He was born in Vicenza in 1842. In his youth he lived first in Turin, where he graduated in law, then in Milan, where he came into contact with the exponents of the scapigliatura, but already in 1869 he returned to Vicenza, where, abandoned the profession of lawyer, he devoted himself exclusively to literature until his death in 1911.
Fogazzaro was a restless soul, eager to free himself from the fetters of an oppressive bourgeois conformism, but also unable to formulate in clear terms a new vision of society, of its rules, of its culture.
The most salient characteristics of his art are to be found, precisely, in the constant disturbance resulting from the insoluble contrast between his sensuality and his mysticism.
Fogazzaro's greatest work is unanimously recognized in "Piccolo mondo antico" (Little Ancient World), which narrates the spiritual contrast between two young married couples, Franco Maironi and Luisa Rigey, in constant conflict for the diversity of their religious and political ideas, although they are bound by a deep mutual love.
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