Famous Italian Playwrights

Luigi Pirandello was an Italian novelist, short story writer, poet, and dramatist. Best remembered for his plays, Pirandello was honored with the prestigious Nobel Prize in Literature in 1934. An Italian nationalist, Pirandello supported Fascism; he asked the Fascist government to melt down his Nobel Prize medal for the Abyssinia Campaign.

One of the pioneers of neo-realism, Italian filmmaker Roberto Rossellini was part of the French nouvelle vague movement. Born to the man who had set up Italy’s first cinema, Rossellini later grew up to make films such as Rome, Open City. He was also known for his scandalous affair with Ingrid Bergman.

Nobel Prize-winning Italian playwright Dario Fo, best remembered for the play Mistero Buffo, donned many hats and made his presence felt as an actor, stage director and designer, and painter. He and his wife, actor Franca Rame, did everything from writing sketches for the show Canzonissima to founding theater companies.

Known for literary works like Il Piacere and La Gioconda, Italian journalist, poet and playwright Gabriele D'Annunzio dominated the second period of Italian Decadentism. He became a national war hero during the First World War. His political endeavours include establishing and leading the short-lived Italian Regency of Carnaro in Fiume. He is often described as the forerunner of Italian fascism.  

Carlo Goldoni was an Italian librettist and playwright from the Republic of Venice. He is credited with producing some of Italy's best-loved and most famous plays. His plays are often admired for their ingenious mix of honesty and wit. One of his most famous works, Servant of Two Masters, has been translated into many languages.

Plautus was a Roman playwright best remembered for his comedies. He wrote Palliata comoedia, a genre devised by Livius Andronicus, and his comedies are among the earliest of Latin literature to have survived in their totality. Plautus' works had a great impact on future writers like Molière and William Shakespeare.

Giambattista della Porta was an Italian scholar, polymath, and playwright. He was active in Naples at the time of the Scientific Revolution and Reformation in the 16th century. He was knowledgeable in different fields, including occult philosophy, astrology, meteorology, alchemy, mathematics, and natural philosophy. In his later years, he collected rare specimens and grew exotic plants. 

Italo Svevo was an Italian writer, playwright, novelist, short story writer, and businessman. Svevo was regarded as a pioneer of psychological fiction. He is remembered for his work La coscienza di Zeno, which is considered his magnum opus. Svevo is widely regarded as an important writer of the 20th century whose works had an influence on later generations of writers.

Curzio Malaparte was an Italian writer, diplomat, war correspondent, and filmmaker. Many of his works, such as La pelle were adapted into films. In 1926, he co-founded an Italian magazine called 900, which played a major role in the rise of Italian fascism. Curzio Malaparte also served as a co-editor and editor of Fiera Letteraria and La Stampa respectively.

Pietro Aretino was an Italian author, poet, satirist, and playwright. He wielded influence on contemporary politics and art. An outspoken critic, Aretino was one of the most important and influential writers of his generation. A self-proclaimed sodomite, Pietro Aretino was involved in romantic relationships with men, which was uncommon at that time.

Italian author Leonardo Sciascia is best remembered for works on political corruption. Some of his notable works, such as Open Doors and Illustrious Corpses, were turned into films. Initially a member of the Italian Communist Party, he later joined the Radical Party. He was also elected to the European Parliament.

Ugo Betti was an Italian judge and author. Widely regarded as the greatest Italian playwright of all time, Betti wrote 27 plays including The Mistress of the House and Troubled Waters. Dubbed the Italian Kafka, Ugo Betti's works explore human emotions, such as guilt.