Dimitrie C. Ollănescu-Ascanio (March 21, 1849 – January 20, 1908) was a

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

n, later

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n poet, prose writer and playwright. Born in

Focșani Focșani (; ) is the capital city of Vrancea County in Romania on the banks the river Milcov, in the historical region of Moldavia. , it has a population of 66,719. Geography Focșani lies at the foot of the Curvature Carpathians, at a point of ...

, his parents were Constantin Ollănescu, an army captain who later became a magistrate, and his wife Maria (''née'' Caloian). He attended high school at

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

's Saint Sava High School and at the private ''Institutul Academic'' in

Iași Iași ( , , ; also known by other #Etymology and names, alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the Cities in Romania, third largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical ...

. He then studied at the universities of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, earning his doctorate in law, administrative and political science from the latter institution in 1873. He worked as a magistrate in

Tecuci Tecuci () is a city in Galați County, Romania, in the historical region of Western Moldavia. It is situated among wooded hills, on the right bank of the Bârlad River, and at the junction of railways from Galați, Bârlad, and Mărășești. ...

, becoming the town's mayor. In 1876, he entered the diplomatic field, serving as ''

chargé d'affaires A (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador. The term is Frenc ...

'' at Constantinople, Vienna and Athens. He was elected a titular member of the Romanian Academy in 1893,Membrii Academiei Române din 1866 până în prezent
at the Romanian Academy site and was vice president of its literary section. He belonged to ''

Junimea ''Junimea'' was a Romanian literary society founded in Iași in 1863, through the initiative of several foreign-educated personalities led by Titu Maiorescu, Petre P. Carp, Vasile Pogor, Theodor Rosetti and Iacob Negruzzi. The foremost personali ...

'' society until 1895. His published debut came about in 1870 in ''Foaia Societății "Românismul”'', with a selection of ''

doina The doina () is a Romanians, Romanian musical tune style, possibly with Middle Eastern roots, customary in Romanian peasant music, as well as in lăutărească music. It was also adopted into klezmer music. Similar tunes are found throughout Eas ...

'' lyrics. He also contributed to '' Convorbiri Literare'' and ''Literatură și artă română'' magazines, as well as to ''Voința națională'' and ''

România Liberă Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to the east, and the Black Sea t ...

'' newspapers. He translated

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

's ''

Ruy Blas ''Ruy Blas'' () is a tragic drama by Victor Hugo. It was the first play presented at the Théâtre de la Renaissance and opened on November 8, 1838. Though considered by many to be Hugo’s best drama, the play was initially met with only ave ...

'' and '' Odes'', '' Epodes'', ''Epistles'', the two ''Satires'' and ''Ars Poetica'' by

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC), Suetonius, Life of Horace commonly known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). Th ...

, earning the academy's Năsturel Herescu prize in 1892 for his work on the Roman poet. Ollănescu-Ascanio's main books published during his lifetime are ''Pe malul gârlei'' (1879), ''Teatru'' (1893), ''Vasile Alecsandri'' (1894), ''Satire'' (1896), ''Teatrul la români'' (I-II, 1897–1898), ''Poezii'' (1901) and ''Satire. Pe malul gârlei'' (1908). According to literary historian Georgeta Antonescu, he was "an elevated and elegant poet, but without particular depth; a short story writer not without talent; a capable playwright, but one who did not take on very difficult challenges; and a competent and intelligent theatre reviewer". His ''Teatrul la români'' was the first serious history of the theatre of Romania, meticulously documented and displaying a ready capacity to convey impressions and local color.Georgeta Antonescu, "Ollănescu-Ascanio, Dimitrie", in Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. II, p. 252-53. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ollanescu-Ascanio, Dimitrie 1849 births 1908 deaths 19th-century Romanian poets Romanian male poets 19th-century short story writers 20th-century short story writers Romanian male short story writers Romanian short story writers 19th-century Romanian dramatists and playwrights Romanian literary critics Romanian translators 19th-century translators 20th-century translators Junimists Titular members of the Romanian Academy 19th-century Romanian judges Mayors of places in Romania Romanian diplomats People from Focșani Free University of Brussels (1834–1969) alumni 19th-century male writers 20th-century Romanian male writers Burials at Bellu Cemetery