(Alessandria, 1917 – Rome 2009), essayist and narrator, historian and entertainment critic, is Professor Emeritus of Film History and Criticism at La Sapienza University of Rome. He edited the magazines "Bianco e Nero," "Cinematica," "Teatro Contemporaneo," "Cinema educatif et Culturel" (Paris-Rome), and "Écrans du Mond/World Screen" (Paris-London). His numerous publications on popular entertainment, cinema, and avant-garde theater, with a particular focus on Futurism, of which he is an internationally recognized historian, include: Intellectuals and cinema (1952) Cinema and literature of Futurism (1967) Theater of the Futurist Time (1969) The scene and the costume in the film (1956) Italian avant-garde theatre (1970) What is Futurism? (1970) lubitsch (1971) Futurist prose and criticism (1973) Avant-garde poems and film scenarios (1975) The historical avant-gardes of cinema (1975) The Italian Futurists (1978) Twentieth Century Theatre (1981) Contemporary theatre (three volumes and five appendices, 1982 and following). The works on Futurism culminated in 1990-91 in Parafuturist diary, The Bragaglia brothers, Steel imagery, Theatrical avant-garde e The Bragaglia Art House.
The Mario Verdone Fund, donated to the Foundation in 1987, is divided into the following sections: Manuscripts, which includes manuscript and typewritten material of various kinds, attributable to authors linked to the Avant-garde period and in particular to Futurism: Chiti, Ginna, Govoni, Marinetti, Settimelli. It ranges from Marinetti's essay on Total theater to Govoni's theatrical texts, from Ginna's autographed notebook to Life makes itself by Chiti, with an introduction by Verdone; Library, which hosts a series of studies and critical essays by Verdone, including the original edition of the Theater of the Futurist Time from 69 with handwritten corrections by the author, and a collection of extracts from his speeches, mostly published in magazines.
