Ennio Flaiano: 50 Years After His Death, a Portrait of an Italian Intellectual

Ennio Flaiano (Pescara, 1910 – Rome, 1972) was a journalist, writer, screenwriter, and playwright, remembered as a free thinker who criticized mediocrity. He wrote for Il Mondo, Corriere della Sera, and L'Europeo. In 1947, his novel Tempo di uccidere won the first Strega Prize, published by Leo Longanesi. The novel, set in Mussolini's invaded Ethiopia, follows an officer who kills a native girl and descends into crime, exploring psychological leprosy. Flaiano co-wrote over 60 screenplays with Federico Fellini (I vitelloni, La strada, La dolce vita, 8½) and Michelangelo Antonioni (La notte). He also wrote five plays, debuting on May 10, 1946, at Teatro Arlecchino in Rome with La guerra spiegata ai poveri. His posthumous collection Autobiografia del Blu di Prussia (1974) reflects on moral dissolution. Flaiano's sharp observations on Italian society, such as his prediction about television's influence, remain relevant. He died on September 3, 1972, writing on Corriere della Sera: 'I belong to the silent minority.'