D'Annunzio
GABRIELE (dänön'tsē-ō), an Italian novelist and poet; born at sea in 1864. He studied law in Pisa, but in 1885 took up literature. He wrote "Italy" and other poems, besides novels of pessimist tendency. "The Triumph of Death," published 1895, won DANTE ALIGHIERI him international fame. In 1899 he was elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies. When Italy entered the World War he enlisted in the Aviation Corps, was promoted to a lieutenancy and received the croix de guerre for bravery. After the Peace of 1919, dissatisfied with the GABRIELE D'ANNUNZIO award of Fiume to Jugoslavia, and supported by some military and naval contingents, he took possession of the city and instituted a local government. On Sept. 9, 1920, he proclaimed Fiume an independent state, but abandoned the city of Fiume in December, following the agreement of Rapollo. He was the author of many successful plays. Notable are "The Dead City) (1898); "La Gioconda" (1898); "Francesca da Rimini" (1901); "Juno's Daughter" (1904); "Fedra" (1909). His later fiction includes "Novella della Pescara" (1902); "Le Chèvrefeuille" (1913), etc.