Antonio Gramsci is among the most influential political and cultural theorists of the twentieth century and one of the most important Marxists. Born in Sardinia, he helped found the Italian Communist Party in 1921, became its leader in 1924, and was sent to prison by the fascist regime in 1926, where he spent the rest of his life.

During his lifetime, Gramsci was known as a journalist, revolutionary, and opponent of fascism. Following the Second World War, his fame spread with the gradual publication of his prison writings: all 3,000 pages of The Prison Notebooks, and more than 500 Prison Letters written to friends and family members.