ALBERTAZZI, ADOLFO. - Short-story writer and critic, native of Bologna (1865-1924). He contributed to the most important Italian reviews and newspapers. A pupil of Carducci, he later taught in secondary schools and at university. More than in scholarly works, he achieved his best results in creative writing. His most extensive novel, L'Ave, seemed a revelation. Among his short stories, the best collections are: Novelle umoristiche, Facce allegre, A stare al mondo, Sotto il sole, Top. Among other works, he gave children’s literature: Asini e compagni, Ora e sempre.
A.’s prose has the merit of precision, a rigorous sense of limits and necessity, and a concise, straightforward language. The simplicity of his characters—almost all chosen from among the common people—is merely outward, since almost all are free of simplism; indeed, they are grasped as exponents of all the difficulties of the human soul.