Bolaffio, Luigi Filippo

Italian journalist and publisher; born in Venice 1846, died at Milan 1901. While he was still a youth his parents moved to Genoa, and there Bolaffio founded "La Favilla," a literary magazine. He returned to Venice in 1866 and became a contributor to the "Rinnovamento" and "Venezia." In 1880 he went to Milan, where he edited the political newspaper "L'Italia." Owing to differences with the publishers, he abandoned this, and founded the "Caffè, Gazzetta Nazionale," which he afterward disposed of to a syndicate holding monarchic but liberal views. The "Gazzetta Nazionale" reflected the opinions of the Lombard aristocracy. Bolaffio's political utterances involved him in many duels, in one of which, with Marin, the socialist and member of the Italian Parliament, he wounded his opponent almost mortally.

On the death of one of his little sons, Bolaffio retired from politics and founded the well-known Milan publishing-house, the Casa Editrice Verri, which issues "Il Mondo Umoristico" and many other popular journals.

During the past twenty years Bolaffio, in conjunction with his wife (Sulamith, the daughter of Baer Jolles of Berlin), wrote sixteen volumes of guide-books on Italy, Switzerland, and Paris, issued by Treves Brothers, Turin. Many of them have been translated into French, English, and German. Bolaffio was also the author of "II 14 Giugno, 1859," a historical memoir, Venice, 1867, and "Augusta," a novel, Milan, 1888.

Bibliography:

  * Boccardo, Nuova Enciclopedia Italiana, vol. ii. Supplement, 1891.



S.A. P.