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Here is a short story about a very special person. We hope you will enjoy reading it.

Gabriele D'Annunzio, Italian poet, journalist, novelist, dramatist, political leader and war hero was born in Pescara, Abruzzo on March 12, 1863.

He was the son of a wealthy landowner and mayor of the town. His father's name was originally Francesco Paolo Rapagnetta (1838-1893). In 1851 father Francesco was adopted by his aunt and uncle Antonio and Anna Giuseppa D'Annunzio and later dropped the name Rapagnetta and only registered his children with the newly acquired last name D’Annunzio.
Gabriele was named after Antonio D'Annunzio's brother who died at sea before they legally adopted Francesco Paolo, Gabriele’s father. His beloved mother was Luisa De Benedictis originally from the nearby town of Ortona a Mare where she was born in 1839. She met Francesco Paolo Rapagnetta - D'Annunzio when she was 20 years old; they were lavishly married on May 3, 1858 and settled in the luxurious home located in Corso Manthone' in Pescara.

Gabriele's precocious talent was recognized early in life, and he was sent to school at the Liceo Cicognini in Prato, Tuscany. His father was a big promoter of his son's literary talent to the point of having in the four corners of his vaulted living room the titles painted of his son’s first works: Primo vere, Canto novo, Terra Vergine and Intermezzo di rime. He even financed the first two editions of Gabriele's first volume of verses Primo Vere that he wrote while still at school in 1879 at the age of sixteen. In 1881 D'Annunzio entered the University of Rome La Sapienza, where he became a member of various literary groups and wrote articles and critiques for local newspapers.

In 1883 D'Annunzio married Maria Hardouin di Gallese, and had three sons (Mario, Gabriellino and Ugo Veniero), but the marriage ended in 1891. A couple of years later, he had another child, a daughter Renata Anguissola from his relationship with Maria Gravina Cruyllas married to Guido Anguissola. In 1894 he began a love affair with the famous actress Eleonora Duse. He provided leading roles for her in his plays of the time notably the tragedies La Gioconda (performed in 1899) and Francesca da Rimini (performed in 1901), but the tempestuous relationship finally ended in 1910. D'Annunzio continued his prodigious literary production but all his successes failed to finance his extravagant lifestyle, and his indebtedness forced him to flee to France in 1910. When World War I broke out, he returned to Italy to passionately urge his country's entry into the war. After Italy declared war he plunged into the fighting himself, seeking out dangerous assignments in several branches of the service, finally in the air force, where he lost an eye in combat.

In 1919 with about 300 supporters, in defiance of the Treaty of Versailles, he occupied the Dalmatian port of Fiume (Rijeka in present-day Croatia), which the Italian government and the Allies were proposing to incorporate into the new Yugoslavian state but which D'Annunzio believed rightly belonged to Italy. D'Annunzio ruled Fiume as dictator until December 1920, at which time Italian military forces compelled him to abdicate his role. Nevertheless the port became Italian in 1924.

Although Mussolini was much influenced by the tactics of D'Annunzio, the writer never held an important post in the Fascist government. He retired to Gardone Riviera in Lombardy and wrote some memoirs and confessions. He died on March 1, 1938 of a stroke; upon his death a large mausoleum was constructed there to contain his remains. Gardone Riviera became not only his monument but a monument to Italian nationalism and one of Italy's most visited tourist sites known as Vittoriale degli Italiani (The shrine of Italian victories).

Learning about our origins can be an important legacy to our children, after all memories are not used to remember the lost time, but to start again, knowing that losing our roots inevitably leads to a loss in our identity as people who live, think and love.

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