Italo Calvino, Il Visconte dimezzato [The Cloven Viscount]

Simona Wright (College of New Jersey)
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Written in two months and defined by the author as a vacation (De Robertis 1962),

Il Visconte dimezzato

 [

The Cloven Viscount

1952] is the first of three narratives that Calvino will unite in the trilogy of

I nostri antenati

 [

Our Ancestors

1960], together with

Il barone rampante

 [

The Baron in the Trees

, 1957] and

Il cavaliere inesistente

 [

The Nonexistent Knight,

1959]. The story, historically situated in the seventeenth century, is narrated by the protagonist’s nephew and recounts the vicissitudes of Medardo, Viscount of Terralba, who joins the Christian army and goes to Bohemia to fight a holy war against the Turks with his loyal servant Kurt. Almost immediately after his arrival, however, during a fierce battle, a cannonball hits the unfortunate man right in the chest and splits…

2988 words

Citation: Wright, Simona. "Il Visconte dimezzato". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 15 August 2019 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=11648, accessed 01 May 2024.]

11648 Il Visconte dimezzato 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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