Paolo Volponi Italian writer, senator Date of Birth: 06.02.1924 Country: Italy

Biography of Paolo Volponi

Paolo Volponi was an Italian writer, poet, and politician, known for his socialist beliefs. He was born on February 6, 1924, in Urbino. His father, originally from Piemonte, owned a small brick kiln, while his mother came from a family of small landowners.

Volponi received a classical education and in 1943, he took advantage of a new law and enrolled in the University of Urbino, where he graduated in 1947 with a degree in law. During World War II, Paolo participated in the activities of partisan groups in the Apennine Mountains.

In 1950, thanks to the critic Franco Fortini, Volponi met entrepreneur Adriano Olivetti, who impressed the young lawyer with his views on industrial development and social solidarity. This encounter led Volponi to pursue work in the field of social assistance. In 1953, Volponi moved to Rome and three years later, in 1956, he joined Olivetti's company in Ivrea as an assistant. Eventually, he became the director of the department of social services.

From 1966 to 1971, Volponi focused on corporate relations. He later moved to Turin, where he worked as a consultant for the Fiat factory. His role was to regulate the relationship between the factory and the city during a challenging time for the Turin province. In 1975, Volponi became the president of Fondazione Agnelli in Milan. However, he was forced to leave this position after joining the Italian Communist Party, which was met with disapproval from Fiat's management.

In 1983, Volponi spoke on behalf of independent representatives of the Italian Communist Party and became a senator. He also headed the social cooperative "Cooperativa soci dell'Unità" and organized the national conference on the works of Pier Paolo Pasolini in Bologna in 1987.

During the 1980s, when the left-wing faced a crisis, Volponi opposed the dissolution of the Italian Communist Party in 1991 and joined the new Party of Communist Refoundation. He was elected to parliament in the national elections in 1992. Volponi passed away on August 23, 1994, in Ancona, due to kidney disease.

Volponi gained recognition with the publication of his first novel, "Memoriale," in 1962. The novel told the story of a young worker and the sublimation of his deepest desires in the factory, which alienated him from others. It combined pathos, realism, lyricism, caricature, and anger, making it one of the most significant literary events of the year and sparking discussions about literature and society in the early 1960s.

His most famous novel, "La macchina mondiale," was published in 1965 and received the Premio Strega award. Volponi's last book, "Il leone e la volpe," published in 1995 after his death, consisted of dialogues between him and director/actor Francesco Leonetti about the changes occurring in Italy and its culture throughout their lives.