Giani Stuparich

• Name — Giani Stuparich • Born — 4 April 1891 • Birthplace — Trieste, Austria-Hungary • Died — 7 April 1961 • Place of death — Rome, Italy • Education — * Charles University • University of Florence • Occupation — Writer • Relatives — Carlo Stuparich (brother) Art competitions

Giani Stuparich was born in Trieste on April 4, 1891 to a family of Jewish origins. He studied briefly at Charles University in Prague (1913), then moved to Florence, where he took a degree in literature (1915), and befriended Scipio Slataper. After university, he began to write for the literary magazine La Voce. He and his brother Carlo Stuparich were volunteers in World War I. He later published a terse war diary, Guerra del '15 (1931), and a choral novel, Ritorneranno (1941), based on his experiences. A schoolteacher for many years, he was opposed to Fascism and during World War II was arrested and deported for his presumed Judaism. In the 1940s he was romantically attached to the clothing designer and publisher, Anita Pittoni.

As well as auto-biographical memoirs, notably Trieste nei miei ricordi (1948), Stuparich wrote stories and short novels, one of the most successful being L'isola (1942), which focuses on a tragic father-son relationship. Simone (1953), his last novel, is a highly literary foray into fantasy.