Gerolamo Rovetta

Born in Brescia on November 30, 1851, Gerolamo Rovetta became an Italian novelist, short-story writer, and playwright whose career was centered largely in Milan. Reference works describe him as a successful popular author, especially known for fiction and drama that closely watched the manners, ambitions, and moral weaknesses of contemporary society.

Among his best-known works are the novel Mater dolorosa (1882), which brought him early success, and later books such as La baraonda, Il tenente dei lancieri, and La signorina. For the stage, he wrote plays including La trilogia di Dorina, I disonesti, and Romanticismo, the last of which became especially famous for its patriotic evocation of the Risorgimento.

Critics have often linked Rovetta to verismo, noting how his writing mixed social observation with disillusionment about the ideals of united Italy and the world of the Lombard bourgeoisie. He died in Milan on May 8, 1910, leaving an unfinished novel.