Tommaso Fiore (7 March 1884 – 4 June 1973) was an Italian meridionalist writer and a

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

intellectual and politician. He is known for his attention and his descriptions and studies on the inhumane conditions of Southern Italian and often specifically

Apulian it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

peasants at that time. He is also known for his

Viareggio Prize The Viareggio Prize ( it, Premio Viareggio, italic=no or ) is an Italian literary prize, first awarded in 1930. Named after the Tuscan city of Viareggio, it was conceived by three friends, , Carlo Salsa and Leonida Rèpaci, to rival the Milanese ...

-winning book ''Un popolo di formiche'' ("A people of ants"). In the 1920s, he was appointed as mayor ( it, sindaco) of his hometown

Altamura Altamura (, ; nap, label= Barese, Ialtamùre) is a town and ''comune'' of Apulia, in southern Italy. It is located on one of the hills of the Murge plateau in the Metropolitan City of Bari, southwest of Bari, close to the border with Basilic ...

. During the twenty-year period of the Italian Fascist era, he strenuously opposed the regime before being sent into internal exile in 1942 and then being jailed in 1943.

Life

Tommaso Fiore was born in a working-class family on 7 March 1884. After completing higher education in a seminary school located in

Conversano Conversano ( Barese: ) is an ancient town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, south-eastern Italy. It is southeast of Bari and from the Adriatic coast, at above sea level. The counts of Conversano owned a stud that they us ...

(as it was normal at that time for gifted students who couldn't afford public high schools), he studied

classical literature Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

at university and then he taught inside Italian

classical lyceum Liceo classico or Ginnasio (literally ''classical lyceum'') is the oldest, public secondary school type in Italy. Its educational curriculum spans over five years, when students are generally about 14 to 19 years of age. Until 1969, this was ...

schools. His interest were mostly focused on the poverty of

Southern Italy Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half. The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the peop ...

's peasants and he struggled with his thoughts to find a solution to Southern Italy's economic failure (in Italian such scholars are called ). He was also a strenuous socialist and he always fought for Independence and

federalism Federalism is a combined or compound mode of government that combines a general government (the central or "federal" government) with regional governments (Province, provincial, State (sub-national), state, Canton (administrative division), can ...

of Southern Italy. He also studied the poverty and other issues related to Southern Italy's peasants. In the 1920s he became mayor of

, his hometown and he was a courageous opponent of fascism. He was sent into internal exile in 1942 and then jailed in 1943 because of his intense propaganda against fascism. On 19 August 1909, he also joined the Italian Freemasonry and he was appointed to the

Masonic lodge A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...

number 1799 located in Altamura. On 7 February 1915, he was appointed as

Master Mason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. gnocchini-2005, p. 123 He collaborated with Italian newspaper ''La Rivoluzione liberale'' whose

chief editor An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

was

Piero Gobetti Piero Gobetti (; 19 June 1901, Turin – 15 February 1926, Neuilly-sur-Seine) was an Italian journalist, intellectual and radical liberal and anti-fascist. He was an exceptionally active campaigner and critic in the crisis years in Italy after ...

, and with newspaper ''Quarto Stato'' founded by

Pietro Nenni Pietro Sandro Nenni (; 9 February 1891 – 1 January 1980) was an Italian socialist politician, the national secretary of the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) and senator for life since 1970. He was a recipient of the Lenin Peace Prize in 1951. He w ...

and

Carlo Rosselli Carlo Alberto Rosselli (Rome, 16 November 1899Bagnoles-de-l'Orne, 9 June 1937) was an Italian political leader, journalist, historian, philosopher and anti-fascist activist, first in Italy and then abroad. He developed a theory of reformist, ...

, where he explained his ideas about socialist reformation of Southern Italy. On 28 July 1943, he lost his son Graziano in the massacre of ''via Niccolò dell'Arca'', in

Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy a ...

, carried out by fascists. In the aftermath of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he was appointed as

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

grammar and literature teacher at the

University of Bari The University of Bari Aldo Moro ( it, Università degli Studi di Bari Aldo Moro) is a state-supported higher education institution founded in 1925 in Bari, Apulia, in Southern Italy. The university is one of the most prestigious universities in ...

, where he also became ''Provveditore degli Studi'' ("Superintendent of Studies"). In 1952, his book ''Un popolo di formiche'' (which means "a people of ants") won the prestigious

Works

* * * inside *

References

Bibliography

External links

Exhibition of documents and photographs, by
Altamuran association ''Il circolo delle formiche'' * ''Parco Letterari
Formiche di Puglia
' dedicated to Tommaso Fiore {{DEFAULTSORT:Fiore, Tommaso 1884 births 1973 deaths Italian Freemasons Italian socialists Italian male writers Mayors of places in Apulia People from Altamura Viareggio Prize winners

Life

Works

See also

References

Bibliography

External links