1922-1975. Italian poet, novelist, and film
director, an influential figure of the
postwar years. His writings (making much use
of first Friulan and later Roman dialect)
include the novels Ragazzi di vita/The
Ragazzi 1955 and Una vita violenta/A Violent
Life 1959. Among his films are Il vangelo
secondo Mateo/The Gospel According to St
Matthew 1964 and I racconti de Canterbury/The
Canterbury Tales 1972. Much of his work is
coloured by his experience of life in the
poor districts of Rome, where he lived from
1950, and illustrates the decadence and
inequality of society from his Marxist
viewpoint.