Ferdinando Martini
Introduction '''Ferdinando Martini''' (30 July 1840 – 24 April 1928) was an Italian writer and politician. He was governor of Eritrea for from late 1897 to early 1907.
Biography Born in Florence, he worked as journalist and writer. He collaborated with ''Il Fanfulla'' and in 1879 he founded the ''Fanfulla della domenica'' literary supplement, for which he was editor until 1882; he was also editor of ''La Domenica letteraria'' from 1882 until 1885 and professor at the University of Pisa. He founded ''Giornale per i bambini'' in 1881 and was its editor until 1883.In 1876 he was elected to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Italy, a position he held for 43 years. He was Minister of the Colonies in the Salandra I and Salandra II cabinets, and Minister of the Public Instruction in the first Giolitti cabinet. Martini was also governor of Eritrea from 1897 to 1907, a country that received the name from him.On 1 March 1923 he was appointed to the Senate of the Kingdom of Italy. In 1925 he was one of the signers of Giovanni Gentile's ''Manifesto'' of the Fascist intellectuals.In 1920 he wrote his famous literary masterpiece, about his years as governor of Eritrea:''Il Diario Eritreo''.He died at Monsummano Terme in 1928.
Awards  *100px  Cavaliere dell' ''Ordine dei Santi Maurizio e Lazzaro''*100px  Commendatore dell' ''Ordine della Corona d'Italia''	*100px  Cavaliere dell' ''Ordine Civile di Savoia''
Literary works  *''Chi sa il gioco non l'insegni. Proverbio in un atto in versi'', Pisa, 1871*''Ad una donna. Versi'', Venezia, Visentini, 1872*''Il primo passo e' quello dell' uscio''. Milano, 1874. *''Fra un sigaro e l'altro: chiacchiere di Fantasio'', Milano, G. Brigola, 1876	*''Cose africane, da Saati ad Abba Carima, discorsi e scritti'',  Milano, F.lli Treves, 1896*''Confessioni e ricordi'', Firenze, Bemporad, 1922 (e successive edizioni)*''Lettere (1860-1928)'', Milano, Mondadori, 1934*''Nell'Affrica italiana'', Milano, Treves, 1891*''Il Quarantotto in Toscana''. Firenze, Bemporad, 1918. * ''Il Diario Eritreo''. Roma. Vallecchi editore. 1920. *''A Pieriposa, novella antica''. Milano, Treves, 1923.==Notes==
Sources *Piero Buscioni. ''A Ferdinando Martini nel centenario della nascita''. Monsummano Terme, 1941
External links *