Many people today probably think Pinocchio was a Walt Disney creation thanks to the well-loved cartoon but the Italian people know better. The wooden boy who wanted to become a real-live child was penned by ex-soldier/text-book writer/satirist Carlo Lorenzini. He went by the surname Collodi for many reasons is my guess, accurate details can be sketchy (wikipedia or not). Personally, I think he did it to protect his anonymity with reviews and security since Italy is a nation where politics are a full-contact sport.
As I wrote earlier, Collodi was a soldier in the Tuscan army fighting in the unification conflicts; the Italy we know today didn’t exist until 1861 as the peninsula was divided into separate states with some dominated by other European powers. After he mustered out, he founded a satirical paper called Il Lampione (a pre-cursor to The Onion, MAD and National Lampoon?) which was shut down around 1849. It was revived in 1860 yet he kept busy between those years through another named La Scaramuccia (the Skirmish) authoring comedies and reviews (another parallel to The Onion!).
On the textbook side, Collodi put together a Math, grammar and Geography primer using a protagonist named Giannettino (Italian for Johnny).
His most famous work originally appeared in a children’s publication as his attempt to bring Italy into the fold of fairy tales; many we know came from Germany through the Brothers Grimm and France via Perrault. Collodi didn’t put much stock in this, he considered it to be “childish twaddle.” The Italians felt differently as he continued to write more serialized adventures for the next couple years. Much like Ian Fleming and Arthur Conan Doyle, Collodi had his creation die only to have it revived through a huge public outcry.
One major thing Collodi couldn’t resist, and it’s removed from the Disney version, was the socio-political satire Pinocchio he embedded in it. When Benigni’s take from 10 years ago was released, I remember Sylvia Poggioli explaining how Americans may be confused by this take’s fidelity: Pinocchio being unlikeable namely. She also mentioned how “the fox and the cat” is a common political expression of distrust.
In closing, I want to bring in another moment of synchronicity involved with today’s entry. This month Sergio Aragonés’ Funnies #4 did a piece about how writers find inspiration.
Around the late 1870s’ Italy, an aristocratic looking man goes into a tavern to unwind. He overhears some villagers reminiscing over a prank they played on an elderly toymaker. Intrigued, the man buys a round of wine and asks them to divulge the tale.
In their village, Geppini made wooden toys. His dedication to his craft was so great, he never got around to marrying. Now he was regretting this decision.
One day he was inspired to carve a wooden boy, set it out on the window sill and pray to the Madonna that she would grant his desire for a son. This ritual went on for some time.
Then these pranksters chose to fulfill Geppini’s wish figuring it would be hilarious to fool the elderly gentleman. They went to another nearby village, rented an orphan, had the boy put on the carving’s clothes, placed him in the window sill and anxiously waited for the results.
Geppini was overjoyed over the Madonna giving him a son. He was then seen walking around town in his Sunday best, introducing the people to his offspring, oblivious to the joke.
When the pranksters felt the gag had run its course, they went to visit Geppini to tell him the truth. To their surprise, they found him carving a woman, saying, the boy needed a mother.
The opportunity to continue their cruel joke was something they couldn’t resist and off they went to a faraway village to find the ugliest woman for the job.
Again Geppini praised the Madonna for this reward and again, the three of them strolled the village as if they had been a happy family for years. Everybody in town but Geppini, the boy and the wife knew the whole truth yet no one had the heart to dispel these people’s newfound happiness.
The storytellers close with laughter and notice the aristocratic man writing. They ask what he was jotting down. He replies, some notes for a book he is thinking of writing. As he leaves, they thank him for the wine and want to know his name. He answers Carlo Collodi.
Sergio’s yarn is quite effective and entertaining despite it not being true.
This marks me being half way through my goal of averaging an Italian a day. It’s going to be tight with a week to go.
Avanti!