Carlo Lorenzi, better known by his pen name Carlo Collodi, was an Italian author and journalist, best known as the author of the fairy tale Pinocchio. Born in Florence in 1826, Collodi took his pen name from the name of his mother’s home town. He was active in political circles, volunteering for the Tuscan army during the Italian Wars of Independence, and founding several satirical newspapers. After becoming disenchanted with politics, he turned to children’s literature, publishing Pinocchio in serial form in 1880.Collodi enjoyed huge success with Pinocchio, which went on to become the world’s third most translated book.