"Despite a long life full of difficulties of all genres, in the end I consider myself privileged for being an artist". An artist, yes, so he called himself in this famous phrase. But Alberto Moravia was an artist in a broad sense, a multifaceted writer, politician, poet, playwright, travel reporter, journalist. In his long career he has touched many genres and lived "a thousand lives", we could say. But for many young and old, but still passionate about literature, remains a great master, able to explore the many aspects of the man of his time with a simple and at the same time elegant style. A cross-section of social life that make him one of the most significant authors of Italian literature.
Alberto Moravia and his intense literary activity
Born in Rome in 1907, not everyone knows that his real name was Alberto Pincherle. His was a wealthy family. When he was very young he was marked by a long illness, bone tuberculosis, which would keep him away for a long time from the serenity and lightheartedness typical of young age. But it was precisely the impossibility of having a social life and therefore the long period of convalescence, which led him to approach writing. And in fact, these are the years in which his most famous novel “Gli indifferenti” was written. He then undertakes many trips abroad and becomes the author of many reportages. He married Elsa Morante in 1941, while continuing his literary activity, signing the collections of short stories "The unhappy lover "," The epidemic ", the novel "Agostino”, Illustrated by two drawings by Guttuso. These works belong to what is considered the phase of "bourgeois realism"Of Moravia.
The racial laws and the escape of Alberto Moravia from Rome
After Italy enters the war, Alberto Moravia discovers that he is among the people the Nazis should arrest. He then fled from Rome with his wife and hid in Sant'Agata di Fondi. After the war he continued his intense literary activity. He publishes the tragedy "Beatrice Cenci" in "Botteghe Oscure", while he becomes film critic for L'Espresso. Among the most significant works of this period "The ciociara", "A month in the USSR", "New Roman tales". And “La ciociara” is another of the writer's most famous novels. From it was made the homonymous film shot by Vittorio De Sica with Sophia Loren to play the role of the protagonist and that earned her the Oscar.
The Sixties and the bond with Dacia Maraini
We are in the sixties and after the end of his relationship with Elsa Morante and a few years later he binds to Dacia Maraini, another famous writer. Their relationship will last until 1978. And these are years of intense love, between two giants of literature of the time. She is very young, he is a mature man. A solid bond for a nonconformist couple.
Theater
Not just great novels and short stories. In the versatility of Alberto Moravia's literary production, theater and cinema play a leading role. From 1979 to 1983 he was also a member of the selection commission at the Venice Film Festival and special correspondent of the Corriere della sera.
Politics
And then the commitment in politics. In fact, in 1984 in the European elections he presented himself as an independent on the PCI lists. He was elected to the European Parliament, where he remained in office until 1989. Lay thinker and enlightenment, we could say, the closeness to the Communist Party for Alberto Moravia, as well as his acquaintance with the ideas of Marxism were for him an instrument of knowledge.
The last years
After the phase of Neorealism that characterizes the mature production of Moravia, between the sixties and nineties we talk about "Phase of pessimism". It is the last period of production: the themes dealt with range from strangeness, passivity in the face of existence and the senselessness of living. The most famous novel of this period "La boredom" testifies to this.
Alberto Moravia received fifteen nominations for the Nobel Prize for literature. But he didn't even win one. On September 26, 1990 he died in his home in Rome. He is considered one of the most loved and controversial writers of the last century. His writing is inspired by a critical realism. The novels make a structure rich in plots and adventure, but they are nothing but the mirror of bourgeois life. And it is these characteristics, we would dare to say, that make him one of the most widely read authors of the Italian twentieth century.
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