Pascale Dessanai

Dessanai plays an important role in the history of poetic production “in limba”, in particular for its maturation and the subsequent rejection of the linguistic stylistic and overly literary forms of Logudorese “archaic” poetry.
The strict rules by which up to the early 20th century one 'had' to write or sing poetry in Sardinian are contested in the famous sonnet 'Rebellion' (also known as 'A Lea'): 'Ma como istraccu de ti narrer dea/mi rebello a s'arcadica manner/ de ti cherrer amare chins' idea'. This awareness of overcoming poetry as a pastoral idyll, or empty metric exercise, makes Dessanai's work a turning point in poetry in the Sardinian language, especially for this transition from illustrious Logudorese to the natural variant of Nuoro.
There is a complete monograph on the life, figure and work of Pascale Dessanai, published in 2000 by Giancarlo Porcu. He was born in Nuoro in 1868 and died in 1919, almost in forced exile, in Uras. He does not have an easy life both because of his humble origins and because of his political ideas. He lives thanks to his profession as an employee (which does not satisfy him), but he actively participates in the political and cultural events of his time.
A small mystery hangs over the origin of the surname Dessanai, as his father, who had emigrated from the village of Laconi, was called Luigi Sanna. According to contemporary journalist Stanis Manca, Dessanai was “a mysterious character, phenomenally thin and poorly dressed.” According to Grazia Deledda, “a famous Sardinian vernacular poet, poor employee, half crazy.” He was a friend of the painter Antonio Ballero and with his graphic contribution he composed the lyric 'Cherrende'.
The first collection of verses, published at only 21 years old, is entitled 'Néulas' and is still linked to the mannerism of the illustrious Logudorese. He was arrested for a short time, because of the too explicit verses written on the occasion of the assassination of King Umberto I. He is very sensitive to the problems of ordinary people and is a follower of anticlericalism. His verses are a real act of denouncing the civil and administrative corruption of Sardinia in general, and of Nuoro in particular, of those years. It should be noted, as an important work, “Sa Morte de Pettenaju”, a colorful fresco

by Nuoro of that time.

Update

4/3/2025 - 19:37