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Author Italo Calvino (1923-1985) was born in Cuba to Italian parents, and grew up in Sanremo on the Via Francigena. He studied botany at Pavia University but secretly wrote fiction, and worked as a journalist, novelist, and resistance fighter in World War II. This course focuses on selections from Calvino’s writings in various genres including his stories that attempt to express scientific theories such as quantum physics in literary form. Other pieces recreate conversations between Marco Polo and Khubilai Khan. His writings on World War II reflect moral and political dilemmas of the modern industrial era.