author
Emilio Praga
1839–1875
A restless voice of Milan’s bohemian world, this Italian poet, painter, and librettist helped shape the rebellious spirit of the Scapigliatura movement. His work mixes beauty, unease, and sharp modern feeling in a way that still feels striking today.
1 Audiobook
Memorie del Presbiterio: Scene di Provincia
by Emilio Praga
About the author
Born near Milan in 1839, Emilio Praga grew up in a cultivated, well-off family and first devoted himself to painting before becoming known as a writer. He moved in the artistic circles of Milan and became one of the best-known figures of the Scapigliatura, a loose, anti-conformist movement that pushed back against the cultural respectability of its time.
Praga wrote poetry, fiction, and librettos, and his books include Tavolozza, Penombre, and Fiabe e leggende. Readers often remember him for the way his writing brings together a painter’s eye, a lyrical voice, and a taste for the strange, the modern, and the emotionally unsettled.
His life was short—he died in Milan in 1875—but his reputation endured as part of the literary and artistic ferment of 19th-century Lombardy. He is also remembered as the father of Marco Praga, who later became a notable dramatist.