Leo Longanesi
Leo Longanesi | |
|---|---|
Longanesi in the early 1950s | |
| Born | Leopoldo Longanesi 30 August 1905 |
| Died | November 27, 1957 (aged 52) Milan, Italy |
| Occupation |
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| Alma mater | University of Bologna (J.D.) |
| Period | 20th century |
| Genre | |
| Subject | Italian society and customs |
| Literary movement | Strapaese |
| Years active | 1920–1957 |
| Spouse |
Maria Spadini
(m. 1939; died 1957) |
| Children | 2 daughters, 1 son |
| Part of a series on |
| Conservatism in Italy |
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Leopoldo "Leo" Longanesi (30 August 1905 – 27 September 1957) was an Italian journalist, publicist, screenwriter, playwright, writer, and publisher. Longanesi is mostly known in his country for his satirical works on Italian society and people. He also founded the eponymous publishing house in Milan in 1946, and was a mentor figure to Indro Montanelli (a journalist and historian, as well as the founder of Il Giornale, one of Italy's most famous newspapers).
Between 1927 and 1950 Longanesi published several magazines, including L'Italiano (1926), Omnibus (1937), and Il Borghese (1950), the last of which is a cultural and satirical weekly paper with a conservative stance. Longanesi described himself as a "cultural anarchist", or "conservative anarchist", and headed a popular right-wing group, which embraced conservatism, agrarian virtues, anti-democracy, and nostalgic post-fascism after World War II, despite the fact that he had often mocked the regime before the war, and remained distant from any neo-fascist movement after it.
An elegant and refined cartoonist, Longanesi also wrote several memoirs, characterised by a ruthless streak, such as In piedi e seduti, Una vita, and Ci salveranno le vecchie zie?