LEVI, CARLO

LEVI, CARLO (1902–1975), Italian author and artist. Born in Turin, where he studied medicine, Levi became interested in art, literature, and politics. After Mussolini came to power he joined the anti-Fascist underground and was one of the founders of the radical movement Giustizia e Libertà. He was arrested in 1934 and in the following year was exiled to Lucania in southern Italy for a year. In 1939 he fled to France. He returned to Italy in 1942 to join the Resistance and was again arrested. After World War II, he settled in Rome, where he was active in journalism and politics. He was elected a senator in 1963 on the Communist ticket, but retained an independent outlook. Levi's experiences as a political exile inspired his masterpiece, Cristo si è fermato a Eboli (1945; Christ Stopped at Eboli, 1947), the first major Italian literary work of the postwar era, which was translated into many languages. In it he describes the society of Lucania, its customs, addiction to magic, and pre-Christian traditions. Accepting their unending miseries and without hope of a better future, the peasants nevertheless show themselves to be lovers of justice, good neighbors, and loyal friends. Levi reveals all the poetry of this primitive world. Using the documentary techniques of journalism or of a travel diary, Levi wrote about the cultural climate and problems of many countries: Sicily, in Le parole sono pietre (1955; Words are Stones, 1958); the Soviet Union, in Il futuro ha un cuore antico (1956); Germany, in La doppia notre dei tigli (1959; Linden Trees, 1962); and Sardinia, in Tutto il miele è finito (1964). His other works include the essay Paura della libertà (1946; Fear and Freedom, 1950) and the novel, L'Orologio (1950; The Watch, 1951). As a painter, Levi exhibited in oneman and collective shows, achieving particular success in the United States. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: P. Pancrazi, Scrittori d'oggi, 4 (1946), 282–9; C.L. Ragghianti, Carlo Levi (It., 1948); L. Russo, l narratori 1850–1950 (19512), 335–9; G. Pullini, Il romanzo italiano del dopoguerra 1940–1960 (1961), 224–7, 263–6. ADD. BIBLIOGRAPHY: G. Falaschi, Carlo Levi, (1978); G. Sirovich, L'azione politica di Carlo Levi (1988); M. Miccinesi, Invito alla lettura di Carlo Levi (1989); G.B. Bronzini, Il viaggio antropologico di Carlo Levi: da eroe stendhaliano a guerriero birmano (1996); L. Sacco, L'Orologio della Repubblica: Carlo Levi e il caso Italia (1996); G. De Donato, Le parole del reale: ricerche sulla prosa di Carlo Levi (1998); N. Carducci, Storia intellettuale di Carlo Levi (1999); G. Barberi Squarotti, L'orologio d'Italia: Carlo Levi e altri racconti (2001); N. Longo, Letture novecentesche: Zeno, Agilulfo, Carlo Levi (2002, c2001); Ragusa, Un torinese del Sud: Carlo Levi: una biografia (2001); S. Ghiazza, Carlo Levi e Umberto Saba: storia du un'amicizia (2002); D. Ward, Carlo Levi: gli italiani e la paura della libertà (2002). (Giorgio Romano) -BIBLIOGRAPHY: S.H. Margulies, Dichter und Patriot (1896); L. Bulferetti, Socialismo risorgimentale (1949). (Joseph Baruch Sermoneta)