Scipio Slataper
Scipio Slataper was an Italian writer born on July 14, 1888, in Trieste, Italy, into a middle-class family. His early life was marked by personal challenges, including his father's bankruptcy and a nervous breakdown at the age of fifteen due to intense academic pressure. Slataper's formative years were significantly influenced by his recovery in the countryside of Friuli, which fostered his appreciation for nature and creativity. He began writing at a young age, publishing his first article at eighteen, and went on to study literature at the Institute of Higher Studies in Florence.
His novel, *Il mio Carso*, published in 1912, blends autobiography and poetry and reflects his struggles and memories. Slataper was actively involved in social causes, volunteering to aid earthquake victims and serving as a correspondent during World War I. He enlisted in the Italian army in May 1915 but was wounded shortly thereafter. Tragically, he was killed in battle on December 3, 1915, shortly after writing a final letter to his wife. His brief yet impactful literary career left a lasting legacy, showcasing his passion for writing and social justice.
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Subject Terms
Scipio Slataper
Fiction and Nonfiction Writer
- Born: July 14, 1888
- Birthplace: Trieste, Italy
- Died: December 3, 1915
Biography
Scipio Slataper was born into a middle-class family in Trieste, Italy, on July 14, 1888. His father’s bankruptcy weighed heavily on his childhood and he suffered a nervous breakdown when he was fifteen because of excessive studying. To recover, he was sent to the countryside in the region of Friuli, and this experience with the natural world become important for him in his later career.
He knew from an early age that he wanted to be a writer, and in high school he experimented with his own philosophy of creativity and began to refer to himself as an “enlivening man.” He published his first article, “La tirania delle norme scholastiche” in the socialist newspaper Il Lavoratore when he was only eighteen. Following a brief engagement to a young woman from a bourgeois family, Slataper went to the Institute of Higher Studies in Florence to study literature.
In the university he noticed that he was behind his peers in formative education, but he believed he made up for that deficit by his zest for life and generous spirit. In 1909, for example, he volunteered to travel to the aid of earthquake victims in the region of Calabria. After only one year, he lost his university fellowship, but remained in Florence to work as an editor of children’s journals and began writing what became his most important literary work, Il mio Carso. Part autobiography and part poetic narrative, the novel explores the narrator’s present struggles in light of his childhood memories and uncertain future. As he worked on the novel, he spent time traveling in central Europe, but was called back to Florence to take over as chief editor of La voce. He held that position for a little over a year, but in April, 1912, he devoted himself full time to his novel.
After its publication later that year, Slataper focused on completing his master’s thesis Ibsen: Suo sviluppo intellettuale e artistico sino ai Fantasmi. Although he died before fully revising it, the manuscript appeared in book form in 1916. Slataper received his teaching certificate in 1913 and took a position as a lecturer in Hamburg. He continued work on his thesis and studied history and politics. He married a woman named Luisa in 1913 and they remained in Hamburg, Germany, until the outbreak of World War I forced them to relocate to Trieste and then to Rome.
In Rome, Slataper became a correspondent for the Bolognese newspaper Il resto del Carlino where he wrote articles on the interventionist political campaign. As he did years earlier, he traveled to Avezano in January, 1915, to help survivors of an earthquake, remaining true to his convictions of social activism. In May, 1915, Slataper enlisted in the Italian army and went to the front in June, where he was wounded almost immediately. He returned home to recover, and witness the birth of his son Scipio Secondo, before returning to the army in November as an officer. On December 3, 1915, he wrote his last letter to his wife: “I volunteered with Guido and Martelli. I am sure that everything will be fine. A kiss to Scipio Secondo.” In battle that same day, he was shot in the throat and died. His death marked a tragic end to a short but engaging literary career.