Silone was one of the few contemporary Italian novelists who were actively involved in the political issues of their time, an involvement which for Silone became the very theme of his fiction. After the split in the party, however, he retired from active politics. After his return to Italy in the fall of 1944, he was for a time a member of the Socialist party and editor of Avanti!, its daily. After disagreements over the issue of following central party directives, however, he broke with the Communist party, left the country, and settled in 1930 in Switzerland. He also was editor of various Communist papers.Īfter the Fascist takeover Silone went into hiding and worked against the regime. Subsequently, he became a member of the directorate of the PCI, which he represented at several international conferences. Thus he took part in the founding of the Italian Communist party (PCI) in 1921 as a representative of the Socialist Youth movement.

The circumstances forced him, as he once said, to endure firsthand three essential experiences: poverty, religion, and communism. He received part of his education at the local seminary and continued his studies in Reggio Calabria but interrupted them at the end of World War I, when he became interested in politics.

In 1915 Silone lost both parents and five brothers as a result of an earthquake. Ignazio Silone was born Secondino Tranquilli on May 1, 1900, at Pescina dei Marsi in the Abruzzi.

Il segreto di Luca by Ignazio Silone