AMICIS, EDMONDO DE (1846-1908), Italian writer, was born at Oneglia, in Liguria, Oct. 21 1846. He was edu cated for the army, and fought at the battle of Custozza in 1866. In 1867 he became director of the Italia Militare, Florence. In the following year he published La Vita Militare, a book of sketches of military life. After his retirement from the army in 187o de Amicis travelled in Europe and Africa, and published a number of travel books which were long popular. The most important of these are his descriptions of London (1874), Spain (1873), Holland (1874), Constantinople (1877) and Morocco (1875). He died suddenly of heart disease at Bordighera on March 12, 1908.
Among his other wellknown works are: 11 Romanzo d'un Maestro, and the widely read 11 Cuore (translated into English as An Italian Schoolboy's Journal) . Later works are La Carozza di tutti, Memorie, Speranze e glorie, Ricordi d'infanzia a di scuola, L'Idioma gentile; and a volume of short stories, Nel Regno dell' Amore. ,