Emilio Cecchi (; 14 July 1884 – 5 September 1966) was an Italian literary critic, art critic and screenwriter. One English language source describes him as "an 'official'although radically anti-academicintellectual".
He was made artistic director at Cines Studios, Italy's leading film company, in 1931, remaining in the post for slightly more than a year. He also directed two short documentaries in the late 1940s.
Biography Provenance and early years Emilio Cecchi was born in Florence, second of the six recorded children of Cesare and Marianna Sani Cecchi. The family had their home in the city center among the narrow streets between the Porta San Gallo and the cathedral, but Cesare Cecchi came originally from the countryside: he worked in an Ironmonger's store. Emilio's mother, like many Florentines, had her own little tailoring workshop. The family was close-knit and loving, but Cecchi would nevertheless look back later on a childhood scarred by tragedy. Annunziata, his elder sister, was seriously ill for many years and died of tuberculosis in 1902. His father was devastated by the experience. Emilio Cecchi later wrote of how, when his father left his work, they would meet up and walk to the church where, for long hours, they would kneel together side by side working through their grief and - at least in the case of the boy - studying the details of the building's elaborate interior architecture.
Cecchi attended the middle school run by the Piarists, receiving his school diploma in 1894. That opened the way for him to move on to technical school, and from there to the technical-commercial institute, from where in 1901 he emerged with a diploma in book-keeping and accountancy. It was an unusual achievement for one from a relatively impoverished background, and he was rewarded by being sent to take a holiday with an uncle of his father's who lived at San Quirico d'Orcia, a hill-town on the far side of the neighbouring Province of Siena. He had already embarked on a serious attempt to teach himself how to paint when he was just twelve, and he was now inspired by the Senese countryside to resume his artistic studies through both practical endeavour and reading. Back in Florence he became a regular presence in the Gabinetto Vieusseux (library) where his energetic autodidacticism was again to the fore. He discovered the works of Gabriele D'Annunzio, a dominating presence in early twentieth century literature. He also ingested parts of the multi-volume compendium "la Storia della pittura in Italia" ("The History of Painting in Italy"), by Cavalcaselle and Crowe. He made sketches of a number of pictures that particularly interested him and took the opportunity to make the acquaintance of Giani Stuparich and Diego Garoglio, who were teachers of Giovanni Papini, and who provided him with advice on his further reading. (Garoglio recommended Baudelaire and Poe.) These, along with Vittorio Scialoja, whom he met at around the same time, exercised a significant influence on his early development as a scholar of the visual arts. During 1901/02 he undertook a period of military service, which he was able to do while continuing to be based in Florence. In 1902 he took a job with the Credito Italiano (bank). From there he moved on, in 1904, to a job as a copyist in the offices of the city hospital. Whenever he was not working, night and day, he was studying the visual arts. As a critic, he would later gain a particular reputation for his expertise on the Senese School and the Florentine "Quattrocento", both topics on which in due course he would publish insightful books of reference. A milestone came when he received a classics diploma from the prestigious "Convitto nazionale statale Francesco Cicognini" educational institution in Prato.
Networking Although Cecchi's progression from humble beginnings to nationally respected literary and arts scholar reflected his own remarkable talent, energy and determination, it was also a tribute to Florence, which during the early years of the twentieth century was among the most open and intellectually lively cities in Italy. He was appreciative of this, even though he continued to be dogged by family tragedy. In 1903, his brother Guido fell ill with the tuberculosis that had killed their sister, while Emilio himself was also suffering from bouts of serious illness. Guido died in 1905. Still in 1903, Emilio Cecchi and the polymath writer-philosopher Giovanni Papini became friends. Another new friend that year was the painter and ceramicist Armando Spadini. Cecchi connected with a circle of students from the "Florence Institute of Higher Studies" ("Istituto di Studi Superiori") which also included Giuseppe Antonio Borgese, Giuseppe Prezzolini and Ardengo Soffici. With friends such as these, it is not entirely surprising that in 1903 Emilio Cecchi made what some regard as his own critical debut, with an article entitled "Il concerto", which appeared under the pseudonym "Aymerillot" in the review magazine Leonardo.
Columnist In 1906, Cecchi finally left Florence and relocated to Rome. He wrote for various Roman literary publications including, notably, Athena and Nuova Antologia. At this stage his stay in Rome was relatively brief, however, since he decided to study for a further academic qualification. Having studied "as a privateer" for his classics diploma from the "Convitto nazionale statale Francesco Cicognini", he was able to enrol at the Literature Faculty of the "Istituto di Studi Superiori". His student career provided an opportunity for more networking. New friends included Scipio Slataper and the northerner Carlo Michelstaedter. Another contemporary was Giuseppe De Robertis. Cecchi did not pursue his studies to the point of graduation (although an honorary degree which the institute conferred on him in 1958 may have implied a reassuring measure of retrospective recognition). Meanwhile, he continued to engage as a literary critic, at times focusing as much on Russian, German or English literature as on Italian.
Marriage and family In 1911 Emilio Cecchi married Leonetta Pieraccini (1882–1977), an artist and the daughter of a physician from Poggibonsi a little town set in the wine country approximately midway between Florence and Siena. However, the couple now made their home not in Tuscany but back in Rome. The marriage was followed by the births of their four children in 1912, 1913, 1914 and 1918. (Their eldest child, a son, died in infancy, however.)
The critic and translator (born 1939) is Emilio Cecchi's grandson.
In Rome Back in Rome, he contributed assiduously to La Tribuna, a daily newspaper published between 1883 and 1946. He also had time to work for rival publications, of which probably the most significant, at least initially, was the weekly literary magazine La Voce. However, he increasingly found himself in opposition to editorial decisions by the La Voce under its editor in chief, his fellow Florentine Giuseppe De Robertis. Cecchi's article "False audacie" appeared in "Tribuna" on 13 February 1915. It robustly criticised Papini's "Cento pagine di poesia" ("A hundred pages of poetry") and triggered a similarly robust reaction from Papini in La Voce on 28 February 1915. Further back-and-forth exchanges between the two, published respectively in "Tribuna" and "Voce", followed, and other literary commentators joined the fray. However, as 1915 progressed, larger political developments intervened.
Although using "Tribuna" for his feuding with antagonists in the literary journals was no doubt an effective way to raise his profile among Rome's intellectuals, it was not necessarily Cecchi's most important work during this period. His circle also included erudite scholars such as Roberto Longhi and Grazia Deledda. His 1912 essay on the work of Giovanni Pascoli is regarded as one of his best, containing insights as valid today as when it first appeared. Over the next two or three years, he concentrated principally on English and Irish literature, producing several significant translations. Swinburne and Meredith were particular favourites. Nevertheless, he certainly did not avoid Italian poetry. He was an enthusiastic admirer of Dino Campana, "the best poet we have".
He also contributed to the Fascist daily Il Tevere.
War years In 1914, the Italian government had resisted participation in the First World War. Major belligerent powers on both sides were keen to reverse that decision. Italy's territorial aspirations were no secret, and in April 1915, sufficient inducements having been secured from the British, the Italian government agreed (at that stage secretly ) to join in with the fighting on the British side: Italy formally declared war on Austria the next month, by which time, despite a widespread conviction that the country was not well prepared for such a venture, large scale military mobilisation was already underway. On 10 May 1915, Cecchi was mobilised and sent to join thousands of others in the newly enlarged army. He gave careful thought to the question of which newspapers or journals should benefit from his written reports, but evidently decided to stay faithful: on 28 June 1915, it was "Tribuna" that printed the first in a succession of reports by Emilio Cecci from the Austrian front. Meanwhile, his "History of nineteenth century English literature" ("Storia della letteratura inglese nel secolo XIX") on which in one way or another he had been working since at least as far back as 1903, was published in Milan. The study of English-language literature was a theme to which he would return regularly through the ensuing decades.
Despite the formidable energy he devoted to networking, it was only on 15 December 1915, while in Rome on leave from the frontline, that Cecchi had his first meeting with the man whose poetry he had eulogised in print, Dino Campana.
In September 1916, he was assigned to the commissariat of the 8th Army Corps. This involved a posting to his home city of Florence. His wife and small children also relocated back to Florence from Rome. In Florence, his military duties seem to have left him with sufficient time and opportunity to embrace family life and attend to his reading. He even passed some exams at the university during this period. In September 1917, however, he was promoted to the rank of captain and posted to the defensive "Line of the Seven Communes" on the northern front. Cecchi's letters of the time indicate that his 1917 transfer to the frontline was unexpected and unwelcome.
During 1918, Cecchi was a contributor to Piero Jahier's so-called trench newspaper, "L'Astico" (which took its name from a mountain river in the fighting zone). Many of Cecchi's wartime letters, providing an excellent source for researchers. Along with Jahier, those with whom he was in contact through these years included Michele Cascella, Riccardo Bacchelli, Benedetto Croce (who valued his contributions to his magazine "La Critica") and Gaetano Salvemini.
Aftermath of war