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Pellegrini was born in Valletta on the 12th April
1911 and educated at the Gozo Seminary (1920-21) the
Malta Lyceum (1921-27) and at the Royal University
of Malta (1930-37) where he graduated as a notary
public and as doctor of laws in 1937.
Pellegrini founded La Brigata, the Societa
Universitaria di Letteratura Italiana (1932) and
the institute of Cultural Exchanges (1957). He was
co-editor of the journal of the Malta University
Literary Society (1932)and founder of l'Isola
publishing house (1935). As honorary secretary of
the Notarial College (1938-50) he represented the
college at the National Assembly in 1943. He was a
PN candidate for the 1947 elections and editor of
the literary magazine La Crociata (1949)
Pellegrini was honorary secretary of the La Valette
band club (1953) and a member of the Rediffusion
Drama Advisory Panel (1956-57). He also served as
treasurer of the Manoel Theatre Management Committee
(1960-71) vice chairman of the Society of Arts,
Manufactures and Commerce (1980-85) and president of
the Folklore Society (1986-87).
Pellegrini is a member of the Accademia di
Filogia Classica, the International Academy for
Heraldic Studies, the Columbia Academy of St. Louis
(Missouri) and the Unione Poeti e Scrittori
Cattolici Italiani. He has published books of
poetry, dramas, radio plays, libretti for operas,
oratorios and essays in local and foreign papers and
in book form. For his contribution he was honoured
by the Italian government with a silver medal and
made a Cavalieri della Stella Solidarieta
Italiana for promoting musical art. He was also
general consul of the Royal House d'Este (Bavaria).
The Society of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce
awarded him a gold medal for his social, artistic
and literary activities in 1980.
Pellegrini studied literature and art but had a
special affection for Latin, French Italian, Spanish
and Maltese. He specialized mostly in Italian in
which he wrote his first books of poetry and prose.
His first poem in Maltese was published in 1932
while his first collection of poems in Italian
Pensieri, Accenti e Sillabe was published in
1933. He contributed regularly to periodicals in
Maltese and he was active in the creation of the
Movimento Neo-Rondista Italiano set up to combat
anti-classical and futuristic tendencies in Poetry.
Pellegrinis books in Maltese include Malta
Rebbieha (1952), Bjuda bil-Lejl (1955,
poetry), Marcellino Hobs u Nbid (1957 drama),
L-Epopea ta' Gensna (1971 narrative poem),
Xefaq bla Tmien (1975), San Vincenz Ferreri
(1982), Kwiekeb ta' Sliem (1984), Sultana
tal-Vittorji (1988), Taghrif fuq Injazju
Falzon (1987), and id-Dawl tad-Dinja
(1988). He also translated Diwi ta' Ilhna
(1984 poetry). He wrote several books of poetry,
drama and criticism in Italian.
Pellegrini married Josephine Calleja in 1939 and
they had a daughter Anita and two sons Franco and
Gabriel. |
