Carlo Lorenzini died unaware of the fame that waited for his work; as in the allegory of the story, Pinocchio eventually went on to lead his own independent life, distinct from that of the author. Lorenzini (who wrote under the name Carlo Collodi) lived from 1826 until 1890. Near the end of his life, he became entranced by the idea of writing the tale of a puppet who had a heart and a mind -- Le avventure di Pinocchio, they called it as they published it in weekly installments in Il Giornale dei Bambini, the first Italian newspaper for children.

The Adventures of Pinocchio - by C. Collodi (Pseudonym of Carlo Lorenzini) - Translated from the Italian by Carol Della Chiesa - The Adventures of Pinocchio is a novel for children by Italian author Carlo Collodi, written in Pescia. A carpenter finds a talking piece of wood and gives it to his poor neighbor, Geppetto, who carves the block into a marionette and names him Pinocchio. Pinocchio runs away as soon as he learns to walk. The marionette is caught by a Carabiniere, who assumes Pinocchio has been mistreated and imprisons Geppetto. Pinocchio goes back to Geppetto's house where he...