Ippolito Nievo
Ippolito Nievo (1831-1861) was a notable Italian writer and patriot, primarily recognized for his significant contribution to literature with his novel, *The Castle of Fratta*. Written between 1857 and 1858 and published posthumously in 1867, the novel is regarded as a pinnacle of mid-nineteenth-century Italian fiction, characterized by its blend of poetic and realistic depictions of Italian life. Nievo, hailing from a patrician Venetian family, was deeply involved in the Italian unification movement and served under the famous leader Giuseppe Garibaldi during the struggle against Austro-Hungarian rule. His earlier works included poetry, plays, and novellas that paved the way for modern Italian realism, illustrating the complexities of peasant life and cultural nuances in historical settings. Though his manuscript for *The Castle of Fratta* was left unrevised and has a somewhat loose structure, it provides an autobiographical narrative through the character Carlo Altoviti, capturing themes of love and maturity. Nievo's legacy is often compared to that of other literary giants of the era, such as Alessandro Manzoni, highlighting his importance in the canon of Italian literature.
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Subject Terms
Ippolito Nievo
Italian novelist
- Born: November 30, 1831
- Birthplace: Padua (now in Italy)
- Died: March 4(?), 1861
- Place of death: At sea
Biography
The one truly great novel of mid-nineteenth century Italy is by Ippolito Nievo (NYAY-voh): The Castle of Fratta, written between December, 1857, and August, 1858, and published six years after the writer’s death. This work was preceded by two collections of poems, several plays, and two novellas that have been described as the beginning of modern Italian realism. Angelo di Bontà (angel of goodness) re-creates eighteenth century Venice with minute fidelity to detail in manners and dialect, while Il conte pecoraio (the shepherd count) sets a similar story in Nievo’s own day and region. Both are poetically conceived yet realistic in the depiction of Italian peasant life.
Nievo was descended from a patrician family of Venetian background. During his student days at Mantua and Pisa he became interested in the cause of Italian freedom from Austro-Hungarian domination. After graduating from the University of Padua in 1855, he wrote poems and plays that on at least one occasion involved him in difficulties with the Austrian authorities.
In May, 1859, following the outbreak of hostilities between Austria and the Italian patriots, he joined the rebels under the leadership of Giuseppe Garibaldi and fought at Varese, San Fermo, and Calatafimi. One of Garibaldi’s “Thousand,” he was in charge of administrative duties in Naples in 1861 when he was ordered to return to Palermo. He sailed on March 4, 1861, aboard a ship that is believed to have foundered during the voyage; there were no survivors to tell what had happened to the ship or its company.
The Castle of Fratta is written as the autobiography of one Carlo Altoviti, who tells of the rambling castle in which he grew up, of his turbulent love for the daughter of a countess, and of his final peace in maturity. The chapters dealing with Altoviti’s boyhood experience are particularly impressive. The manuscript was never revised by the author, however, and is somewhat loose and rambling in structure. Nievo had intended, possibly for patriotic reasons, to call his novel “Le confessioni del’Italiano” (the confessions of an Italian), but the publisher in 1867 thought the title too political and renamed it Le confessioni di un ottuagenario (the confessions of an octogenarian), by which the book is still generally known. Many critics have stated that this is the only nineteenth century Italian novel that can be compared with Alessandro Manzoni’s I promessi sposi (1827; The Betrothed, 1828).
Bibliography
Edwards, Lovett F. Introduction to The Castle of Fratta, by Ippolito Nievo. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1958.
Iliescu, Nicolae. “The Position of Ippolito Nievo in the Nineteenth Century Italian Novel.” Publications of the Modern Language Association 75 (1960).
Kennard, Joseph Spencer. “Ippolito Nievo.” In Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism, edited by Laurie Lanzen Harris. Vol. 22. Detroit: Gale, 1981.
Pacifici, Sergio. “Ippolito Nievo: History as Confession.” In The Modern Italian Novel: From Manzoni to Svevo. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1967.
Sanguinetti Katz, Giuliana. The Uses of Myth in Ippolito Nievo. Ravenna, Italy: Longo, 1981.