Silvio Pellico

Born in Saluzzo in 1789, Silvio Pellico became an important figure in early 19th-century Italian literary and political life. He wrote poetry and plays, and his tragedy Francesca da Rimini helped establish his reputation as a dramatist.

Pellico was also involved in the patriotic circles that fed the movement for Italian unification. In 1820 he was arrested by the Austrian authorities for alleged ties to the Carbonari, and he spent years in prison, including confinement in the fortress of Spielberg.

After his release, he wrote Le mie prigioni (My Prisons), published in 1832. The book is remembered for its calm, humane account of imprisonment and became one of the works most closely associated with the Risorgimento, making Pellico one of the best-known literary voices of that era.