Italy bids farewell to Stefano Benni, who has died at the age of 78. A writer, playwright and satirist, Benni captivated generations of readers with novels that became modern classics, including Bar Sport, The Company of Celestini, Saltatempo and Margherita Dolcevita.

Born in Bologna in 1947 and raised among the Apennine mountains, he often blurred truth and invention in recounting his life, claiming it was his way of protecting his privacy. To friends and readers he was simply “the Wolf”, a nickname inspired by nights spent howling with his dogs – “a beautiful nocturnal madness,” as he fondly recalled.

Throughout his career, Benni moved fluidly between literature, journalism, satire and theatre. He contributed to magazines such as Linus, Tango and Cuore, wrote for major newspapers and even collaborated with a young Beppe Grillo. In cinema, he directed Musica per vecchi animali (1989) and penned the screenplay for Topo Galileo (1987).

His imaginative and visionary writing, translated into more than thirty languages, combined fantasy with a sharp eye on society, offering readers stories that continue to resonate. On his seventieth birthday, when asked to take stock of his life, he replied with his trademark irony: “I don’t feel like making a balance sheet. Ask me again in seventy years.”