(July 14th, 1916 — October 7th, 1991)

Natalia Ginzburg (née Levi) was an Italian author, activist, and politician.

Ginzburg was born in Sicily and raised in Turin. Because of her father‘s active position as a professor at the University of Turin, she was exposed to intellectuals, activists, and industrialists throughout her childhood. By seventeen, she had published her first story.

In 1938, she married her first husband, Leone Ginzburg. When he was internally exiled for anti-fascist activities during World War I, she and their three children lived with him. She and her husband returned to Rome to continue their anti-fascist activities. Her husband was arrested there and tortured to death while incarcerated.

Ginzburg continued to write during and after the war, and her novels received much critical acclaim. She won several awards, including the Strega Prize and the Bagutta Prize. On her second marriage in 1950, she moved to Rome and became immersed in the culture of the city.

She continued her activism and her political work throughout her life. In 1983, she was elected to the Italian Parliament as an independent.

Ginzburg died of cancer at age 75.