Carlo Lorenzini (24 November 1826 – 26 October 1890), better known by the pen name Carlo Collodi (Italian pronunciation: [ˈkarlo kolˈlɔːdi]), was an Italian author, humorist,[1] and journalist,[2] widely known for his fairy tale novel The Adventures of Pinocchio.
Collodi was born in Florence on 24 November 1826. His mother Angiolina Orzali was a seamstress from the town of Collodi from which he took the pen name and his father, Domenico Lorenzini was a cook and both worked for the Marquis Ginori Lisci.[1] Collodi was the eldest in the family[3] and he had 10 siblings but seven died at a young age. He spent most of his childhood in the town of Collodi where his mother was born. He lived there with his grandmother. After attending primary school, he was sent to study at a seminary called Colle Val d’Elsa.[3] An account explained that Ginori offered financial aid but the boy found that he did not want to be a priest so he continued his education at the College of the Scolopi Fathers in Florence.[4] Two years later, he started working at the bookstore Libreria Piatti, where he assisted Giuseppe Aiazzi, a prominent Italian manuscript specialist.[4]
