Carlo Collodi
Carlo Collodi, born Carlo Lorenzini on November 24, 1826, in Florence, Italy, is best known for creating the beloved children's character Pinocchio. Growing up in the village of Collodi, he was part of a large family and initially pursued a religious education at the seminary before turning to a career in journalism and literature. Active in the political movements of his time, Collodi used his writing to advocate for Italian unification, establishing satirical journals and magazines.
His literary career spanned various genres, including essays, theatrical comedies, and children's education. In 1881, he published the first chapter of The Adventures of Pinocchio, which tells the story of a wooden puppet aspiring to become a real boy. Unlike the more lighthearted interpretations seen in adaptations like the Disney film, Collodi's original tale carries deeper themes and a more complex portrayal of its protagonist. Collodi's legacy endures, with Pinocchio remaining a cornerstone of children's literature and a symbol of storytelling across cultures, having been translated and adapted into numerous languages worldwide. He passed away suddenly in Florence on October 26, 1890, leaving behind a rich literary heritage.
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Subject Terms
Carlo Collodi
Author
- Born: November 24, 1826
- Birthplace: Florence, Italy
- Died: October 26, 1890
- Place of death: Florence, Italy
Biography
Carlo Lorenzini, who would make his mark as Carlo Collodi, was born on November 24, 1826, in Florence, Italy. He was one of ten children of Domenico Lorenzini, a cook, and Angela Orzali, a domestic servant who worked for a wealthy family. He spent his childhood in the village of Collodi, where his mother had been born and where he attended elementary school. Later, he attended schools in Florence, and then studied at the seminary of Val d’Elsa. Although he excelled at his studies, he never became a priest, and he spent years questioning his decision to leave the seminary. Instead, he worked in a bookshop. In his early twenties he became active in the political movement for Italian national independence and unification, and in 1848 he joined a Tuscan volunteer revolutionary force. He became a journalist to support the unification movement. Using the name Carlo Collodi, he founded a satirical journal, Il lampione (the streetlamp), which criticized the Austrians who were trying to maintain control of parts of Italy. When the Austrians defeated the revolutionary forces, they also closed down Collodi’s journal, so he established a magazine devoted to the theater called La scaramuccia (the skirmish). Over the next decade, he wrote essays and reviews, edited newspapers, and wrote theatrical comedies, novels, and nonfiction books, most of which have never been translated into English. When the Italian- Austrian War began in 1859, he joined a cavalry regiment and served until 1861. Italy became a unified country in 1861, and Collodi reestablished Il lampione and concentrated again on the theater. His focus soon moved to children’s literature, and he began by translating French fairy tales into Italian in 1875. When these proved to be popular, he started writing his own stories. He wrote an educational series of books featuring the young man named Gianettino (little Johnny) and dispensing lessons about grammar and geography. In 1881, when he was fifty-five years old, he published the first chapter of The Adventures of Pinocchio in the children’s magazine Giornale dei bambini. The story, about a wooden puppet who learns to be a human boy, was an immediate hit. It was first published chapter by chapter in the magazine, in thirty- five episodes over two years, before it was collected into one book. It was translated into English in 1892. Collodi’s greatest work, though, was also his last. He died suddenly in Florence on October 26, 1890. Although many people know the character of Pinocchio from the 1943 Disney film, Collodi’s original story is much more serious and antiauthoritarian, and the character of Pinocchio is more selfish. In all its versions, The Adventures of Pinocchio has been one of the most popular and most enduring characters in all of children’s literature. The story has been translated and adapted into books and films in dozens of languages, including Latin. The house in which Collodi was born is a tourist attraction, and it bears an engraved sign announcing it as the birthplace of the “Father of Pinocchio.”
