Italo Calvino, a renowned Italian novelist and journalist, passed away on September 19th, 1985, at the age of 61. Born in Santiago de Las Vegas near Havana in Cuba on October 15th, 1923, he went to Turin in 1943 for his university studies when he was a teenager, attending courses on Republican history and legislation at the University of Turin. After WWII, as a member of the anti-fascist movement, he published his first piece of literary work, a short story entitled “I Mille Personaggi”. His subsequent work, “The Baron in The Trees” (1957), gained Calvino international recognition and was followed by titles such as “The Non-Existent Knight” (1959), “The Cloven Viscount” (1961) and “Cosmicomics” (1965). His works span across various genres and dealt with topics such as fantasy and intertextuality, while employing a distinctive, simple and ironic style. In total, Calvino wrote more than 30 books and had a broad influence over contemporary literature with his work being read in more than 15 countries. He was a major part of the group of Italian writers in the 1950s and 60s referred to as “Il Miglior Fabbro”. Calvino was also awarded several prestigious awards, such as the Prix Formentor for Scandale Volontaire in 1975, the Viareggio Prize for Marcovaldo in 1978 and the Palazzo Vecchio Prize in 1982. He will be remembered for his amazing contributions to literature.