[4] An account at the seminary shows that the marchese had offered financial aid, but the boy found that he did not want to be a priest so he continued his education at the College of the Scolopi Fathers in Florence.

[6] In 1844, he started working at the Florentine bookstore Libreria Piatti, where he assisted Giuseppe Aiazzi, a prominent Italian manuscript specialist.

His active interest in political matters can be seen in his earliest literary works, as well as in the founding of the satirical newspaper Il Lampione in 1853.

[1] Collodi had also begun intense activity on other political newspapers such as Il Fanfulla; at the same time he was employed by the Censorship Commission for the Theatre.

[4] In 1875, for instance, he completed Racconti delle fate, a translation of French fairy tales by Charles Perrault.

[1] Lorenzini became fascinated by the idea of using an amiable, rascally character as a means of expressing his own convictions through allegory.