Carlo H. de Medici, the Forgotten Occult Writer

Carlo H. de Medici, an enigmatic Italian writer of occult and Gothic literature, is the subject of a recent profile in Artribune's 'I dimenticati dell'arte' series. Born in Paris on August 29, 1887, to French Jewish banker Giovanni Hakim (who added 'de Medici' to his surname in 1899) and Austrian Marie Caroline Wilhelmine Verstl, de Medici spent his adolescence in the family villa in Gradisca d'Isonzo, Friuli. After his father's death in 1900, he moved permanently with his mother to Gradisca, where he lived until 1921, dedicating himself to writing, occult studies, illustration, and journalism. He authored Gothic texts such as 'Gomòria racconto magico' (1921) and 'I topi del cimitero' (1924), both recently republished by Cliquot. His other works include 'Leggende friulane' (1924), 'Nirvana d'amore' (1925), 'Lettere a pinco pallino: un libro postumo' (1933), and 'Aquileia seconda Roma: una rievocazione' (1939). According to Roberto Mandel's 1930 bibliography, de Medici was a disciple of decadent writer Joris-Karl Huysmans and a friend of Joséphin Péladan, founder of the Rose-Croix revivalist order. He translated Huysmans' satanic novel 'Là-bas' into Italian in 1929. Federico Cenci notes his refined prose, influenced by Poe, Villiers de L'Isle-Adam, and Huysmans, and his incorporation of personal esoteric research. During World War II, the last known information places him in Trieste at via Petrarca 3, working as a funerary sculptor. His death date and location remain unknown.