Raffaello Brignetti (born

Isola del Giglio Isola del Giglio (; en, Giglio Island, lat, Igilium) is an Italian island and comune in the Tyrrhenian Sea, off the coast of Tuscany, and is part of the Province of Grosseto. The island is one of seven that form the Tuscan Archipelago, lyin ...

, 21 September 1921 - died

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, 7 February 1978) 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 ...

writer. He grew up on the island of

Elba Elba ( it, isola d'Elba, ; la, Ilva) is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano Nationa ...

where his father was a

lighthouse keeper A lighthouse keeper or lightkeeper is a person responsible for tending and caring for a lighthouse, particularly the light and lens in the days when oil lamps and clockwork mechanisms were used. Lighthouse keepers were sometimes referred to as ...

. He moved to Rome in the middle of the Second World War, and spent a couple of years in German labour camps. He studied modern Italian literature at university, graduating in 1947. He was a disciple of

Ungaretti Giuseppe Ungaretti (; 8 February 1888 – 2 June 1970) was an Italian modernist poet, journalist, essayist, critic, academic, and recipient of the inaugural 1970 Neustadt International Prize for Literature. A leading representative of the experim ...

, in common with other young idealistic intellectuals of his era such as Leone Piccioni, Silori Luigi, Mario Petrucciani, Elio Filippo Accrocca, etc. He embarked on a journalistic career in Rome, working in leading papers like '' Il Tempo'', ''

Il Giornale d'Italia ''Il Giornale d'Italia'' is an Italian online newspaper. It was founded in Rome in 1901 by the prestigious liberal politicians Sidney Sonnino and Antonio Salandra, both of which were part of the Liberal Constitutional Party. The original paper c ...

'' and the '' Corriere della Sera''. In 1961, a car crash left Brignetti paralyzed. The ensuing years saw him at his most productive. He won the

Premio Viareggio 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 Milanes ...

for ''Il gabbiano azzurro'' (1967), and the

Premio Strega The Strega Prize ( it, Premio Strega ) is the most prestigious Italian literary award. It has been awarded annually since 1947 for the best work of prose fiction written in the Italian language by an author of any nationality and first published ...

for ''La spiaggia d'oro'' (1971). He lived for a long time in the Medici tower of Marciana Marina on Elba and then in the small apartment at the foot of the tower. He died in 1978. The Isola d'Elba-Raffaele Brignetti Literary Prize is named after him. Brignetti's work is noted for its familiarity with, and treatment of, the sea and maritime life.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brignetti, Raffaello Italian novelists 1921 births 1978 deaths