TOZZI, FEDERICO. – Writer, born in Siena on 1 January 1883, died in Rome on 21 March 1920. He left his native city after complex and painful experiences reflected in his narrative work. He first gained recognition as a writer, particularly from G. A. Borghese, in the final years of his life.
Even today, it is not easy to render a comprehensive judgment on T., chiefly because of the difficulty in grasping the relationship in him between the diary-like memorial aspect and the tendency toward narrative. His work can be situated chronologically between the Vicaian literature, which also extends broadly into prose of memory, and the experiences of another journal, *La Ronda*; yet from both he distances himself with his intense intertwining of psychological and moral content, often expressing a dramatic religious spirituality, and with the ability to transpose these elements onto a plane of heightened mythification of characters. Among his works to be noted are the youthful sentimental exploration published posthumously under the title *Novale*, the prose of *Bestie* (1917), the stories of *Giovani* and *Ricordi di un impiegato* (1920), and the novels *Con gli occhi chiusi*, *Il podere*, and *Tre croci*, the latter posthumous (1920).