Stefano D’Arrigo – writer

Author’s greatest work took him 17 years to complete

Stefano d'Arrigo wrote a novel
considered a literary masterpiece

The Sicilian poet, writer, and art critic Stefano D’Arrigo, who once made a small appearance in a Pier Paolo Pasolini film, was born Fortunato Stefano D’Arrigo on this day in 1919 in Alì Terme, a comune of Messina.

He became famous for his novel, Horcynus Orca (Killer Whale) which was published in 1975 and was considered a masterpiece of 20th century Italian literature.

The action in the book takes place in the aftermath of World War II and follows the journey of a Sicilian fisherman as he returns home to his village after serving in the Italian Navy during the war.

The reader experiences the fisherman’s encounters with the transformed landscape and people and sees through his eyes the impact of war on the traditional ways of life in Sicily.

D’Arrigo left Alì Terme after completing elementary school when he was ten years old. He moved with his family to Milazzo, a municipality of Messina.

When war broke out, he attended the officer cadet course in Udine in the region of  Friuli-Venezia Giulia and was then assigned to Palermo. In the summer of 1943, he was transferred to Messina where he witnessed the clashes on the Strait of Messina between the Germans and the Allies.

While D’Arrigo was still serving in the army he graduated in Messina with a thesis on the German poet Friedrich Holderlin.

D’Arrigo moved to Rome in 1946 to work for newspapers such as La Tribuna del Popolo, Il Progresso d'Italia, and Il Giornale di Sicilia. As a newspaper writer and art critic he mixed with painters and sculptors in Rome and began writing poetry. He also met his future wife, Jutta Bruto, and married her in 1948.

A collection of 17 of his poems, Codice Siciliano, was first published in 1957, but was republished with additions by Mondadori in 1975.

D'Arrigo's 1257-page epic sold some
80,000 copies when published in 1975

D’Arrigo worked on Horcynus Orca from 1957 to 1975. The novel was 1257 pages long and, on its release, it immediately sold 80,000 copies. Subsequent paperback editions sold another 45,000 copies.

It addressed the theme of the wandering hero that has been present in literature from Homer’s Odyssey to James Joyce’s Ulysses. The novel also put such a focus on the culture and literature of the sea that some scientists suggested D’Arrigo should be awarded an honorary degree in oceanography.

His epic work took so long for him to finish that the title was changed along the way. Later, a first version was made available to readers under the earlier title, I fatti della fera, which was a shorter book but contained more of the writer’s original ‘Sicilianisms’.

D’Arrigo also wrote three other novels and a theatre script and he played the part of an examining magistrate in the 1961 film, Accatone, which was written and directed by Pier Paolo Pasolino.

Stefano D’Arrigo died in Rome in May 1992.

The coast around  Alì Terme features many long
stretches of flat, pebbly beach

Travel tip:

Alì Terme is a tranquil town on Sicily’s northeastern Ionian coast, nestled between the sea and the Peloritani Mountains, about 20km south of Messina. It is best known for its thermal springs, which have been prized since ancient times for their therapeutic properties. The sulphur-rich waters feed several spas, including the renowned Terme di Alì.  The area features long pebble beaches and a relaxed promenade ideal for swimming, sunbathing and evening strolls. The Chiesa di San Rocco is the town's main church, dedicated to its patron saint, who was adopted several centuries ago after the discovery of a statue of him in a box on the beach. San Rocco is celebrated with a procession through the town on August 16. Alì Terme, a popular base for hikers as well as sun-seekers, has a station on the Messina-Catania railway line and is easily accessible via the A18 motorway.

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The Strait of Messina, at its narrowest just 3.1km
wide, separates Messina from the Italian mainland

Travel tip:

Messina is a city in the northeast of Sicily, separated from mainland Italy by the Strait of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island and is home to a large Greek-speaking community. The 12th century cathedral in Messina has a bell tower which houses one of the largest astronomical clocks in the world, built in 1933. Originally built by the Normans, the cathedral, which still contains the remains of King Conrad, ruler of Germany and Sicily in the 13th century, had to be almost entirely rebuilt following the earthquake in 1908, and again in 1943, after a fire triggered by Allied bombings. The city’s history stretches back to Greek colonists in the 8th century BC, while the Fountain of Orion in Piazza Duomo and the nearby church of the Annunziata dei Catalani reflect layers of Byzantine, Arab, and Baroque influence. As a university city, Messina has a youthful energy and many cultural events.

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More reading:

The prince whose novel became a classic of Sicilian literature

Sicily’s Nobel Prize-winning poet, known for his lyrical and existential verse

A novelist whose work focuses on Sicilian politics, Mafia influence and moral ambiguity

Also on this day:

70BC: The birth of the Roman poet Virgil

1764: The moment that inspired Edward Gibbon’s epic Roman history

1785: The birth of painter Giovanni Migliara

1905: The birth of footballer Angelo Schiavio

1964: The birth of astronaut Roberto Vittori

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Luigi Rizzo - naval commander

Sicilian honoured multiple times for World War One daring

Luigi Rizzo, bedecked with his array
of medals, pictured in 1935

Luigi Rizzo, a celebrated naval commander renowned for his daring exploits during the First World War, was born on this day in 1887 in Milazzo, a seaside town almost at the northeast tip of the island of Sicily, about 35km (22km) west of the city of Messina.

Rizzo, who was awarded the title Count of Grado and Premuda in recognition of two of his greatest successes, rose to the rank of Commander in the Royal Italian Navy, later upgraded to honorary Admiral, and won numerous decorations for bravery, including two Gold Medals and four Silver Medals for Military Valour.

Born into a family of merchant ship captains, Rizzo began his maritime career in the merchant navy. His transition to military service came in 1912 when he was appointed second lieutenant in the Naval Reserve. 

With Italy’s entry into World War One in 1915, Rizzo was assigned to the maritime defence of Grado, a fashionable Austro-Hungarian seaside resort that had been seized by the Italian army because of its strategic importance in the northern Adriatic.

It had become a base for the Italian navy’s torpedo boats and seaplanes and the courage and tactical acumen displayed by Rizzo in protecting the new base, which made use of its natural harbour, of earned him a Silver Medal of Military Valour.

Rizzo’s reputation rose still further following his transfer to the elite MAS (Motoscafo Armato Silurante) flotilla - small, fast torpedo boats used for stealth attacks. In December 1917, he led a successful raid in the Gulf of Trieste, sinking the Austro-Hungarian battleship SMS Wien. This feat earned him the Gold Medal of Military Valour and marked him as a formidable naval tactician.

His most legendary feat of daring, which brought him a second Gold Medal, occurred on June 10, 1918 off the Dalmatian island of Premuda, more than 200km (124 miles) south of Trieste, now part of Croatia. Commanding one of the MAS torpedo boats, Rizzo launched a surprise attack that sank the Austro-Hungarian dreadnought SMS Szent István, a 21,700-ton battleship. 

The Austro-Hungarian battleship Szent István, 
shortly before it sank off the island of Premuda

The sinking was a huge psychological and strategic blow to the enemy’s naval power and remains one of the most celebrated victories in Italian naval history, commemorated at naval bases across Italy on June 10 each year as the Festa della Marina.

The wreck of the SMS Szent István remains on the seabed eight nautical miles off the coast of Premuda at a depth of 68m (223 ft). In an area of coast popular with diving enthusiasts, the wreck remains an attraction, although it is considered to be too deeply located for recreational divers because of the specialised equipment required.

Rizzo’s other wartime heroics included the capture of two pilots of an Austrian seaplane that had ditched due to a malfunction, and his missions in the defence of the mouth of the Piave, as a result of which he was promoted to Lieutenant. He was decorated with Silver Medals for Military Valour as a result of both.

During the course of the war, Rizzo also earned the Knight’s Cross of the Military Order of Savoy, along with international honours including France’s Croix de Guerre, Britain’s Distinguished Service Order, and the US Navy Distinguished Service Medal.

In 1919, Rizzo joined Gabriele D’Annunzio’s controversial occupation of Fiume (now Rijeka, Croatia), commanding the so-called Fleet of Carnaro and aiding in the city’s supply efforts. 

Rizzo's torpedo boat, safely returned to the lagoon
of Venice after sinking the Szent István

He retired from active naval service in 1920 with the rank of Commander but was later promoted to Admiral as an honorary recognition of his service and legacy. 

Further recognition followed in 1935 when King Victor Emmanuel III conferred upon Rizzo the victory title Conte di Grado e di Premuda - Count of Grado and Premuda - by royal decree.

When Italy entered World War Two in 1940, Rizzo returned to service and for a while took part in anti-submarine warfare in the Strait of Sicily. 

Following the armistice of 1943 and Italy’s surrender to the Allies, Rizzo switched sides and was actively involved in the sabotage of ocean liners and steamships to stop them falling into German hands. He was subsequently arrested by the Nazis and imprisoned in Austria. 

He survived the ordeal but suffered personal tragedy in September of that year when his 22-year-old son Giorgio, who had followed him into naval service as a lieutenant in command of an MAS, was killed in a German bombing raid on Piombino.

Rizzo later recovered his son's body from a mass grave on the island of Elba and published a collection of letters and documents in his memory. 

Luigi Rizzo died in Rome in 1951 after suffering from lung cancer, despite the efforts of his friend, the surgeon Raffaele Paolucci, whom he had known since they served together as naval commanders in World War One and had gone on to have a distinguished career in surgical medicine.

In addition to Giorgio, Rizzo had two other children, Giacomo and a daughter, Maria Guglielmina, who in 2015 attended the launch near Sestri Levante in Liguria of a Bergamini class frigate built for the Italian Navy and named Luigi Rizzo in his honour.

Milazzo, in northeastern Sicily, is dominated by
the huge Norman fortress that watches over it

Travel tip:

Milazzo, where Luigi Rizzo was born, is an historic, coastal town in northeastern Sicily, nestled on a narrow peninsula jutting into the Tyrrhenian Sea. With a population of 31,500, the town has a long tradition of fishing and shipbuilding and is the departure point for ferries to the Aeolian Islands. But it also boasts a mix of sandy and pebbled beaches, with crystal-clear waters ideal for swimming, snorkeling and diving, while the Capo Milazzo, a rugged promontory at the tip of the peninsula, offers dramatic cliffs, hidden cove, and the natural reserve of Piscina di Venere - a tidal pool named after the goddess Venus.  A Greek settlement in the 8th century BC, it was later a Roman stronghold and over the centuries has passed through Byzantine, Arab, Norman, and Spanish hands. The town played a key role in several military conflicts, including the Battle of Milazzo in 1860, where Giuseppe Garibaldi’s forces clashed with the Bourbons during Italy’s unification.  At the heart of the town stands its massive Norman castle, one of the largest fortified complexes in Sicily. 

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Sunset over the Baia del Silenzio, part of the 
beautiful Ligurian resort of Sestri Levante

Travel tip:

Sestri Levante, just along the Ligurian coast from the shipyard at Riva Trigoso where the frigate Luigi Rizzo was launched in 2015, is a seaside resort between Genoa and the Cinque Terre, known for its scenic beauty. Part of the town occupies a narrow promontory that divides two stunning bays - the Baia del Silenzio (Bay of Silence), a serene, crescent-shaped beach framed by pastel-colored buildings, and the Baia delle Favole (Bay of Fairy Tales), which was named in honour of the Danish storyteller Hans Christian Andersen, who briefly lived in Sestri Levante. This larger bay hosts the town’s marina as well as promenades, restaurants, and family-friendly beaches.  The town celebrates its literary heritage with the annual Andersen Festival, a week-long celebration of storytelling, theatre and music.  Sestri Levante’s trattorias and wine bars offer relaxed dining with sea views,  featuring local specialities and wines from grapes grown on nearby hills. The resort is popular with Italian families and visitors seeking to enjoy the spectacular beauty of the Ligurian coast without the crowds of Portofino or Monterosso. What’s more, it is easily reached by train, with regular services from Genoa, La Spezia, and Milan. 

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More reading:

How Italy entered World War Two

The WW1 flying ace turned WW2 commander

The Great War hero who became physician to Italy’s Chamber of Deputies

Also on this day:

1551: The birth of composer Giulio Caccini

1881: The birth of Mona Lisa thief Vincenzo Perrugia

1957: The birth of footballer Antonio Cabrini

1965: The birth of chef and TV presenter Carlo Cracco

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