Nicola Chiaromonte, Mario Levi e l’esilio in terra francese

The essay reconstructs the exile in France of Nicola Chiaromonte and Mario Levi as paradigmatic examples of the complex redefinition of identity that accompanied 20thcentury exile. Anti-fascist militants of Giustizia e Libertà, they arrived in France in 1934. The experience of exile profoundly changed their intellectual personalities and also influenced their political positions. While Levi stayed in France during the war and joined the resistance, he decided to remain there even after the end of the conflict, assuming a new cultural identity, Chiaromonte emigrated to the USA after the occupation of France, although he eventually returned to Italy, but never managed to fully repatriate himself.