Childhood Ion Pillat was born on 31 March 1891, in Bucharest. The Pillats were an old family of free farmers, originally from the
Prut River valley. His father, Ion N. Pillat, was a landowner and parliamentarian. His mother, Maria Brătianu, was the second daughter of the political leader
Ion C. Brătianu. His elementary education took place in the town of
Pitești. In 1910, he enrolled in a student at the
Sorbonne, where he studied mainly literature, history and geography, but he also studied law.
Titu Maiorescu published some of his poems in 1911 in
Convorbiri Literare. In 1912, while on holiday in Bucharest, he met
Alexandru Macedonski, to whom he published the volume
Flori sacre. Ion Pillat, together with
Horia Furtună, founded the collection White Books, in which the poets of the time were to be published; the debut volume of the entire collection was Sacred Flowers.
Adolescence and studies in France At the age of fourteen, he finished a course of study at
Saint Sava National College in Bucharest. His mother brought him, together with his younger brother Niculae and younger sister Pia, to study at the
Lycée Henri-IV in Paris, living on the
Boulevard Saint-Michel. During a trip to
Chartres Cathedral, inspired by the
gothic architecture, he composed his first poem, În catedrală ("In the cathedral"). He enrolled in the Sorbonne to study liberal arts and law, obtaining degrees in 1913 and 1914, respectively. == References ==