Enzo Bettiza

Biography

Bettiza was born in Dalmatia, then part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, in a rich Italian-Croatian family. His mother stemmed from a family of the Croatian isle of Brač. His family owned the most important enterprise in Dalmatia, the Gilardi e Bettiza cement factory, in the city of Split. In 1941 Axis Powers Italy and Germany invaded Yugoslavia. During Italian occupation, Bettiza's father helped many Croatian people during the war and took many of them out of Fascist prison. Enzo's cousin Pietro threw a bomb on the Italian army band, since they played Fascist marches, while Enzo himself boycotted Fascist gatherings and organizations. In 1944 the city was again rejoined to Croatia in new Yugoslavia. Many Italian families left already after the fall of Mussolini, after they realized that things were going badly in the country. Some Italian and mixed remained, part of them used the opportunity to opt for Italian citizenship. New authorities were interested in dealing with those who were collaborating with the occupiers, and all others whom they considered as the "enemy of people", either Croats, Italians or others. Their assets were nationalized. Bettiza moved to Gorizia after the end of World War II and the re-annexation of his native land to Croatia, at the age of 18. Later he moved to Trieste, and then to Milan: here he always declared to be living as "an exiled".

Bettiza has been director of several Italian newspaper and author of numerous books. as a journalist he devoted his attention to Eastern European countries and nationalities, and Southeastern Europe, Yugoslavian area in particular.

In the period 1957-1965 he was foreign correspondent for the newspaper La Stampa, first from Vienna and then from Moscow. Later he moved to Corriere della Sera, for which he worked for ten years.

In 1974, together with Indro Montanelli, founded the Milanese newspaper il Giornale nuovo, for which he was co-director until 1983.

Starting from 1976, he was member of the Italian Senate and the European Parliament. He lived in Rome with his family and was married a few times. His last wife, Laura Laurenzi, is an Italian writer.

Bettiza's major novel, I fantasmi di Mosca (Phantoms of Moscow) is credited as the most extended published novel written in Italian language.

He died on 29 July 2017 at the age of 90.

Awards and medals

Croatian President Stipe Mesić awarded him with "Red Danice hrvatske s likom Marka Marulića", after the proposal of the journalists from Split.