Bruno Angoletta (7 September 1889 - 7 January 1954) was an Italian illustrator, cartoonist and painter.
Angoletta was born in Belluno, from Orlando, a lawyer, and Francesca Bettio.[1] For some years he studied law in Padua, but later abandoned his studies to entirely focusing into drawing and painting as an autodidact.[1] [2] In late 1900s he started a collaboration as an illustrator with the satirical weekly magazine L'Asino, then he moved to Rome where he also began to collaborate with the magazine La tribuna illustrata.[1]
At the outbreak of the First World War, despite his pericarditis, he volunteered, was wounded and taken prisoner in Bohemia but even performed acts of heroism that earned him two decorations.[1]
In 1921, he founded with Antonio Beltramelli the monthly children magazine Giro Giro Tondo, published by Mondadori.[1]
In January 1928, in the pages of Corriere dei Piccoli, Angoletta started his most successful comic character, the soldier Marmittone, a mild-mannered young soldier who often, due to its mild-tempered and not inclined to war, ends up being punished and translated into the cell. The comic strip was published until 1940.[3]
Other well known comic characters he created in the period between the two wars were Sor Calogero Sorbara, Ermete Centarbe and Romolino & Romoletto, a couple of twins often glorifying the Fascist victories.