Lydia Ugolini

Lydia Ugolini
Born	(1915-05-03)3 May 1915 Florence
Died	February 18, 1999(1999-02-18) (aged 83) Florence, Italy
Occupation	Writer
Nationality	Italian
Period	1953-1998
Genres	children's literature
Notable work(s)	The Story of a Rich Dog and A Poor Dog
Notable award(s)	Premio Vacanze (Recommended reading for children)
Spouse(s)	Gino Pavanello
Relative(s)	Luigi Ugolini (father), Maria Luisa Ugolini (sister), Vanna Bonta (niece)

Lydia Ugolini (May 3, 1915 – February 18, 1999) was an Italian author born in Florence, Italy. She published five children's novels.^[1]

Biography

Lydia Ugolini was the eldest daughter of seven children born to Florentine writer Luigi Ugolini.

She married Gino Pavanello, a nationally recognized photographer^[2] who had served with the Istituo LUCE during World War II. During the marriage, Ugolini lived in Turin and traveled with Pavanello, often to the Alps and mountains of Trieste. After five years of marriage, she was widowed in 1964 when she lost her husband to illness, and never remarried. They had no children.

She returned to live with her parents in Florence, where she devotedly cared for her father and his literary work for more than 20 years, until his death in 1980. Her father formally appointed her executrix of his literary and personal estate.

She continued to live and write in the residence in Florence, keeping her parent's room and belongings intact for nearly two more decades until her death in 1999. She willed her entire estate to Vanna Bonta, the daughter of her younger sister, fine arts painter Maria Luisa Ugolini. The transference included the executorship of the Luigi Ugolini literary estate.^[3]

Her body is interred in the Porte Sante (Holy Doors) cemetery at the Basilica di San Miniato al Monte, Florence.

Family Home

The Ugolini in Florence, Italy is listed in the city registry as a national monument. On December 11, 1993, a dedication ceremony by the Commune of Florence affixed a marble plaque to the Ugolini home, commemorating the years her father wrote there, declaring the house a national monument.^[4][5]

Work

Ugolini published five children's novels and was a popular contributor to Italy’s leading magazine for children, Il Corriere Dei Piccoli, La Nazione and other leading publications for many years.

The Italian National School Board unanimously voted Ugolini's Story of a Rich Dog and a Poor Dog a favorite. The story was selected for theater production in all Italian elementary schools.

She was active in Florentine literary circles and was a council member of the Florentine Chamber of Poets in the tradition of the Florentine Camerata. Some of her colleagues and contemporaries included poets Margherita Guidacci and Mario Luzi and painters Pietro Annigoni and Luciano Guarnieri.

Lydia Ugolini was recognized by the world of education as well as literature. Her novels are required reading selections in elementary school curricula.^[6][7] Her signature style was a blend of entertaining wisdom about life, ecology and timeless values in stories where she used the wonders of nature as metaphors. Ugolini often drew inspiration for her novels from the life of animals.

Published works

Library resources about Lydia Ugolini
Resources in your library Resources in other libraries
By Lydia Ugolini
Resources in your library Resources in other libraries

• Ugolini, Lydia (1972). Storia di un Cane Ricco e di un cane Povero (Story of a Rich Dog and a Poor Dog) (in Italian language). Paravia. 
• Ugolini, Lydia (1962). Cinque Bambini Nelle Nuvole (Five Children in the Clouds) (in Italian language). 
• Ugolini, Lydia (1955). Matusalemme Racconta (Matusalemme's Tale) (in Italian language). SEI (Società Editrice Internazionale). 
• Ugolini, Lydia (1955). Re Bubo Bubo (King Bubo Bubo) (in Italian language). Minerva Italica. 
• Ugolini, Lydia (1953). Cici Nel Regno di Oriol (CiCi in Oriol's Realm) (in Italian language). SEI (Società Editrice Internazionale). 

Translations

• Ugolini, Lydia (1997). The Story of a Rich Dog and a Poor Dog. Translated by Anna Taraboletti Segre. Meridian House. ISBN 0-912339-04-7. 

References

External links

• Open Library The Story of a Rich Dog and a Poor Dog, by Lydia Ugolini

Authority control VIAF: 58389821

Persondata
Name	Ugoini, Lydia
Alternative names
Short description	Italian author
Date of birth	May 3, 1915
Place of birth	Florence
Date of death	1997
Place of death	Florence