Biography of Vincenzo Cardarelli

Torment, restlessness and loneliness

1 may 1887
June 18, 1959
Vincenzo Cardarelli, whose real name is Nazarene Campbell, was born the day 1 may 1887 in Corneto Tarquinia Viterbo. Parents are very humble extraction and his mother Giovanna will be largely absent from her life; such an absence that will cause a lot of pain to the poet. The father, on the other hand, Angelo Romagnoli, runs a small coffee shop in the train station of Tarquinia. Angel is nicknamed the "bisteccaro", which in the dialect of Tarquinia means man of modest economic condition, and Vincenzo due to a malformation to the left hand is called "bronchetto of bisteccaro".
The difficult family condition and its equally complicated social life make him suffer to the point of pouring complicated sentiments of hatred and love in his poetry. Often the native Etruscan land is even made the subject of some sort of transformation Fables. His father, who wanted to turn it into a merchant, prevents him from following his studies on a regular basis. Luckily at seventeen moves away from Tarquinia and after his father's death in 1906, begins to be used in a variety of jobs: errand boy for a Socialist lawyer, used in the metallurgical, Federation Secretary and finally a proofreader and dramatic critic to the next. For the Next writes about two articles a day signed with pseudonyms Calandrino, Simonetta etc. After the Roman experience with newspaper, he moved to Florence, where he collaborated to the magazine "the voice" and starts writing "Prologues" (1914).
The first poetic production is heavily influenced by Italian composers such as leopards and pastures, and suffused with a sense of insecurity and anxiety which is also his personal life. In 1914, thanks to winning a scholarship to Germany, Campbell decides to leave in order to deepen his studies and pursue a career as a University Professor. But the war takes even as is travelling to Lugano, where he stayed five months dealing with the revision of its Prologues. The war see Vincenzo Cardarelli in a State of considerable financial hardship. Is not drafted because of the malformation to the left hand. Meanwhile stands by the animators of "the voice" with which he has worked so far and he founded the magazine "La Ronda" (1919), at the base of which places his passionate rediscovery of classicism and modernity of the leopards.
"La Ronda" takes place far enough away from active politics and by fascism, just as Campbell who only writes some poetry to political issue, then repudiated. The newspaper did not live long and closes its doors in 1923. Meanwhile he published his second work, "time travel" (1920), which also contains a part two entitled "Speech" with songs of literary criticism. At the heart of his new poetic style there is the relationship between music and poetry developed thanks to the influence of French poetry by Baudelaire, Verlaine and Rimbaud. In recent years, sinks into work by composing "Tales of Genesis" (1921), a series of Biblical tales, and "fairytales and memories" (1925). In 1928, after collaborating with the magazine by Andrew "The Italian" part for Russia as a correspondent for the newspaper romano "The Tiber". The articles he writes in this period, and that they propose to observe Russian society after the October revolution, are collected in a volume entitled "journey of a poet in Russia." "The Sun" (1929) rather echoes the themes of both journeys that mythical and veined melancholy recollections memories of his native land. Follow three prose works within a few years, "ear", "Words we speak of Italy" and "the luck of leopards".
With the approach of the second world war, you break something in Vincenzo Cardarelli which becomes increasingly tormented and restless. At this time living in lodgings in Via Veneto in Rome and is almost paralyzed. Every day you do bring the coffee Hag near his house and there he sits for hours completely inactive and plunged in thought. After the arrival of the allies in Rome decides to return to his native Tarquinia, but stays for a short time. Trying to regain the city and the atmosphere of his childhood but left disappointed.
In 1945 he returned to Rome, but the mood remains gloomy as evidenced by the lyrics to memories "Villa Tarantola (1948), which won the Premio Strega. His economic situation is so difficult that, from 1943 to 1945, friends painters Carrà, De Pisis, Morandi sell at auction some of their works to help him out. His latest publications are: "lonely" in arcadia "(1947)," new poems "(1947)," the traveler unsociable "(1953). Vincenzo Cardarelli died in Rome on 18 June 1959, at the age of 72 years. Is buried in New York City as he requested in his will.
Article contributed by the team of collaborators.