The Italian theater remained – perhaps because the great dramatic talents of the country turned to the film (M. Antonioni, B. Bertolucci, F. Fellini, PP Pasolini) – for a long time caught up in provincialism. G. Testori’s adaptations of ancient models from a nihilistic point of view follow French patterns. The search of the neo-avant-garde for new forms found little response from the public (E. Pagliarani, N. Balestrini, E. Sanguineti). New, original impulses came from the dialect theater, v. a. from the Neapolitan folk plays by E. De Filippos, from the satirical-burlesque spectacles D. Fos (“Mistero buffo”, 1969, was the most frequently performed piece in Italy in the 1970s) and the new staging and text furnishing practice in directing theater (including L. Visconti, G. Strehler , L. Ronconi ) and the alternative forms of playing in avant-garde political and street theater.
The Italian narrative prose of the 1980s was introduced by the spectacular success of U. Eco’s learned historical novel “Il nome della rosa” (1980; German “The Name of the Rose”), which by way of the 14th century led contemporary Italian society analyzed (parallels between the voluntary poverty of the Franciscans and the ideology of communism; the violent heretics of Mrs. Dolcino stand for terrorism – the »Brigate Rosse«). The popularity of this complex and diverse readership appealing novel – reinforced by the film adaptation by J.-J. Annauds (1986) – contributed to the fact that Italian literature as a whole received more international attention. Also the authors named “giovani scrittori” (“young writers”) by the critics, among others. A. De Carlo , D. Del Giudice (* 1949), A. Tabucchi and P. V. Tondelli, in the sense of postmodernism and deconstructivism, use a variety of signs, quotations and allusions to capture reality narrative. At the same time, a renaissance of the historical novel could be observed, which continued into the 1990s (and beyond) (Gesualdo Buffalino [* 1920, † 1996], S. Vassalli, Rosetta Loy [* 1931], Maurizio Maggiani [* 1951]), important authors of the older generation, also used the historical slide to reflect on the problems of the Italian present (L. Malerba ). The instrumentalization of an 18th century novel to discuss problems of women’s emancipation in “La lunga vita di Marianna Ucría” (1990; German “The long life of Marianna Ucría”) by D. Maraini , which addresses the gender issue, deserves special attention has been at the center of her literary work since the 1950s.
Even today, many authors draw their very differently processed materials and themes from their regional origins (F. Camon , V. Consolo , AM Ortese , Mariateresa Di Lascia [* 1954, † 1994], F. Tomizza , C. Magris ).
In addition, contemporary Italian writers have produced a large number of intellectually demanding, but entertaining and successful prose works that encompass a broad spectrum: to be mentioned are the author duo C. Fruttero and F. Lucentiniwith witty detective novels, L. De Crescenzo with philosophical excursions, M Lodoli with amiable and grotesque stories, E. Cavazzoni with allusive, bizarre, A. Baricco with stylistically virtuoso prose, the social criticism in Aldo Busi’s novels (* 1948) is radical and provocative, in S. Benni it is satirical and comical, while the Novels Propagating Susanna Tamaros’ spiritual values; numerous female authors also devote themselves to the issue of women and families (including L. Romano ). The crime novel (»romanzo giallo«) is currently experiencing a particular heyday; some authors consider this genre to be best suited to reflect the complexity of today’s world (especially successful, also internationally, A. Camilleri and C. Lucarelli). Aldo Nove (* 1967) stands out with an independent profile from the group of narrators, who were grouped together in 1996 under the name »cannibali« and who create a provocative form of everyday horror in the consumer world. For more articles about Italy and Europe, please follow Computergees.
Contemporary Italian poetry does not offer such an innovative picture overall, even if it is characterized by a great variety of voices. The authors often refer to historical models (for example Roberto Pazzi [* 1966] to the Crepuscolari, Roberto Mussapi [* 1952] and Milo De Angelis [* 1951] to symbolism) and do not shy away from the use of traditional metrical forms (Maria Luisa Spaziani [* 1922, † 2014], Tiziano Rossi [* 1935]); Alda Merini (* 1931, † 2009) and Dario Bellezza (* 1944, † 1996) express existential unease. Valerio Magrelli (* 1957) uses simple but haunting imagesback, highly artificial sonnets are by Patrizia Valduga (* 1953); other poets trust the expressiveness of the dialect (including Franco Loi [* 1930, † 2021]) or write a learned poetry like Guiseppe Conte (* 1945); Maurizio Cucchi (* 1945) and Franco Buffoni (* 1950) are assigned to a »linea lombarda«, which among others on the Serenis traditioncalled. As a specific form of poetry, the texts of Italian »Cantautori« (German »songwriters«) have been gaining increasing recognition for several years. They not only appear in anthologies but have also found their way into school books and literary stories. Significant representatives of this intermedial art form, which unites word and music in an independent aesthetic with very different functions, include: F. De André , F. Guccini , L. Dalla , F. Battiato and F. De Gregori . Another intermedial genre are the “fumetti” (German “comics”) that combine text and image, the cultural value of which is undisputed in Italy today; are important creators of such pictorial stories H. Pratt and Milo Manara (* 1945).
Italy makes a further contribution in the field of literature through the extraordinary expansion of the methodology of literary criticism, including: by U. Eco, Gianfranco Contini [* 1912, † 1990], Maria Corti [* 1915, † 2002] and Cesare Segre [* 1928, † 2014]). Stimulated by a. Through the theses of the French structuralists, Italian literary criticism also broadened the concept of literature, which understands literary as a demonstration of all connections between writing and reality on the basis of a specifically linguistic-rhetorical elaboration. On the level of language, the opposition between form and content is eliminated, and the literary work of art, which includes the element of playfulness, becomes a »linguistic adventure«, a »lexicographical artifact« (A. Guglielmi ), fused with representational technology and ideological Vision. U. Eco takes a special position because of its international charisma with his semiotic writings, with which he had a lasting impact on literary criticism: “Opera aperta” (1962; German: “The open work of art”), “Apocalittici e integrati” (1964; German “Apokalyptiker und Integrierte”), “La struttura assente “(1968; German” The absent structure “),” Le forme del contenuto “(1971; German” The forms of content “),” Trattato di semiotica generale “(1975; German” Treatise on general semiotics “) and” Lector in fabula “(1979; German” The role of the reader of literary texts “).
So far, six Italian writers have received the Nobel Prize in Literature: G. Carducci (1906), G. Deledda (1926), L. Pirandello (1934), S. Quasimodo (1959), E. Montale (1975) and D. Fo (1997).
