From Dante to contemporary authors: our great literature speaks German and translates into success without borders
“Since the agreement with Buchmesse was signed in 2018 for Italy to be Guest of Honour in 2024, publishers’ efforts have multiplied with regard to globalisation and growth in foreign markets," explains Innocenzo Cipolletta, President of the Italian Publishers Association. "The institutions' efforts have been supported by translation grants from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Centre for Books and Reading, an independent institute of the Ministry of Culture. The two programmes both contribute around one million euros. Publishing has also benefited from the awareness-raising work that has been carried out by Italian cultural institutes in Germany. The results can already be seen today and will be even more evident in the years to come."
From Dante to 20th century classics
It is impossible not to start with Dante Alighieri. Coinciding with its 700th anniversary, the Divina Commedia was reprinted in 2021 by several publishers. New German editions of Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron, Niccolò Macchiavelli's The Prince, Petrarca's Canzoniere and Marco Polo's Book of Marvels of the World were also released.
Taking a leap across the centuries, the 19th century is less frequented (Alessandro Manzoni and Giovanni Verga are nevertheless present), although we should not forget to mention The Adventures of Pinocchio, Carlo Collodi's Story of a Puppet and Pellegrino Artusi's Science in the Kitchen and The Art of Eating Well.
Literature with closer roots but which is no less robust than works of the 20th century are works by: Luigi Pirandello and Carlo Emilio Gadda, Cesare Pavese, Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Beppe Fenoglio, Giorgio Manganelli, Eugenio Montale and, closer in terms of years, by Umberto Eco. There are also a host of female authors: Alba de Céspedes, Elsa Morante, Goliarda Sapienza, Lalla Romano, Natalia Ginzburg, Dacia Maraini, Sibilla Aleramo, Anna Maria Ortese and Oriana Fallaci with Letter to a Child Never Born.
New voices of the Italian literature scene
Moving on to the present day, Italian crime fiction and noir see the presence of the progenitor Andrea Camilleri, with many of his titles released between 2021 and 2024. Massimo Carlotto, Cristina Cassar Scalia, Gianrico Carofiglio, Donato Carrisi, Sandrone Dazieri, Giancarlo De Cataldo, Maurizio de Giovanni, Andrea Fazioli, Carlo Lucarelli, Davide Longo, Piergiorgio Pulixi, Fabio Stassi, and Ilaria Tuti are also present.
Susanna Tamaro had A Love Story and Meditations on Passion: the Way of the Cross published in Germany between 2021 and 2024. Another significant focal point is the one revolving around family sagas. In 2023, the publisher Suhrkamp released Elena Ferrante’s four-volume story entitled My Brilliant Friend. Stefania Auci's The Florios of Sicily, Daniela Raimondi's The House by the River, and Beatrice Salvioni's The Cursed Friend were also published.
As were comic and graphic novel with Zerocalcare, Gipi, Guido Crepax, Milo Manara. In the children’s and teenagers’ editorial, in addition to the forerunner Edmondo De Amicis' Heart, are Pierdomenico Baccalario, Luigi Garlando, Davide Calì, Davide Morosinotto, Marco Somà, Laura Borio, Sonia Elisabetta Corvaglia, Susanna Mattiangeli and – a noteworthy literary revival – two works by Guido Gozzano, The Swineherd King and Little King Gamberino.
Among the writers whose literary value has been highly celebrated are Viola Ardone, Edith Bruck, and the late Roberto Calasso, in addition to Giosuè Calaciura, Paolo Cognetti, Claudia Durastanti and Teresa Ciabatti. Also present are Gian Marco Griffi with Railways of Mexico, which has been talked about a lot in Italy, and Nicola Lagioia, Alessandro Baricco, Vincenzo Latronico, Claudio Magris, Antonio Moresco, Michela Murgia, Remo Rapino, Antonio Scurati, Domenico Starnone, Igiaba Scego, Niccolò Ammaniti, Giulia Caminito and Erri De Luca. Among the Strega prize winners are Emanuele Trevi, Sandro Veronesi, Helena Janeczek, Paolo Giordano and Silvia Avallone.
Non-fiction is also well represented, with bestselling authors Corrado Augias, Umberto Galimberti and Roberto Saviano. Naturalist and scientific journalist Francesca Buoninconti is also included. In May this year, a book was published in the 2023 Italian top ten, Aldo Cazzullo's When we were the Masters of the World, and a title that caused a lot of discussion in the USA, Alberto Grandi's Invented Designation of Origin. The Marketing Lies about Typical Italian Products. Coming out just now is Climate Liars. The Power, Politics and Psychology of Those Denying the Crisis of the Century, by Stella Levantesi. And Michela Marzano’s memoir, Stigma and Shame, and Francesco Filippi’s paperbacks Mussolini Also Did Good Things and But We Built Roads for Them. Franco Cardini stands out for history and Stefano Mancuso stands out for botany among other writers.
This article is a summary of a text which will be published in the paper edition of Giornale della Libreria on the occasion of the Bologna Children's Book Fair.