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{{Short description|Italian author and journalist}}
'''Tiziano Terzani''' (] ] - ] ]) was an Italian journalist and writer.
{{More footnotes|date=May 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{Infobox person
⚫ | name = Tiziano Terzani
| image =
| imagesize =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1938|9|14|df=y}}
| birth_place = ], ]
| death_date = {{death date and age|2004|7|28|1938|9|14|df=y}}
| death_place = ], ]
| nationality = Italian
| years_active = 1965–2003
}}


'''Tiziano Terzani''' ({{IPA|it|titˈtsjaːno terˈtsaːni|lang}}; 14 September 1938 – 28 July 2004) was an Italian ] and writer, best known for his extensive knowledge of 20th century ] and for being one of the very few western reporters to witness both the fall of ] to the hands of the ] and the fall of ] at the hands of the ] in the mid-1970s.
==Biography==


==Early life ==
Terzani was born in ] to poor working class parents. He attended the University of ] as a law student and pupil of ''Collegio Medico-Giuridico'' (now ]). After graduating, he worked for ], the office equipment producer. In 1965 he went on a business trip to ]. This was his first contact with ] and his first step towards his decision to change his life radically and explore Asia. During these years he again began writing for ]. He then resigned from Olivetti and moved to ] in order to study ] language and culture. Terzani was born in ] to poor working-class parents. His mother was a hatmaker and his father worked in a mechanic workshop. He attended the ] as a law student and studied at the prestigious ''Collegio Medico-Giuridico'' of the ], which today is ]. After graduating, he worked for ], an office equipment producer. In 1965 he went on a business trip to Japan. This was his first contact with Asia and his first step towards his decision to change his life radically and explore Asia. During these years he again began writing for '']''. He then resigned from Olivetti and moved to New York to study at ] at the ] in order to study Chinese language and culture.


==Career as a journalist==
After a first stint as journalist within ]'s ], in 1971 he moved to ] as a ], with his wife and their two small children, as the Asian correspondent for the German weekly ]. He then offered his collaboration to the Italian ] ] '']'' and '']''. In the meantime, on a semi-secret level, he sent regular information about East Asian politics to the ], which was headed by ]. After a first stint as a journalist with '']'', in 1971 he moved to ] as a ], with his German-descent wife, ], and their two small children, as the Asian correspondent for the German weekly '']''. He then offered his collaboration to the Italian daily newspapers '']'' and '']''. In the meantime, on a semi-secret level, he sent regular information about East Asian politics to the ], which was headed by ].


Terzani knew much about the historical and political background of Asia, but had also a deep interest in the philosophical aspects of Asian culture. Though an unbeliever, he always looked in his journeys for the spiritual aspects of the countries he was visiting. He lived in ], ], Singapore, ], ] and ] which became his second home. His stay in Beijing came to an end when he was arrested and expelled from the country for "] activities". Based on his experiences, he wrote ''La Porta Proibita'' (''Behind The Forbidden Door''), a highly critical book about post-] ]. Terzani knew much about the historical and political background of Asia but had also a deep interest in the philosophical aspects of Asian culture. Though an unbeliever, he always looked in his journeys for the spiritual aspects of the countries he was visiting. He lived for years at a time in Beijing, Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong, ] and New Delhi. While staying in Hong Kong working as a journalist, he had a name in Chinese, 鄧天諾 (Deng Tiannuo) (meaning: "heavenly/godly promise"). His stay in Beijing in the 1980s came to an end when he was arrested and expelled in 1984 from the country for "] activities".<ref>{{cite news |title=Tiziano Terzani |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1468408/Tiziano-Terzani.html |accessdate=28 June 2018 |date=2 August 2004}}</ref> He stopped using his Chinese name after this incident. Based on his experiences in China, he wrote ''La Porta Proibita'' (''Behind The Forbidden Door'').<ref>{{cite news |title=Illusione, disillusione e rigenerazione. Le guerre dell'Indocina nel percorso letterario e ideologico di Tiziano Terzani ricostruito da Luigi G. de Anna |url=https://www.academia.edu/40218332 |access-date=9 January 2020}}</ref>


==Books and essays==
Terzani's experiences in Asia are described in articles and essays in newspapers, as well as in the several books that he wrote. In his first book, ''Pelle di leopardo'' (''Leopard Skin'') (1973), he describes the last phases of the ]. Two years later he would face death when trying to document the new ]: the ] wanted to shoot him after his arrival in the border town of ], and he saved his life only by his knowledge of the ]. In what is perhaps his most well-known book, ''Un indovino mi disse'' (''A Fortune-Teller Told Me''), Terzani describes his travels across Asia by land and sea following the advice and warning from a fortune teller in ] that he avoid airplanes for a year. Terzani's experiences in Asia are described in articles and essays in newspapers, as well as in the several books that he wrote. In his first book, ''Pelle di leopardo'' (''Leopard Hide'') (1973), he describes the last phases of the ]. The following recollection, ''Giai Phong! The Fall and Liberation of Saigon'', recounts the takeover of Vietnam's capital by the ] and the scramble of the last Westerners to escape with American helicopters; he stayed there for some time and witnessed the changes. Two years later he nearly died while trying to document the new "]": the ] tried to execute him after his arrival in the border town of ], and he saved his life only by his knowledge of the ]. In what is perhaps his most well-known book, ''Un indovino mi disse'' (''A Fortune-Teller Told Me''), Terzani describes his travels across Asia by land and sea following the advice and warning from a fortune teller in Hong Kong that he must avoid aeroplanes for the whole year of 1993. One chapter of the book is entirely dedicated to ], a Polish traveller. ] wrote about this book "A great book written in the best traditions of literary journalism... profound, rich and reflective". Kapuściński and Terzani shared the same vision of journalism. <ref> in: ''Polish website dedicated to Tiziano Terzani'', partly in English, Polish, Italian and German</ref>
⚫ After ] he wrote ''Lettere contro la guerra'' (''Letters Against the War''). The book was born as a response to the anti-] invectives published by the Italian journalist and author ] on the daily ''Il Corriere della Sera'' on 29 September 2001.


==Final work and death==
⚫ In 1997, Terzani received the ''] Prize'' for his activities as a reporter. After ] he wrote ''Lettere contro la guerra'' (''Letters Against the War''). The book was born as a response to the anti-] invectives published by the Italian journalist and author ] on the daily ''Il Corriere della Sera'' on ] ].
In his last book ''Un altro giro di giostra'' (''One More Ride on the Merry-go-round''), in 2001, Terzani deals with his illness, a ] which eventually led to his death in 2004, but not before he had travelled and searched through countries and civilizations, looking for a cure and for a new vision of life. A short excerpt from his book: "...after a while, the goal of my journey was not the cure for my cancer anymore, but for the sickness which affects all of us: mortality". Terzani spent the early 2000s in confinement in the mountainous ] region, in a small hut that he rented in order to meditate and work on his books. He only seldom visited his family in Italy but had to desist from his isolation when his sickness advanced too much. He returned to Italy, spending the last months of his life with his wife and grown son in Orsigna, a little village in the ] in the province of ] that he considered "his true, last love".


⚫ Terzani died on 28 July 2004, aged 65. His last memories are recorded in an interview for Italian television entitled "Anam", an Indian word that literally means "the one with no name", an appellative he gained during an experience in an ] in India.
In his last book ''Un altro giro di giostra'' (''One More Ride on the Merry-go-round''), Terzani deals with his ], (a ]) which eventually led to his death, but not before he had travelled and searched through countries and civilizations, looking for a ] for his ] and for a new vision of life. A short excerpt from his book:
"...after a while, the goal of my ] was not the cure for my cancer anymore, bur for the sickness which affects all of us: ]"
He spent the last months of his life in ], a little village in the ] in the province of ] that he considered "his true, last love".


==Legacy and Biopic==
⚫ Terzani died on ] ]. His last memories are recorded in an interview for Italian television entitled "Anam", an Indian word that literally means "the one with no name", an appellative he gained during an experience in an ] in India.
His testament book ''La fine è il mio inizio'' (''The End Is My Beginning''), co-authored with his son ], was published posthumously in March 2006 and sold 400,000 copies in 4 months. According to ''The Times''<ref>{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} by Richard Owen, ''The Times'' of 12 August 2006</ref> its supposedly ] theme has been allegedly attacked by Vatican and certain Roman Catholic sources, such as the newspaper '']''. However, reading the articles related to Terzani in ''Avvenire'' shows just the contrary view: "Terzani is more Christian than a New Age guru".<ref> by Franco Cardini, ''Avvenire'' of 17 April 2011; see also below the quotation from ''Avvenire'' in reference to the film based on this book</ref> It is underlined there that his experiences as a student (''shishya'') in the ] of ] in 2004 have not persuaded him to "convert" to Hinduism, and that he was generally sceptical about New Age (e.g. in ''Un altro giro di giostra'', 2004).


His books have been translated into many languages: German, French, Polish, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Turkish, Slovenian, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Hungarian, and Romanian and published in India (in English), Thailand (English), Brazil (Portuguese) and Argentina (Spanish).
His testament-book ''La fine è il mio inizio'' (''The End Is My Beginning''), authored with his son Folco, was published posthumously in March 2006 and sold 400,000 copies in 4 months. Its ] theme has been attacked by Roman Catholic sources such as the newspaper '']''.


The film '']'' was based on the book of the same name, depicting his last days (summer 2004, when he succumbed to cancer), when he is narrating to his son Folco the adventures of his life, his travels, and his philosophical views on life and death.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://firenze.repubblica.it/dettaglio/Terzani-la-sua-vitaora-diventa-un-film/1705059?ref=rephp | title=Ganz to play Terzani (in Italian) | work=] | author=Mara Amorevoli | date=2009-08-27 | accessdate=2009-08-27}}</ref>
==Bibliography==
The role of the ailing, retired Terzani, now living in the mountains of Tuscany dressed and groomed just like an Indian ], is played by Swiss-German actor ] and that of his son by Italian actor ].<ref>{{IMDb title|1529292|The End Is My Beginning}}</ref> The film, an art-house German-Italian production, was not expected to be a blockbuster but received positive reviews in the European press. "In this film , your father has a Franciscan spirit in some ways... «I think it's a wonderful compliment. I understood what the Franciscan spirit really is by working alongside Mother Teresa in Calcutta, caring for the dying».<ref> by Luca Pellegrini, ''Avvenire'' of 26 March 2011.</ref>
*''Pelle di leopardo'', (''Leopard Skin'', 1973)

⚫ *''Giai Phong! La liberazione di Saigon'' (''Giai Phong! The Fall and Liberation of Saigon'', 1975)
==Books published in English==
*''Holocaust in Cambodia'' (1981)
* ''Giai Phong! The Fall and Liberation of Saigon'' (''Giai Phong! La liberazione di Saigon'', 1976, reprinted also in Thailand in 1997 as ''Saigon 1975: Three Days and Three Months'')
*''La Porta Proibita'' (''Behind The Forbidden Door: Travels in Unknown China'', 1985)
* ''Behind The Forbidden Door: Travels in Unknown China'' (''La porta proibita'', 1985)<ref name="terzani">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/forbiddendoor00terz|title=The Forbidden Door|date=1985|publisher=Asia 2000 Ltd|author=Tiziano Terzani|via=]}}</ref>
*''Buonanotte, signor Lenin'' (''Goodnight, Mr Lenin: A Journey Through the End of the Soviet Empire'', 1992) * ''Goodnight, Mr Lenin: A Journey Through the End of the Soviet Empire'' (''Buonanotte, signor Lenin'', 1993)
*''Un indovino mi disse'' (''A Fortune-Teller Told Me: Earth-bound Travels in the Far East'', 1995) * ''A Fortune-Teller Told Me: Earth-bound Travels in the Far East'' (''Un indovino mi disse'', 1997)
⚫ *''In Asia'' (1998)
*''Lettere contro la guerra'' (''Letters Against the War'', 2002) * ''Letters Against the War'' (''Lettere contro la guerra'', 2002)
*''Un altro giro di giostra'' (''One More Ride on the Merry-go-round'', 2004) * ''One More Ride on the Merry-Go-Round'' (''Un altro giro di giostra'', 2016)

⚫ *''La fine è il mio inizio'' (2006)
==Books published in Italian==
⚫ *''Fantasmi: dispacci dalla Cambogia'' (2008)
* ''Pelle di leopardo. Diario vietnamita di un corrispondente di guerra 1972-1973'', 1973
⚫ * ''Giai Phong! La liberazione di Saigon'' (Giai Phon! The Liberation of Saigon), 1976
* ''La porta proibita'' (The Forbidden Door), 1984
* ''Buonanotte, signor Lenin'' (Goodnight Mr Lenin), 1992
* ''Un indovino mi disse'' (A Fortune Teller Told Me), 1995
⚫ * ''In Asia'' (Asia), 1998
* ''Lettere contro la guerra'' (Letters Against The War), 2002
* ''Un altro giro di giostra'' (One More Ride on the Merry-Go-Round), 2004
⚫ * ''La fine è il mio inizio'' (The End Is My Beginning), 2006
⚫ * ''Fantasmi: dispacci dalla Cambogia'' (Ghosts: Despatch from Cambogia), 2008
* ''Un’idea di destino: Diari di una vita straordinaria'' (An Idea of Destiny: Diaries of an Extraordinary Life), 2014

==References==
{{Reflist}}


==External links== ==External links==
* *
* in PDF, English * Letters against the war in PDF, English
*
*
*

{{Authority control}}


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Latest revision as of 13:37, 6 December 2024

Italian author and journalist
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (May 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Tiziano Terzani
Born(1938-09-14)14 September 1938
Florence, Italy
Died28 July 2004(2004-07-28) (aged 65)
Orsigna, Italy
NationalityItalian
Years active1965–2003

Tiziano Terzani (Italian: [titˈtsjaːno terˈtsaːni]; 14 September 1938 – 28 July 2004) was an Italian journalist and writer, best known for his extensive knowledge of 20th century East Asia and for being one of the very few western reporters to witness both the fall of Saigon to the hands of the Viet Cong and the fall of Phnom Penh at the hands of the Khmer Rouge in the mid-1970s.

Early life

Terzani was born in Florence to poor working-class parents. His mother was a hatmaker and his father worked in a mechanic workshop. He attended the University of Pisa as a law student and studied at the prestigious Collegio Medico-Giuridico of the Scuola Normale Superiore, which today is Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies. After graduating, he worked for Olivetti, an office equipment producer. In 1965 he went on a business trip to Japan. This was his first contact with Asia and his first step towards his decision to change his life radically and explore Asia. During these years he again began writing for l'Astrolabio. He then resigned from Olivetti and moved to New York to study at Columbia University at the School of International and Public Affairs in order to study Chinese language and culture.

Career as a journalist

After a first stint as a journalist with Il Giorno, in 1971 he moved to Singapore as a reporter, with his German-descent wife, Angela Staude, and their two small children, as the Asian correspondent for the German weekly Der Spiegel. He then offered his collaboration to the Italian daily newspapers Corriere della Sera and La Repubblica. In the meantime, on a semi-secret level, he sent regular information about East Asian politics to the Banca Commerciale Italiana, which was headed by Raffaele Mattioli.

Terzani knew much about the historical and political background of Asia but had also a deep interest in the philosophical aspects of Asian culture. Though an unbeliever, he always looked in his journeys for the spiritual aspects of the countries he was visiting. He lived for years at a time in Beijing, Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok and New Delhi. While staying in Hong Kong working as a journalist, he had a name in Chinese, 鄧天諾 (Deng Tiannuo) (meaning: "heavenly/godly promise"). His stay in Beijing in the 1980s came to an end when he was arrested and expelled in 1984 from the country for "counter-revolutionary activities". He stopped using his Chinese name after this incident. Based on his experiences in China, he wrote La Porta Proibita (Behind The Forbidden Door).

Books and essays

Terzani's experiences in Asia are described in articles and essays in newspapers, as well as in the several books that he wrote. In his first book, Pelle di leopardo (Leopard Hide) (1973), he describes the last phases of the Vietnam War. The following recollection, Giai Phong! The Fall and Liberation of Saigon, recounts the takeover of Vietnam's capital by the Vietcong and the scramble of the last Westerners to escape with American helicopters; he stayed there for some time and witnessed the changes. Two years later he nearly died while trying to document the new "Democratic Kampuchea": the Khmer Rouge tried to execute him after his arrival in the border town of Poipet, and he saved his life only by his knowledge of the Chinese language. In what is perhaps his most well-known book, Un indovino mi disse (A Fortune-Teller Told Me), Terzani describes his travels across Asia by land and sea following the advice and warning from a fortune teller in Hong Kong that he must avoid aeroplanes for the whole year of 1993. One chapter of the book is entirely dedicated to Ferdynand Ossendowski, a Polish traveller. Ryszard Kapuściński wrote about this book "A great book written in the best traditions of literary journalism... profound, rich and reflective". Kapuściński and Terzani shared the same vision of journalism. After 9/11 he wrote Lettere contro la guerra (Letters Against the War). The book was born as a response to the anti-Islamic invectives published by the Italian journalist and author Oriana Fallaci on the daily Il Corriere della Sera on 29 September 2001.

Final work and death

In his last book Un altro giro di giostra (One More Ride on the Merry-go-round), in 2001, Terzani deals with his illness, a bowel cancer which eventually led to his death in 2004, but not before he had travelled and searched through countries and civilizations, looking for a cure and for a new vision of life. A short excerpt from his book: "...after a while, the goal of my journey was not the cure for my cancer anymore, but for the sickness which affects all of us: mortality". Terzani spent the early 2000s in confinement in the mountainous Himalayas region, in a small hut that he rented in order to meditate and work on his books. He only seldom visited his family in Italy but had to desist from his isolation when his sickness advanced too much. He returned to Italy, spending the last months of his life with his wife and grown son in Orsigna, a little village in the Apennine Mountains in the province of Pistoia that he considered "his true, last love".

Terzani died on 28 July 2004, aged 65. His last memories are recorded in an interview for Italian television entitled "Anam", an Indian word that literally means "the one with no name", an appellative he gained during an experience in an ashram in India.

Legacy and Biopic

His testament book La fine è il mio inizio (The End Is My Beginning), co-authored with his son Folco, was published posthumously in March 2006 and sold 400,000 copies in 4 months. According to The Times its supposedly New Age theme has been allegedly attacked by Vatican and certain Roman Catholic sources, such as the newspaper Avvenire. However, reading the articles related to Terzani in Avvenire shows just the contrary view: "Terzani is more Christian than a New Age guru". It is underlined there that his experiences as a student (shishya) in the ashram of Swami Dayananda in 2004 have not persuaded him to "convert" to Hinduism, and that he was generally sceptical about New Age (e.g. in Un altro giro di giostra, 2004).

His books have been translated into many languages: German, French, Polish, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Turkish, Slovenian, Japanese, Chinese, Russian, Hungarian, and Romanian and published in India (in English), Thailand (English), Brazil (Portuguese) and Argentina (Spanish).

The film The End Is My Beginning was based on the book of the same name, depicting his last days (summer 2004, when he succumbed to cancer), when he is narrating to his son Folco the adventures of his life, his travels, and his philosophical views on life and death. The role of the ailing, retired Terzani, now living in the mountains of Tuscany dressed and groomed just like an Indian sadhu, is played by Swiss-German actor Bruno Ganz and that of his son by Italian actor Elio Germano. The film, an art-house German-Italian production, was not expected to be a blockbuster but received positive reviews in the European press. "In this film , your father has a Franciscan spirit in some ways... «I think it's a wonderful compliment. I understood what the Franciscan spirit really is by working alongside Mother Teresa in Calcutta, caring for the dying».

Books published in English

  • Giai Phong! The Fall and Liberation of Saigon (Giai Phong! La liberazione di Saigon, 1976, reprinted also in Thailand in 1997 as Saigon 1975: Three Days and Three Months)
  • Behind The Forbidden Door: Travels in Unknown China (La porta proibita, 1985)
  • Goodnight, Mr Lenin: A Journey Through the End of the Soviet Empire (Buonanotte, signor Lenin, 1993)
  • A Fortune-Teller Told Me: Earth-bound Travels in the Far East (Un indovino mi disse, 1997)
  • Letters Against the War (Lettere contro la guerra, 2002)
  • One More Ride on the Merry-Go-Round (Un altro giro di giostra, 2016)

Books published in Italian

  • Pelle di leopardo. Diario vietnamita di un corrispondente di guerra 1972-1973, 1973
  • Giai Phong! La liberazione di Saigon (Giai Phon! The Liberation of Saigon), 1976
  • La porta proibita (The Forbidden Door), 1984
  • Buonanotte, signor Lenin (Goodnight Mr Lenin), 1992
  • Un indovino mi disse (A Fortune Teller Told Me), 1995
  • In Asia (Asia), 1998
  • Lettere contro la guerra (Letters Against The War), 2002
  • Un altro giro di giostra (One More Ride on the Merry-Go-Round), 2004
  • La fine è il mio inizio (The End Is My Beginning), 2006
  • Fantasmi: dispacci dalla Cambogia (Ghosts: Despatch from Cambogia), 2008
  • Un’idea di destino: Diari di una vita straordinaria (An Idea of Destiny: Diaries of an Extraordinary Life), 2014

References

  1. "Tiziano Terzani". 2 August 2004. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
  2. "Illusione, disillusione e rigenerazione. Le guerre dell'Indocina nel percorso letterario e ideologico di Tiziano Terzani ricostruito da Luigi G. de Anna". Retrieved 9 January 2020.
  3. RYSZARD KAPUŚCIŃSKI & TIZIANO TERZANI in: Polish website dedicated to Tiziano Terzani, partly in English, Polish, Italian and German
  4. A bestseller, but not to Catholic tastes by Richard Owen, The Times of 12 August 2006
  5. Terzani, più cristiano che guru new age by Franco Cardini, Avvenire of 17 April 2011; see also below the quotation from Avvenire in reference to the film based on this book
  6. Mara Amorevoli (27 August 2009). "Ganz to play Terzani (in Italian)". La Repubblica. Retrieved 27 August 2009.
  7. The End Is My Beginning at IMDb
  8. Ganz: «Il mio Terzani e il tabù della morte» by Luca Pellegrini, Avvenire of 26 March 2011.
  9. Tiziano Terzani (1985). The Forbidden Door. Asia 2000 Ltd – via Internet Archive.

External links

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