Delio Tessa, one of Italy's best-known dialect poets, was born in Milan on 18 November 1886 to Senio and Clara Besozzi Tessa. Senio Tessa was a bookkeeper. The young Delio attended the classical high school that was the most prestigious among middle-class, well-to-do families: the Liceo Beccaria. Subsequently he obtained a degree in law from the Università di Padova (Padua), was a lawyer without enthusiasm, and even became a justice of the peace.

During the 1920s Milan was still the official focal point of Italian culture and the cradle of almost every novelty. Arrigo Boito represented the heritage of the scapigliatura (free and easy) movement; the Italian theater had artists such as Marco Praga, Gabriele D'Annunzio, and Luigi Pirandello. Futurism was organizing its most provocative meetings and raising its popularity, despite the indignant reaction of much of the public.

Tessa lived detached from everything; he did not attend any...