Barzini, Luigi (1874-1947)

Born in Orvieto . In 1898 he began to professionally engage in journalism. He first worked in several small Italian magazines, but very soon Luigi Albertini, then director of Corriere della Sera , one of the most prestigious Italian newspapers, noticed him and hired Barzini to himself. In 1900, he was sent as a war correspondent to China , where he witnessed the Boxer Rebellion and established himself as a professional, capable of receiving first-hand information. During the Russian-Japanese war of 1904-1905, Barzini was with the troops of the Imperial Army of Japan and wrote reports about her military company in Manchuria .

Still a staff member of the Corriere della Sera , in 1907 Barzini accompanied Prince Schipione Borghese in the famous Beijing-Paris Rally . The prince won a victory in his car Itala , where he traveled for two months across the expanses of China and Siberia . His path lay through regions inhabited by people who had never seen a car before. Barzini made up his memoirs about this adventure, supplemented with hundreds of photos: his book, Rally Beijing - Paris, was first published in 1908 and then translated into eleven languages: it was a “journalistic raid” - a proud Italian journalist noted in the preface to his book .

During the First World War , Barzini was an official correspondent with the Italian army ; the story of his experiences was published in the illustrated war . In 1921, Barzini left Corriere Della Serra and moved to the United States , where he ran the Italian-American newspaper Corriere d'America from 1923 upon his return to Italy in 1931. In 1932, he became director of Il Mattino, ^[4] but lost his post in 1933, when Mussolini mistakenly considered him the author of a critical article appeared in the French press. The misunderstanding was soon resolved, but Barzini still had no chance to send the newspaper. After being promoted to senator, he continued to work as a correspondent for the fascist newspaper Il Popolo d'Italia , covering the Spanish Civil War and the Russian invasion.

Barzini and Fascism

Barzini had about fascist sympathies even before Mussolini came to power. He put his signature in the Manifesto of the fascist intelligentsia in 1925. In 1934 he became a senator, was a member of the Commission on Armed Forces (April 17, 1939 - February 11, 1941), Committee on Foreign Affairs, Trade and Customs Legislation (December 31, 1941 - February 12, 1943 and from June 16 to August 5, 1943) , Committee on the Affairs of Italian Africa (April 15, 1942 - June 16, 1943) and the Council of Finance (February 12 - June 16, 1943) ^[4] . He continued to collaborate with Mussolini under the regime of the Italian Social Republic , where he headed the government press agency Agenzia Stefani . In 1945, he was convicted of involvement in the fascist regime and was banned from practicing a journalist.

Death. Family

Barzini died in poverty in Milan in 1947. His son Luigi Barzini Jr. was also a journalist and a writer. His other son, Ettore, joined the Italian resistance movement , was arrested in 1943 and sent to a concentration camp in Germany, where he died in 1945, despite all his father’s attempts to save his life.

• Nell'estremo oriente. Milano, Libreria Editrice Nazionale, 1904
• Il Giappone in armi. Milano, Libreria Editrice Lombarda, 1906
• Guerra Russo-Giapponese. La battaglia di Mukden, 1907
• La metà del mondo vista da un ogapolis da Pechino a Parigi in 60 giorni, prima edizione. Milano, Ulrico Hoepli Editore, 1908
• Scene della grande guerra, 1915
• Al Fronte, 1915
• La guerra d'Italia. Sui monti, nel cielo e nel mare, 1916
• La guerra d'Italia. Dal Trentino al Carso, 1917
• Impressioni boreali, 1921
• Dall'impero del Mikado all'impero dello Zar, 1935
• Sotto la tenda, 1935
• URSS L'impero del lavoro forzato, Ulrico Hoepli Editore, 1938
• Evasione in Mongolia, 1939
• Wu Wang ed altre genti, 1941
• Roosevelt e la guerra all'Inghilterra. Commenti e spiegazioni, Mondadori, 1942

• Commander of the Order of the Crown of Italy , February 17, 1924
• Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown of Italy, April 16, 1925
• Grand Officer of the Colonial Order of the Star of Italy
• Order of the Legion of Honor (France)
• Military cross
• Bronze Medal for Military Valor

• Sarti, Roland (ed.) (2004). Italy: a reference guide from the Renaissance to the present , Infobase Publishing, ISBN 0-8160-4522-4

• Luigi Barzini in the project "Gutenberg"

• From 'the War Illustrated' 9th August, 1916