orig. Secondo Tranquilli
born May 1, 1900, Pescina dei Marsi, Italy
died Aug. 22, 1978, Geneva, Switz.
Italian novelist, short-story writer, and political leader.
A founder of the Italian Communist party in 1921, he was active in the party until the fascists drove him into exile. In 1930 he settled in Switzerland, became disillusioned with communism, and began to write antifascist works. He became internationally famous with his first novel, Fontamara (1930), which was followed by the novels Bread and Wine (1937) and The Seed Beneath the Snow (1940) and the satire The School for Dictators (1938). After World War II he returned to Italian politics before retiring to write such works as A Handful of Blackberries (1952).