Born on October 15, 1923, in Santiago de Las Vegas, a suburb of Havana, Cuba, Calvino would grow to become one of the most celebrated Italian writers of the 20th century, renowned for his intricate storytelling and philosophical depth. Raised in Italy, he experienced firsthand the political upheavals and social transformations of the early 20th century, including the rise of fascism and the devastation of World War II. According to Calvino, his father was a former anarchist who emigrated to Mexico to join the Ministry of Agriculture. The family returned to Italy in 1925 and lived on a small working farm. The forests, plant life, and environments of this period of Calvino’s life can he found throughout his writing. With parents who were sympathetic to socialist and anarchist ideologies, Calvino grew up hating the fascist party of Benito Mussolini, which rose to power during Calvino’s youth and whose government defined much of his early childhood. He studied agriculture in Turin in the 1940s, hiding his desire to be a writer from his family.

After World War II, Calvino became interested in politics and joined the workers movement in Turin. He abandoned his agriculture studies and turned to the arts, writing stories and studying literature.