Delio Tessa
Delio Tessa was an Italian poet born on November 18, 1886, in Milan. Coming from a middle-class background, he received a classical education and studied law at the University of Padua, although he found little satisfaction in practicing law. His literary inclinations, particularly towards poetry, were overshadowed by the rise of fascism in Italy, which he openly detested. Tessa's literary contributions primarily appeared in small newspapers and foreign publications, with his notable collection "L'è el dì di mort, alegher!" published in 1932, though it struggled commercially due to fascist opposition to dialect literature.
Tessa's work was characterized by his use of the Milanese dialect and modern experimentation with poetic forms, reflecting the cultural avant-garde of his time. His poetry often contained a skeptical and sarcastic tone, offering critical portraits of the society around him. Despite his talents, Tessa's works remained largely unpublished during his lifetime, with significant recognition only occurring posthumously in the late 20th century. He passed away on September 21, 1939, from an untreated infection, leaving behind a legacy as a poignant observer of his historical context and a significant figure in Milanese literature.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Delio Tessa
Writer
- Born: November 18, 1886
- Birthplace: Milan, Italy
- Died: September 21, 1939
- Place of death: Milan, Italy
Biography
Delio Tessa was born on November 18, 1886, in Milan, Italy, the son of Senio and Clara Besozzi Tessa. He grew up in a middle- class family, receiving a fine classical education, and he later attended the University of Padua to study law. Although he practiced law after graduation, there is little indication that he enjoyed his work. He was more interested in literature than in law.
When World War I began in 1914, young Tessa was exempted from military service because of his poor eyesight. The growth of fascism and the rise of dictator Benito Mussolini served to further separate Tessa from the Italian power structure and people. He detested what he considered the intolerance and vulgarity of the fascist movement. Consequently, his literary contributions were limited; he wrote only for small newspapers and foreign publications. Most of his poetic work was not published until after his death, with the exception of his first collection, L’è el dì di mort, alegher!, published in 1932. The book did not sell well due to the fascists’ opposition to dialect literature. As the 1930’s continued, Tessa found himself increasingly opposed to Mussolini. On the eve of World War II, Tessa’s friends urged him to leave Italy, but he did not. He failed to care for an abscessed tooth, and the infection killed him on September 21, 1939.
Tessa was a student of the dialect spoken in his home city, Milan, and one of his unpublished manuscripts was a collection of Milanese phrases. All of his poetic work was written in the Milanese dialect. In this regard, Tessa noted his debt to the poet Carlo Porta. Although writing in Milanese dialect placed Tessa in a well-established literary tradition, he experimented with form, theme, and structure, striving to make his poetry quintessentially his own. In his use of narrative, he was particularly modern in sensibility and his work showed the influence of the cultural avant-garde. In tone, Tessa was both skeptical and sarcastic, creating scathing portraits of people and places. Tessa’s greatest achievements as a poet include his use of traditional Milanese dialect and modern experimentation with sound, structure, and theme to create poetry that reflected both the time and place where he lived. Although his work was largely unappreciated at the time, critics of the 1980’s and 1990’s rediscovered the importance of Tessa as both a poet and recorder of the historical moment.