Anna Maria Ortese

The Profile

Italian author and journalist known for the 1953 collection Il mare non bagna Napoli and for exploring the darker, dreamlike aspects of Naples in novellas and reportage.

Lived in Naples for over twenty years (per review). Il mare non bagna Napoli was published in 1953 and brought public attention and the Viareggio prize (per review). The reviewer also notes Ortese wrote Il porto di Toledo (1975) and worked as a journalist.

The review focuses on Ortese's Il mare non bagna Napoli (1953), portraying Naples as a landscape of post-war disillusionment and urban despair. Ortese is presented as both novelist and journalist, exploring dark, dreamlike corners of the city. The book won public attention and the Viareggio prize but also provoked controversy in Naples.