Watch Great Writers: Giuseppe Di Lampedusa (1997) : Full Movie Online Free This episode of the Great Writers series focuses on Italian author Giuseppe Di Lampedusa. Born into wealth, this multifaceted Sicilian prince was also an astronomer and served in the armed forces. Lampedusa used his own family as a model for his epic novel &NFi;Il Gattopardo&NFi_; ("The Leopard"). It was posthumously awarded the Premio Strega and has since been recognized as one of the most important examples of 20th-century Italian literature.