Ermanno Rea


Ermanno Rea was an Italian novelist, essayist and journalist.

Life and career

Rea was born in Naples. During World War II, he was a partisan of the Garibaldi Brigade "Gino Menconi". After the war, he started working as a journalist for a number of publications including L'Unità, Panorama, Il Giorno and Tempo Illustrato.
In 1996, Rea won the Viareggio Prize with the autobiographical novel Mistero napoletano; in 1999, he won the Campiello Prize with the novel Fuochi fiammanti a un'hora di notte. In 2008, he was a finalist for the Strega Prize with the novel Napoli ferrovia. His 2002 novel La dismissione was adapted into a film, The Missing Star, directed by Gianni Amelio.
Rea died on 13 September 2016 at the age of 89.