by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa

Born in 1896 in Palermo, Sicily, in Italy, Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa descended from a wealthy family whose ancestors gained distinction in the seventeenth century when they were named princes of Lampedusa—a small island south of Sicily. Although the family’s fortune declined during the 1800s, the title remained, with Giuseppe himself gaining distinction as the last Prince of Lampedusa. Young Giuseppe was educated at home by a private tutor; from 1912 to 1914, he attended the Liceo-Ginnasio Garibaldi in Palermo, where he studied philosophy, history, and Italian. Between 1914 and 1916 Giuseppe Lampedusa studied law, first at the University of Genoa, then at the University of Rome. He served in the First World War as an officer in the Italian artillery. Captured by the Austrians, Lampedusa managed to escape from a prison camp in Hungary and to make his way back to Italy. He...