Carlo Levi

Who was Carlo Levi?

Dr. Carlo Levi was an Italian-Jewish painter, writer, activist, anti-fascist, and doctor.

He is best known for his book Cristo si è fermato a Eboli, published in 1945, a memoir of his time spent in exile in Lucania, Italy, after being arrested in connection with his political activism. In 1979, the book became the basis of a movie of the same name, directed by Francesco Rosi. Lucania, now called Basilicata, was historically one of the poorest and most backward regions of the impoverished Italian south. Levi's lucid, non-ideological and sympathetic description of the daily hardships experienced by the local peasants helped to propel the "Problem of the South" into national discourse after the end of World War II.