Bacchelli, Riccardo (1891-1985)

Bacchelli, Riccardo

NOVELIST, PLAYWRIGHT, ESSAYIST (ITALY)

BORN 19 Apr 1891, Bologna, Emilia-Romagna - DIED 8 Oct 1985, Monza, Lombardia
GRAVE LOCATION Bologna, Emilia-Romagna: Cimitero monumentale della Certosa di Bologna, Via della Certosa 18 (to the wall (left of the entrance, further away))

Riccardo Bacchelli was the son of a city administrator. He debuted with "Il filo meraviglioso di Lodovico Clo'" in 1911. He studied at the University of Bologna but left without a degree in 1912. During the First world War he served as a artillery officer. In 1926 he moved to Milan where he married Ada Fochessati (1892-1986), a widowed woman who was the daughter of the mayor of Mantua. Ada already had a son and they didn't have any more children.

In 1927 he published "Il Diavolo al Pontelungo". It was liked by Mussolini and in the same year, but after serious hesitation, he joined the fascist movement. He was best known for his historical novels and "Il mulino del Po" was published in three volumes between 1938 and 1940. From 1941 to 1944 he was a member of the Accademia d'Italia. He received honorary degrees from the universities of Bologna (1940) and Milan. In 1958 he published another important historical novel, "I tre schiavi di Giulio Cesare".

In 1971 he received the Archiginnasio d'oro from the city of Bologna. For a long time he was treated in a clinic in Milan. When paying his bills became too expensive for the city of Milan he was transferred to Monza, where he died in 1985, aged 94.

Images

The grave of Riccardo Bacchelli at the Cimitero monumentale della Certosa, Bologna.
Picture by Androom (10 Feb 2017)