Verismo, which means "realism" in Italian (from the word vero, meaning "true"), was an Italian literary movement that was most popular between about 1875 and the early 1900s. Sicilian writers Giovanni Verga, Luigi Capuana, and Federico De Roberto were the main writers of this movement. Capuana wrote the novel Giacinta, which is often seen as the key work of Italian verismo. Unlike French naturalism, which focused on scientific ideas, Verga and Capuana did not believe the movement was scientific or useful for society. D. H. Lawrence was influenced by Italian verismo and translated several of Verga's works into English.
Description
Literary verismo began between 1875 and 1895, created mainly by novelists and playwrights. It was not an official school, but it followed clear rules. Its start was influenced by a belief in science, research, and observation, which was popular from 1830 until the late 1800s. It was also based on naturalism, a French literary movement from the mid-1800s. Naturalist writers like Émile Zola and Guy de Maupassant believed literature should show society and people as clearly as a photograph, including even the most difficult parts of life, and study real life like scientists.
Verismo developed in Milan, a city with many intellectuals, but it often focused on life in central and southern Italy. Sicily was described by writers like Verga, Capuana, and Federico De Roberto. Naples was shown in works by Matilde Serao and Salvatore Di Giacomo. Sardinia appeared in Grazia Deledda’s writing. Rome was written about in poems by Cesare Pascarella, and Tuscany in works by Renato Fucini.
Verismo also had some influence in northern Italy. In Lombardy, Emilio De Marchi tried to mix the traditions of Manzoni with verismo, writing about the lower middle class in his book Demetrio Pianelli (1888). In the north, verismo and another movement called Scapigliatura shared ideas, as seen in works like Remigio Zena’s La bocca del lupo (1892), Gian Pietro Lucini’s Gian Pietro da Core (1885), and Paolo Valera’s La folla (1901).
Although most verismo writers were novelists, some poets and playwrights also used verismo. Lorenzo Stecchetti (also known as Olindo Guerrini) wrote about erotic and social topics in shocking ways. Vittorio Betteloni wrote about the middle class in a simple, direct style. In theater, Verga created veristic plays, including Cavalleria rusticana (1884), which was a big success for actress Eleonora Duse. Another important figure was Giuseppe Giacosa, a friend of Verga, who worked as a poet and librettist.
The first person to explain verismo in Italy was Capuana, who called it the “poetry of the real.” Verga, who started as a Romantic writer, later joined verismo with works like Vita dei campi, Novelle rusticane, and I Malavoglia (1881). Verga lived in Florence during the same time as painters who used a style called macchia, and his story Cavalleria rusticana has similarities to their art. Unlike naturalism, verismo included the reader’s perspective without showing the author’s personal opinions.
Some people criticized verismo. Luigi Alberti, a journalist and playwright, said it polluted young minds by showing life’s “ugly, mean, and vulgar” parts.
The main rules of verismo were: (1) writing should be impersonal; (2) language and style must match the subject, like using simple speech for working-class stories; (3) the goal was to study modern Italy from the poorest to the richest people; (4) methods must be scientific, based on research about social, economic, and geographical environments, following ideas from positivist thinkers like Lombroso. Verismo differed from French naturalism by focusing more on style than science and by showing more rural life than city life or factory workers.
Early works by Gabriele D’Annunzio, like Terra vergine and Novelle della Pescara, were strongly influenced by verismo. Later writers like Pirandello, in works such as Il turno and L’esclusa, and Federigo Tozzi also showed traces of verismo. Writers like De Roberto influenced Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa’s The Leopard. The biggest influence of verismo came later, when it inspired the Neorealism movement (1943–1955).