Edmondo de Amicis, one of the foremost of Italian authors at the present time, was born at Oneglia, in the year 1846. From 1863 to 1865 he attended the military school at Modena, and in 1866 took part in the war against Austria. In 1869 he published a collection of stories, entitled La Vita Militare, and in 1871 settled down in Turin in order to devote himself to literature. He has written a large number of stories and books of travel. The popularity of Cuore may be inferred from the fact that it has already run through over one hundred and seventy editions in Italy.