TRILUSSA (pseudonym of CARLO ALBERTO SALUSTRÌ). — Poet, born in Rome on 25 October 1873, died there on 21 December 1950, a few weeks after his appointment as senator. He studied at the Roman Collegio di S. Giuseppe in Piazza di Spagna.
His orientation toward political and social satire, arising from the humorous depiction of small episodes and vignettes of daily life, became more pronounced when T. moved from sonnets to the various metres of the fable, conceived as a parody and reversal of the classical fable. Starting, in fact, from subjects belonging to tradition, the poet arrived at negative and ironic conclusions, creating a fable entirely his own, in which the animals, a mere convention, are, in their psychology and manner of acting, masks for human beings. T.’s satire, often light-hearted and good-natured, is at times sharpened by biting sarcasm against the hypocrisies, cunning and selfishness of the contemporary world. In some compositions the poet appears nostalgic and melancholic, and then reveals, as though turning inward upon himself, his true face, in which the mocking smile fades into the furrows of a thoughtful humanity. The dialect he used, which contributed to his wide popularity, is that of the middle classes.
In his work (Le cose, Milano 1922; I sonetti, ivi 1922; Le storie, ivi 1922; Le favole, ivi 1922; Nove poesie, ivi 1922; Ommini e bestie, ivi 1922; Lupi e aguelli, ivi 1923; La gente, ivi 1927; Libro n. 9, ivi 1929; Giove e le bestie, ivi 1932; Picchiabbò, ivi 1933; Libro muto, ivi 1935; Acqua e vino, ivi 1945), vice escapes explicit moral condemnation: to the poet’s indulgent and sceptical spirit, it appears almost inherent in the human condition. Nevertheless, there are references and aspirations of a religious nature, in keeping with T.’s idea of faith, set down in one of his writings of 7 July 1935: « From childhood, through a profound and invincible instinct, I have had an absolute faith in a Providence that reigns over human beings, in a supreme Goodness and Wisdom that govern the world; in God... In this matter my faith has remained absolute, intact and simple, as when I was a boy. And it has always helped and comforted me in life ».