Ercole Patti: Rediscovering an Anti-Fascist Writer and Traveler

Ercole Patti (1904–1976), a writer from Catania, Italy, began publishing at age 15 with a story in Corriere dei Piccoli. He moved to Rome in his youth, immersing himself in literary circles at venues like Caffè Aragno and Caffè Greco, where he associated with figures such as Alberto Savinio and Ardengo Soffici. Despite studying law to please his father, Patti pursued writing full-time after graduating in 1925. He worked for newspapers including Giornale d’Italia and Il Popolo d’Italia, covering international events like the flight of Haile Selassie in 1936 and authoring travel reports from Asia and Africa. In the 1930s, he also wrote successful screenplays for films such as 'Darò un milione' (1935). His anti-fascist stance led to imprisonment in 1943 at Regina Coeli, where he met Sandro Pertini. Patti's literary career flourished from 1940 with novels like 'Quartieri alti', and later works focused on Sicily, including 'Un bellissimo novembre' (1967). He opposed neo-avant-garde movements like Gruppo 63. In 2019, his complete works were republished by Nave di Teseo, edited by Sarah Zappulla Muscarà and Enzo Zappulla.