Drigo. Her first and only surviving child, their son Paolo, was born a year later. A daughter soon followed but died only a few days after her birth, an episode later alluded to in Drigo's autobiographical novel, ''Fine d'anno''.Larco, Ioana Raluca (2011)
"A Journey Beyond Fascist Models: ''Fine d'anno'' by Paola Drigo"
pp. 3–30 in Larco, I. and Cecchini, F. (eds.) ''Italian Women and Autobiography: Ideology, Discourse and Identity in Female Life Narratives from Fascism to the Present''. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. The couple initially lived in a

palazzo A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

on the Piazza del Santo in Padua but in 1900 moved to

Mussolente Mussolente is a town in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, northern Italy. It is north of SS248 state road. History Mussolente consists of two distinct zones: a hilly area in the northern part and flatlands with an abundance of water in the souther ...

where Giulio had bought the Ca' Soderini, a large villa and farming estate with one of the largest and most important parks in the Veneto region. Until the beginning of the First World War, Paola Drigo spent the winter seasons in Rome where she was active in several literary salons. By 1912 her stories and novellas began to appear in ''La Lettura'' (published by the '' Corriere della Sera''). Her first collection of stories, ''La fortuna'', was published by Emilio Treves in 1913. The favorable reaction of both critics and the public led to regular collaborations with two other Italian literary magazines, ''Nuova Antologia'' and ''L'Illustrazione Italiana''.Barletta, Maurizia (1968)
"Bianchetti, Paola"
''

Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani The ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani'' ( en, Biographical Dictionary of the Italians) is a biographical dictionary published by the Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, started in 1925 and completed in 2020. It includes about 40,000 biograp ...

'', Vol. 10 (1968). Treccani. Online version retrieved 16 September 2014 . With the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

in 1914, she returned to Mussolente. Another collection of stories, ''Codino'', was published in 1918. Although she continued to contribute stories and articles to several Italian periodicals, she published no further books until 1932. The intervening years were marked by an increasingly strained relationship with her son and by her husband's lengthy and debilitating illness. After his death in 1922, she assumed the administration of their estate while making frequent trips to Rome, Milan, and Padua.Marola, Barbara (2003). ''Fuori norma: scrittrici italiane del primo Novecento: Vittoria Aganoor, Paola Drigo, Rosa Rosà, Lina Pietravalle'', pp. 71–73. L. Tufani. Her third collection of stories, ''La signorina Anna'', was published in 1932, followed in 1936 by the publication of her only novels, ''Fine d'anno'' and ''Maria Zef''. She eventually settled in Padua, and spent her final year there. Suffering from depression and a severe gastric ulcer which caused frequent violent hemorrhages, she was largely confined to her bed in a room overlooking the Bacchiglione River. Her last piece, "Finistre sul fiume" ("Windows on the River"), published in the ''Corriere della Sera'' on 18 August 1937 was written from her hospital bed. The tale's protagonist reflects on her illness and impending death.Kirschenbaum, Blossom Steinberg (1991)
"Paola Drigo"
''An Encyclopedia of Continental Women Writers'', Vol. 1, pp. 333–4. Routledge. The piece ends with:

No, I'm not ready yet. O my God, let me stay here a little longer.

Paola Drigo died in Padua six months later on her 62nd birthday. She was buried near her villa in Mussolente, attended by a few relatives and her close friend the poet and writer, Manara Valgimigli.Valgimigli, Manara and Pancrazi, Pietro (2003)
''Storia di un'amicizia''
(edited and annotated by Maria Vittoria Ghezzo), pp. 46–47. Lampi di stampa. After the funeral Valgimigli wrote to their mutual friend Pietro Pancrazi:

In these days I have often thought about our friend's harsh death and her strong will to live. If I were sure that it was praise, I would say that she was a woman who was truly a man.Valgimigli and Pancrazi p. 46. Original Italian: "Ci ho pensato spesso questi giorni, alla dura fine della nostra amica e a quella sua dura voglia di vivere. Se fossi sicuro che e un elogio direi che quella donna era veramente un uomo."

Works

Short story collectionsAll sections in this bibliography are sourced from Zambon, Patrizia

Le Autrici della Letteratura Italiana. Università degli Studi di Padova. Retrieved 16 September 2014 . * ''La fortuna''. Milan: Treves, 1913 * ''Codino''. Milan: Treves, 1918 * ''La signorina Anna''. Vicenza: Jacchia, 1932 Novels * ''Fine d'anno''. Milan: Treves, 1936 * ''Maria Zef''. Milan: Treves, 1936 Non-fiction *"Canova e il suo paese" (

Canova Antonio Canova (; 1 November 1757 – 13 October 1822) was an Italian Neoclassical sculptor, famous for his marble sculptures. Often regarded as the greatest of the Neoclassical artists,. his sculpture was inspired by the Baroque and the cl ...

and his Country) in ''Italia!'', 4 April 1913 *Andreas Hofer e il suo paese" (

Andreas Hofer Andreas Hofer (22 November 1767 – 20 February 1810) was a Tyrolean innkeeper and drover, who in 1809 became the leader of the Tyrolean Rebellion against the Napoleonic and Bavarian invasion during the War of the Fifth Coalition. He was subs ...

and his Country) in ''Noi e il Mondo'', 11 November 1922 *"Libri, arte e donne" (Books, Art, and Women) in ''Gazzetta di Venezia'', 17 April 1923 *"Il baffo e la chioma" (The Mustache and the Hair) in ''Gazzetta di Venezia'', 24 June 1927 *"Uomini di genio e donne intellettuali. Egoismo, crudeltà e amore. Il punto di vista femminile" (Men of Genius and Intellectual Women. Egotism, Cruelty, and Love. The Feminine Point of View) in ''Nuova Antologia'', 1 June 1931 *"Femminismo e femminilità" (Feminism and Femininity) in ''Nuova Antologia'', 1 August 1931 *"Lettere del Carducci e di Alberto Mario a Valerio Bianchetti" (The Letters of

Carducci Carducci is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bartolomeo Carducci (1560–1610), Florentine artist * Giosuè Carducci (1835–1907), Italian poet * Joe Carducci (born 1955), American writer and record producer * Marco ...

and Alberto Mario to Valerio Bianchetti) in ''Pègaso'', 3 March 1931 Modern curated editions of Drigo's fiction *''Fine d'anno'' (edited by Patrizia Zambon). Lanciano: Rocco Carabba, 2005 *''Finestre sul fiume'' (edited by Sandro Bortone). Santa Lucia ai Monti (Verona): Edizioni Ampersand, 1995 *''Maria Zef'' (edited by Paola Azzolini and Patrizia Zambon). Padua: Il Poligrafo, 2011 *''Maria Zef'' (in English translation with notes and introduction by Blossom Steinberg Kirschenbaum). Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 1989 *''Racconti'' (edited by Patrizia Zambon). Padua: Il Poligrafo, 2006

Life

Works

References

External links