Alberto Moravia

Alberto Moravia , 1907-90, Italian novelist born as Alberto Pincherle; husband of Elsa Morante . Moravia is considered one of the foremost 20th-century Italian novelists. He employs taut prose in realist narratives that shed light on such disturbing issues as the relation of the individual to society. His first novel, The Indifferent Ones (1929, tr. 1932), is a powerful and pitiless portrayal of the Italian bourgeoisie at the beginning of fascism. Novels such as The Empty Canvas (1960, tr. 1961) grimly depict the conflict and interaction between the creative and the sensual, while the underlying theme is the apathy and despair of modern people. Moravia's characters have lost faith in the values on which moral foundations are based. Two Women (1957, tr. 1958), a compelling story of wartime flight, was superbly filmed in 1961. His other works include Disobedience (1948, tr. 1950), The Conformist (1951), Two: A Phallic Novel (tr. 1972), the short-story collection Bought and Sold (1970, tr. 1973), and the essay collection Which Tribe Do You Belong To? (tr. 1974).

Bibliography: See biography by J. Cottrell (1974); studies by L. Rebay (1970) and J. Ross and D. Freed (1972).

Moravia, Alberto (1907–90) Italian novelist. His early novels, including The Time of Indifference (1929) and The Fancy Dress Party (1940), were critical of fascism, and he was forced into hiding until 1944. Later works include The Woman of Rome (1947), The Conformist (1951), and Two Women (1957).

neo-realism Italian film movement (1945–50) that dealt with the harshness of life and death. Roberto Rossellini directed the first such film, called Open City (1945), using non-professionals and real locations. Perhaps the finest example of neo-realism was Vittorio De Sica's Bicycle Thieves (1948). Neo-realist writers included Alberto Moravia and Cesare Pavese.