Alberto moravia movies

Biography

Alberto Moravia was born in Rome in 1907. His name was Alberto Pincherle Moravia but the family generally used the name Pincherle. Moravia adopted the Moravia name to avoid confusion with another writer called Pincherle. Moravia’s father was a Jewish architect who married a Catholic woman twenty years younger than himself. Moravia’s mother wanted him to enter the diplomatic service so had him taught languages at a young age and he could speak English and French when still quite young. He fell ill with tuberculosis when eight years old and was sick for a long time, which meant missing a lot of school. He finally received treatment at a sanatorium, which cured him. After his treatment, he started writing and had a short story published in an avant-garde magazine published by Massimo Bontempelli. Bontempelli encouraged the young writers associated with the magazine to write a novel that would reflect the character of the times. Only Moravia took up the challenge but the novel was rejected by Bontempelli. Moravia took it to the Alpes publishing house, which agreed to publish it, in return for a subsidy of 5000 lire, which Moravia’s father lent him. The book – Gli indifferenti (The Indifferent Ones; The Time of Indifference) – was a great success.

The theme of the moral decadence of the bourgeoisie would be a theme he would continue in his future writings. After the success of the book, he travelled in Europe, Asia and North America, at least in part to escape the Fascist regime. He worked as a foreign correspondent for a newspaper and also translated stories by various American writers. During the 1930s, he wrote little, except a not very well-received novel and some short stories. In 1941 he married the writer Elsa Morante. They were wanted by the Fascist police and had to hide out in Fondi, which he used as the basis for his novel, La ciociara (Two Women). After the war, they returned to Rome and both had literary success. Several of his novels were made into successful films, though in 1952, all his writings were placed on the Catholic Index of Prohibited Books. During the 1950s, he also started writing plays and travelled to the Soviet Union. In 1962 he separated from Elsa Morante and started living with the writer Dacia Maraini, though in 1983 she was replaced by a Spanish woman forty-seven years younger than him. In 1984 he became a Member of the European Parliament. He died in 1990.

Books about Alberto Moravia

T. E. Peterson: Alberto Moravia

Alberto moravia movies

Biography

Books about Alberto Moravia

Other links