Mario Tobino

Mario Tobino (16 January 1910, Viareggio, Province of Lucca, Tuscany – 11 December 1991, Agrigento) was an Italian poet, writer and psychiatrist.

A prolific writer, he began as a poet but later wrote mostly novels. His works are characterized by a strong autobiographical inspiration and usually deal with social and psychological themes.

Education Mario Tobino completed his degree in medicine in 1936, after which he embarked on a career that centred on the mental hospital setting, treating people with mental disabilities.

Medical career Mario Tobino's work took him to Libya in June 1940. He worked as a doctor in Libya until October 1941, when war broke out in the country and he had to flee. His experience of Libya was recorded in the book Il deserto della Libia, which came out in 1952.

In 2015, Staging Memory by Stefania Del Monte dedicated a whole section to the book.

After returning from Libya, Tobino took the job of doctor in the Mental Hospital of Lucca. He worked in the hospital for over four decades. Le libere donne di Magliano (1953) - The Women of Magliano, trans. Archibald Colquhoun (Putnam's, 1954) Il Clandestino (1962) - The Underground, trans. Raymond Rosenthal (Heinemann, 1966)