Ada Negri was born in
Lodi, Italy on 3 February 1870. Her father, Giuseppe Negri, was a coachman, and her mother, Vittoria Cornalba, was a weaver. After her father's death in 1871, Negri's childhood was characterized by her relationship with her grandmother, Giuseppina "Peppina" Panni.Panni worked as a caretaker at the noble Barni family's palace, in which Negri spent much time alone, observing the passage of people as described in the autobiographical novel
Stella Mattutina (1921). She attended Lodi’s
normal school for girls and earned an elementary teacher’s diploma. At eighteen, she became a schoolteacher in the village of
Motta Visconti near the
Ticino river, in
Pavia. In her spare time, Negri would write poetry and submit it to local newspapers. Her early work appeared in the Milanese periodical ''L'Illustrazione Popolare.'' She was encouraged to continue her education by her teacher Paolo Tedeschi, who recognized her precocity and talent. Negri's inaugural volume of poetry,
Fatalità (1892), was well received by readers and critics, earning her the "Giannina Milli" prize which provided Negri with a small stipend.[https://artsandculture.google.com/story/ada-negri-biblioteca-sormani/cQUh2LI4qhN7KQ?hl=en These accomplishments led to an appointment as a professor at the normal school in
Milan. Here she became engaged to the young socialist intellectual Ettore Patrizi and met members of the
Italian Socialist Party, including
Filippo Turati,
Benito Mussolini, and
Anna Kuliscioff. Her second book of poems,
Tempeste (1896), was published the same year Negri broke off her engagement to Patrizi. who had fallen in love with Negri after reading her poetry. where she wrote her only novel, an autobiographical work titled
Stella Mattutina (
Morning Star). The book was published in 1921 and translated into English for publication in 1930. In March 1923, Negri began an extended stay on the island
Capri, where she wrote ''I canti dell'isola''. Mussolini nominated Negri for a 1927 Nobel prize, but it was subsequently won by fellow Italian poet
Grazia Deledda. During this period, Negri often stayed at
Palazzo Cornazzani in
Pavia, the same building
Ugo Foscolo,
Contardo Ferrini, and
Albert Einstein inhabited at different points in history. In 1940, Negri was admitted as the first female member of the
Italian Academy. However, this achievement stained her reputation later in life because members of the Academy had to swear loyalty to the
Fascist regime. They were rewarded by the government with various material benefits. Negri was one of the contributors to
Lidel, a nationalist women's magazine published between 1919 and 1935. ==Reception==