Ignazio Buttitta
Ignazio Buttitta was an influential Sicilian poet born on September 19, 1899, in Bagheria, Italy. His early life was marked by abandonment, as he was raised by a wet nurse after being given away by his parents, which profoundly influenced his poetic themes around maternal absence and lack of love. After a brief education, Buttitta worked in his father's grocery store and served in World War I, experiences that left lasting emotional scars and found expression in his poetry. Post-war, he became active in socialism, leading protests for workers' rights and publishing in socialist and anarchist periodicals.
In 1927, he married Angela Isaja and published his pastoral poem "Marabedda," while co-founding "La trazzera," a magazine dedicated to Sicilian dialect poetry, which was soon suppressed by the fascist regime. Despite the political climate, Buttitta continued to produce poetry, including antifascist works disseminated covertly. He joined antifascist partisans during World War II and faced arrests for his political activities. In 1950, he returned to Bagheria, where he remained until his death in 1997, continuing to write impactful poetry that often revisited the themes of his childhood and social consciousness.
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Ignazio Buttitta
Poet
- Born: September 19, 1899
- Birthplace: Bagheria, Sicily, Italy
- Died: April 5, 1997
- Place of death: Bagheria, Sicily, Italy
Biography
Ignazio Buttitta was born on September 19, 1899, in Bagheria, Sicily, Italy, to grocer Pietro and mother Provvidenza Raspante Buttitta. His parents already had five children, so baby Buttitta was given away to be raised by his wet nurse. This early abandonment, or rejection, would deeply impact Buttitta and his poetry, which featured recurring themes of the absent mother and the lack of motherly love.
After completing an elementary school education, Buttitta worked in his father’s food store and later enlisted in the military during World War I. His experiences in the war, like his abandonment by his mother, would haunt him for the rest of his life. His poetry reflected the emotional and mental scarring created by the war.
Returning to Italy after the war, Buttitta became interested in socialism and led organized protests, including a demonstration on May Day, 1922, demanding an eight-hour workday. He also wrote for the socialist publication La povera gente, where he published his first poems and political speeches. By 1923, Buttitta poems also appeared in Il Vespro Anarchico, and Fede!, and he published his first volume of poetry,Sintimintali,with poems expressing his concern for the social welfare of the poor.
In 1927, Buttitta married Angela Isaja; the same year, he published Marabedda, a pastoral love poem, and cofounded La trazzera, a magazine featuring poetry by writers in the Sicilian dialect. The magazine was shut down a year later as part of the fascist government’s efforts to suppress expressions of localism and regionalism. From 1928 on, Buttitta continue to write poetry, including some antifascist works in the Sicilian dialect that were distributed clandestinely.
In 1943, he joined with antifascist partisans in Milan, with whom he was twice arrested. He and his family later moved to Milan. However, in 1950 he returned to his native Bagheria, where he remained until his death in 1997. In his latter years, he continued to write compelling, imagistic, socially conscious poetry, including work examining his ever-present theme of the absent mother.