Gabriele D'Annunzio

March 12, 1863 — Pescara, Abruzzo, Italy

Gabriele D'Annunzio (1863-1938), born Gaetano Rapagnetto d'Annunzio, was an Italian poet, playwright, orator, journalist, aristocrat, and army officer during World War I. He occupied a prominent place in Italian literature and political life. He was often referred to under the epithets Il Vate ("the Poet") or Il Profeta ("the Prophet"). He is best known for his novels Il Piacere (1889), L'Innocente (1892), poetry collection Alcyone (1903) and his contribution to silent film epic Cabiria (1914), for which he wrote all of the intertitles, named the characters and the movie itself.