Carlo Collodi

(1826 - 1890)

Carlo Lorenzini (24 November 1826 – 26 October 1890), better known by the pen name Carlo Collodi, was an Italian author, humourist, and journalist, widely known for his fairy tale novel The Adventures of Pinocchio. As a young man Collodi joined the seminary. The cause of Italian national unification usurped his calling, however, as he took to journalism as a means of supporting the Risorgimento in its struggle with Austria. In 1848 Collodi started publishing Il Lampione, a newspaper of political satire. With the founding of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861, Collodi ceased his journalistic and militaristic activities and began writing for children.