Verismo (literature)

Verismo (Italian for 'realism', from vero, 'true') was an Italian literary movement which peaked between approximately 1875 and the early 1900s. Sicilian writers Giovanni Verga, Luigi Capuana and Federico De Roberto were its main exponents. Capuana published the novel Giacinta, generally regarded as the "manifesto" of Italian verismo. Unlike French naturalism, which was based on positivistic ideals, Verga and Capuana rejected claims of the scientific nature and social usefulness of the movement. D. H. Lawrence was influenced by Italian verismo, and translated several of Verga's works into English.