Giovanni Testori
Giovanni Testori was an influential Italian writer and art historian born in 1923 in Novate, a suburb of Milan. Coming from a well-to-do family, he received a strong education in literature, philosophy, and art history, culminating in a thesis focused on contemporary painting. Testori first gained recognition in 1954 with his neorealistic novella, "Il dio di Roserio," which marked the beginning of his exploration into themes of art and sports within his works. Over the years, he produced a series of plays and novels under the umbrella "I segreti di Milano," earning attention for their bold content, including "L'arialda," which faced censorship for its language.
He later transitioned to drama, providing existential interpretations of classic works like Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and "Macbeth." Testori also had a profound connection to poetry, with his volumes often reflecting on religion and existential themes after his conversion to Catholicism in 1977. Notably, his work as an art historian allowed him to curate exhibitions and write catalogues, underlining the importance of visual art in his life. Testori returned to fiction in 1974, exploring complex themes such as sexuality in novels like "La cattedrale." He continued to write until his death in 1993, leaving behind a diverse legacy that intertwines literature and art.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Giovanni Testori
- Born: May 12, 1923
- Birthplace: Novate, Italy
- Died: March 16, 1993
- Place of death: Milan, Italy
Biography
Born in Novate, a suburb of Milan, Italy, in 1923, Giovanni Testori was the son of Edoardo and Lina Testori. His father owned a nearby textile mill, and his family’s wealth enabled him to enjoy a privileged education, first in private Catholic schools in Milan and then at the Collegio Arcivescoville San Carlo and the Università Cattolic. At the university, he studied literature, philosophy, and art history, and his thesis was on form in contemporary painting. Before he graduated, he had already published two one-act plays in 1943.
In 1954, he published his first significant fiction, a neorealistic novella, Il dio di Roserio, which reflects his love of painting, his interest in the cinema, and the idea of sports as a way out of the ghetto. It also was the beginning of a series of plays and novels with the overall title of I segreti di Milano (secrets of Milan) that were to occupy him from 1954 until 1961. L’arialda, one of the Milan plays, was prohibited from being performed in Rome because it contained obscene language, so Testori read the play to an audience of critics at the Teatro Eliseo in Rome.
After publishing the novel Il fabbricone (1961; The House in Milan, 1962), he stopped writing fiction and turned to drama and art. He gave existential depth to Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Macbeth in his L’ambleto and Macbetto, as well as in his adaptation of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex. In addition to writing other plays, Testori helped create the Cooperativa Franco Parenti, which staged some of his plays in the 1970’s.
In 1965, he also published his first book of poetry, I tronfi. He made his final conversion to Catholicism in 1977, and his volumes of verse are concerned with religion and the meaning of life. His last volume of poetry, Factum est, is an attack on abortion.
In addition to poetry, art played an important role in Testori’s life. He became an art historian, specializing in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and also arranged art exhibits, for which he wrote the catalogues. While he lived his entire life in Novate, he maintained a studio in Via Brera in Milan and held the first exhibition of his art work at the Galleria Galatea in Turin.
Testori eturned to fiction in 1974 with La cattedrale, a novel featuring a homosexual writer; the title of his novel, Passio Laetitiae et Felicitatis, can be interpreted as the lesbian love of Letizia and Felicita. His last novel appeared in 1992, just a year before his died from cancer in a Milan hospital.