Tonino Gottarelli

Writer-painter Tonino Gottarelli was born in Imola. At the age of twenty, he wrote the novel L'ideale (The Ideal), which was published during his military service in Parma, in 1942. A year later, the book Il gioco del solitario (The Game of Solitaire) was published in Imola. He began to paint around the 1950s. In 1953, he published La pioggia in città (The rain in the city) and the following year Dove abito io (Where I live), then, E di alberi non si è detto ancora nulla. In 1960, he won the Cervia Prize with the collection of poems Yesterday and Today. On this occasion he made the acquaintance of literary critic Giacinto Spagnoletti, president of the jury together with Giuseppe Ungaretti. In 1969 he published Pomeriggio degli avverbi and La botte di Diogene. In 1971 the book of poems 'La bambina e la rivoluzione', with an introduction by Giacinto Spagnoletti. The first personal exhibition held in Faenza (RA) dates back to 1960, followed by 1966 and 1967 in Paris. In 1973, he published the novel L'amore al rallentatore (Love in Slow Motion) and began writing a collection of philosophical-loving letters entitled Lettere Inutili. In 1989, he published the poetry collection Vita di un'idea with which he won the first Lions Club prize in Milan. This was followed by Riassunto del cielo and Pensieri in prospettiva. In 1995, he published Musa a domicilio. In the meantime, he held exhibitions in Italy and abroad. In 2002, he created the Fondazione Centro Studi that bears his name and has the main task of promoting and interpreting his poetic and pictorial journey.