Virginia Woolf in Italy

To understand how the cultural mediation around Woolf’s works socially framed the reading of her works, this project mapped out the publishers, translators, and cultural gate-keepers that supported Woolf’s works in the Italian context. When archival documentation was not available or it was not enough, interviews to some of the protagonists of Woolf’s cultural meditation in Italy were realised to shed light on aspects that had never been thoroughly investigated.

How to cite these interviews:

Bolchi, Elisa (2021): ItalianWoolf project: interviews with cultural mediators of Virginia Woolf in Italy. University of Reading. Dataset. http://dx.doi.org/10.17864/1947.301

Nadia Fusini: writer, scholar, editor and translator of Woolf

Nadia Fusini is the most renowned scholar and translator of Virginia Woolf in Italy, and editor of the two volumes of Woolf's works in the prestigious Meridiani series by Mondadori (1998). She also wrote a biography of Virginia Woolf titled Possiedo la mia anima. Il segreto di Virginia Woolf.

Giovanna Granato, translator of Virginia Woolf's Diaries

Giovanna Granato is a professional translator who has worked for the biggest Italian publishers. Here she tell about her experience of translation of the six volumes of Virginia Woolf's diaries for Bompiani.

Mario Fortunato: writer, journalist, translator of Woolf

Mario Fortunato is a well known Italian writer and he edited and translated Virginia Woolf's Short stories in the collection Lunedì e Martedì, her writings on London and her novel Orlando. He is now editing the first Italian complete edition of Virginia Woolf's diaries. In this interview he tells about his work but also about his special relationship with Virginia Woolf and her oeuvre.

Alessandra Bocchetti: co-founder of the Cultural Centre Virginia Woolf

Alessandra Bocchetti is a well known Italian feminist and in 1978 she was among the founders of the 'Centro Culturale Virginia Woolf' in Rome. In this interview she tells about the important role Woolf played in Italian feminist, and particularly in feminism of difference in Italy, and she tells about exhibitions and events on Virginia Woolf and Bloomsbury Group's Members organised by the Centre.

Antonio Bibbò: translator and scholar

Antonio Bibbò is a translator and a researcher of English Language and Literature at Università degli studi di Trento, in Italy. He translated Virginia Woolf's The Years for Feltrinelli, and wrote a long afterword. In this interview he tells about the reasons why he suggested to retranslate the novel and the issues he faced in the translation.

Liliana Rampello: literary critic and editor

Liliana Rampello is a literary critic, an essayist and the editor of several volumes of Virginia Woolf's work. She tells about her book Il canto del mondo reale: Virginia Woolf. La vita nella scrittura (il Saggiatore, 2005), about her feminist reading of Virginia Woolf's novels and essays and about the influence it had on her work and on the Italian cultural environment in general.

Laura Lepetit: founder of La Tartaruga Press

Laura Lepetit is the founder of the feminist publishing house La Tartaruga, which in 1975 opened its catalogue with the first Italian translation of Virginia Woolf's 'Three Guineas'.