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Bonichi, Ascanio. Ascanio Bonichi was created by the Italian author Alessandro Varaldo (Gino Arrighi) and appeared in eight novels and short story collections between 1931 and 1941, beginning with Ill Settebello. Varaldo is generally regarded as the first Italian "writer of quality" to produce a detective novel, with Bonichi therefore being the first respectable Italian detective character.

Ascanio Bonichi is a Fop. Bonichi is a Commissioner of Police in Rome. Known as “Sor Ascanio,” he cuts the figure of a dandy: he moves languidly, smokes cigars, has a long black mustache, dresses elegantly, and always wears a monocle in his right eye. However, Bonichi is friendly, is at ease with every class, and is active both in Rome and in the countryside.

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