During the 6 months of the "Grado130" exhibition, come and discover the most significant figures in the history of Grado, in the town's landmarks:
Luigi Pirandello (1867 – 1936)
Playwright, writer and poet, his first great success came with the novel 'Il fu Mattia Pascal' (1904), but then the critics did not appreciate it as much as the audience. It was not until 1922 that Pirandello achieved success, when he fully devoted himself to theatre.
The Great War was a hard experience for Pirandello: his son Stefano was imprisoned by the Austrians and, once released, returned to Italy seriously ill. Moreover, in the same years his wife's mental condition worsened to such an extent that she was admitted to an asylum (1919) where she died. On the occasion of his trips to Vienna to arrange the release of his son Stefano, Pirandello was able to witness the experiments of the Theatre of Spontaneity, from which Jacob Levi Moreno would develop the psychodrama in which several structural analogies appear with, for example, "Sei personaggi in cerca d'autore".
After the war, the writer immersed himself in frenetic work, devoting himself above all to the theatre. In 1925, he founded the "Compagnia del Teatro d'Arte" in Rome with two great performers of Pirandello's art: the 25-year-old Marta Abba and Ruggero Ruggeri. With this company he began to travel the world: his plays were also performed in Broadway theatres. Within a decade he became the most famous playwright in the world, as testified by the Nobel Prize for Literature he received in 1934 'for his daring and ingenious renewal of the dramatic and theatrical art'.
The young Marta Abba became his muse and with her, he visited Grado in 1928. A historic visit that was immortalised by photographer Domenico Marocco.
Pirandello spent a long time on the Golden Island, enchanted by the beauty of nature and the excellent seafood cuisine, staying at the Pensione Erica.
"At half past one, a very tasty lunch was served in one of the pretty rooms of Pension Erica, where, during the great feast, merriment reigned supreme".