Carlo Collodi is the pen name of Italian author Carlo Lorenzini, creator of the beloved children s character, Pinocchio. A Tuscan who fought in Italy s wars of unification, Collodi was already a famous novelist and popular translator of French fairy tales when he began to contribute chapters in the life of a marionette to Italy s first newspaper for children, Il Giornale per i Bambini. The adventures of the disobedient puppet were an immediate success and Pinocchio s story has been translated and adapted numerous times, including the classic 1940 animated production from Walt Disney. Collodi died in 1890.