Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa

Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa (born Palermo, December 23 1896, died Rome, July 23 1957), was Duke of Palma and Prince of Lampedusa. Lampedusa was the only child of Giulio Tomasi, Prince of Lampedusa, and Beatrice Filangeri di Cutò. In his youth, he had a passion for literature and also studied English. He is most famous for his novel, Il gattopardo (The Leopard, published posthumously in 1958) which is set in Sicily during the Risorgimento. He also wrote numerous articles and a short story.