Gianna Manzini: The Forgotten Writer Rediscovered

Gianna Manzini, born in Pistoia in 1896 and passing away in Rome in 1974, was a distinguished Italian author. Her first novel, *Tempo Innamorato*, published in 1928, garnered praise from notable figures like Eugenio Montale and André Gide. The daughter of anarchist Giuseppe and Leonilda Mazzoncini, she endured a tumultuous childhood marked by her parents' violent separation and her own health struggles. After earning her degree from Florence University in 1920, she wed critic Bruno Fallaci and later contributed to fashion journalism under the name Vanessa. Her 1929 work, *Incontro col falco*, appeared in *Solaria*, and she was the sole female contributor to the 1930 anthology *Scrittori nuovi*. Post-World War II, she co-founded *Prosa*, releasing *Lettera all'editore* in 1945 and *Animali sacri e profani* in 1953. In 1956, she received the Premio Viareggio and published her final collection, *Sulla soglia*, in 1973.