Edmondo De Amicis
Edmondo De Amicis was an Italian author born on October 21, 1846, in Oneglia, now part of modern Italy. Initially educated at a military school, he served in the army before transitioning to a literary career. His early works, characterized by patriotic themes, include "Military Life in Italy," published in 1868. Following his military service, he traveled across Europe, North Africa, and the Near East, documenting his experiences in travel narratives known for their vivid descriptions and cultural observations, particularly noted in his work on Dutch life and art.
De Amicis later shifted his focus to political themes, advocating for socialist ideas in his writings. His most famous book, "The Heart of a Boy," presents a schoolboy's daily experiences, reflecting his vision for an educational system that promotes a socialist community. Though he was elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies, he chose not to engage in active politics. Today, while De Amicis's political influence has waned and his early patriotic stories have lost prominence, his travel writings and later novels are still celebrated for their stylistic elegance and evocative imagery, showcasing his ability to create rich descriptive scenes. De Amicis passed away on March 12, 1908, leaving behind a legacy that continues to resonate with readers.
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Subject Terms
Edmondo De Amicis
Italian traveler, novelist, and short-story writer
- Born: October 21, 1846
- Birthplace: Oneglia, Kingdom of Sardinia (now in Italy)
- Died: March 12, 1908
- Place of death: Bordighera, Italy
Biography
Edmondo De Amicis (day ah-MEE-chees), born in Oneglia, Kingdom of Sardinia (now in Italy), on October 21, 1846, was educated at a military school in Modena and was, soon after his graduation, made the director of the military garrison at Florence in 1867. While in Florence, he began to write short stories with a strong patriotic flavor and published his first volume, Military Life in Italy, in 1868.
In 1870, De Amicis left the army and began to write journals of his travels throughout Europe, North Africa, and the Near East. The travel books are rambling accounts of his journeys through a foreign city or country, full of descriptive comments, leisurely descriptions of scenery, and appreciative estimates of art. The most famous of his travel books is that on Holland, a sensitive account of Dutch village life, Dutch gardens, and the glories of Dutch painting. He moved easily from discussing painting to discussing the life and scenery of the town that had gone into the painting. His travel books were also appreciated for his ability to portray a large festive scene—a bullfight, a pageant, a tulip festival.
In later life, De Amicis turned his attention to politics. He became a socialist and infused a good deal of political and social doctrine into his later works. In Italy, his most popular book was The Heart of a Boy, written in the form of a journal in which a schoolboy recounts his day-to-day experiences. The experiences, in turn, demonstrate how a system of education might be developed to produce a socialist community. De Amicis endowed his social ideas with moral value, for he assumed that the community he advocated would bring equality, happiness, and good to all. De Amicis was elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies from Turin, but he never served because he was unwilling to engage in practical politics. As a writer, however, his utopian ideas, especially as worked out in the schoolboy community in The Heart of a Boy, had a strong influence on Italian youth until about the time of World War I. De Amicis died in Bordighera on March 12, 1908.
Today, De Amicis is not revered as a political thinker, nor do his early stories still stir Italians with patriotic pride. Nevertheless, his travel books are still read and enjoyed as gentle rambles, and his later novels are still appreciated for their grace, charm, and artistry. De Amicis was never praised for psychological depth or probing analysis of character, but both style and humanity are visible in the best of his work, and his talent at evoking a purely descriptive scene is still recognized.
Bibliography
Bacchetti, Flavia. I viaggi en touriste di De Amicis: Raccontare ai borghesi. Pisa, Italy: Edizioni del Cerro, 2001.
Bezzi, Valentina. De Amicis in Marocco: L’esotismo dimidiato—scrittura e avventura in un reportage di fine Ottocento. Padova, Italy: Il Poligrafo, 2001.
Brambilla, Alberto. De Amicis, paragrafi eterodossi. Modena, Italy: Mucchi Editore, 1992.
Contorbia, Franco. De Amicis, primo maggio, il socialismo. Modena, Italy: Mucchi, 1995.
Danna, Bianca. Dal taccuino alla lanterna magica: De Amicis reporter e scrittore di viaggi. Florence, Italy: L. S. Olschki, 2000.
Gramigna, Anita. “Il romanzo di un maestro” di Edmondo De Amicis. Florence, Italy: La Nuova Italia, 1996.