In order to identify the complex cultural atmosphere of the first half of the twentieth century in Italy, one must delve beyond a consideration of the great "movements" and of the leading personalities of the period. Marginal figures must also be counted, particularly those who have been omitted from previous inquiries into aesthetics and from the canonization of the critical tradition. Antonio Delfini no doubt embodies this forgotten and excluded tradition, for he is not found in anthologies or in broad historical categories such as literary movements and schools. Yet, his marginality conceals a deep meaning and interest, for he was in fact a keen interpreter of life in the Italian provinces during the first half of this century. As his works affirm, he effected a precise portrait of provincial life through surrealism and satire.

Delfini was born in Modena on 10 June 1907 into a family of landowners. Inexplicably...