Background
In his early career, he wrote poetry--his Poemi lirici date from 1914--and he returned occasionally to verse-plays, literary criticism, and even history. As a scion of a wealthy and respected Bolognese family, Bacchelli was somewhat conservative in temperament; this is not to define his political attitudes but is apparent in his respect for tradition and his sense of the permanence of the past. He had German blood and Goethe was one of his idols; he translated Baudelaire.