Carlo Dossi (1849 – 1910)

Carlo Dossi (his real name was Carlo Alberto Pisani) was born in 1849 in the province of Pavia of rich landowning stock.
In 1861 he moved to Milan where he befriended a few members of the Bohemian set.
“L’Altrieri” (1868) and “Vita di Alberto Pisani” figure among his earlier works.
In 1872 he dedicated himself to a career in the diplomatic service and worked for five years at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Rome, becoming the personal secretary of Francesco Crispi.  During this period he published “La desinenza in A” and “Gocce d’inchiostro”.
On Crispi’s death he abandoned politics and spent the latter years of his life in a villa on Lake Come where he died in 1910.
He greatly revolutionised the language and its style and may be considered a precursor of the later avant-garde writers.