''Urania'' is an Italian
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
magazine
A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...
published by
Arnoldo Mondadori Editore
Arnoldo Mondadori Editore () is the biggest publishing company in Italy.
History
The company was founded in 1907 in Ostiglia by 18-year-old Arnoldo Mondadori who began his publishing career with the publication of the magazine ''Luce!''. In 1 ...
since 10 October 1952. The current editor is Giuseppe Lippi.
History
The first issue featured the novel ''
The Sands of Mars
''The Sands of Mars'' is a science fiction novel by English writer Arthur C. Clarke. While he was already popular as a short story writer and as a magazine contributor, ''The Sands of Mars'' was also a prelude to Clarke's becoming one of the ...
'' by
Arthur C. Clarke (as ''Le sabbie di Marte''). The original name of the series was ''I Romanzi di Urania'' ("Urania's novels"), to differentiate it from another magazine with the same name (but popularly known as ''Urania Rivista'', "Urania Magazine"), which featured only short stories. The latter, however, lasted only 14 issues, and ''Romanzi di Urania'' soon took the simpler name, which still holds today. Short story collections were thenceforth published in the main series, which at its height had a weekly periodicity with a circulation of 160,000 copies a month. Since the very beginning Urania has been indeed the best selling
SF magazine of
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
, also introducing to Italian readers some famed authors like
Isaac Asimov
yi, יצחק אזימאװ
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR
, spouse =
, relatives =
, children = 2
, death_date =
, death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
, nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...
,
Alfred Elton van Vogt,
Robert A. Heinlein
Robert Anson Heinlein (; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accu ...
,
J. G. Ballard
James Graham Ballard (15 November 193019 April 2009) was an English novelist, short story writer, satirist, and essayist known for provocative works of fiction which explored the relations between human psychology, technology, sex, and mass medi ...
,
Philip K. Dick and many others. The first editor was Giorgio Monicelli (brother of movie director
Mario Monicelli
Mario Alberto Ettore Monicelli (; 16 May 1915 – 29 November 2010) was an Italian film director and screenwriter and one of the masters of the ''Commedia all'Italiana'' (Comedy Italian style). He was nominated six times for an Oscar, and was awa ...
): Monicelli is credited with the invention of the word ''fantascienza'', meaning ''science-fiction'' in Italian. From 1964 to 1985 novels and short stories were selected by the renowned Italian writers and intellectuals
Carlo Fruttero
Carlo Fruttero (19 September 1926 – 15 January 2012) was an Italian writer, journalist, translator and editor of anthologies.
Fruttero was born in Turin. He is mostly known for his joint work with Franco Lucentini, especially as authors of cr ...
and
Franco Lucentini, who also appeared in the magazine with a few short stories written under pseudonyms. Their successor was Gianni Montanari, who worked for the magazine until 1990.
Most of the novels and short stories were from
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
and
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
authors (with some
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
novels in the 1950s). Italian authors appeared uncredited, only under
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
s. Starting from the late 1980s,
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
SF writers are a more frequent presence. The competition of ''Premio Urania'' ("
Urania Award The Urania Award (known in Italian as the Premio Urania) is an annual literary competition run by the Italian magazine ''Urania'' for contemporary Italian science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of s ...
") was launched in 1990, open to all previously unpublished Italian novels from famous or unknown authors. The winner is awarded with publication in the magazine. The first winner was
Vittorio Catani with his ''Gli universi di Moras'' (''Urania'' #1120). In 1994 Urania published the first novel by now-world-famed
Valerio Evangelisti
Valerio Evangelisti (20 June 1952 – 18 April 2022) was an Italian writer of science fiction, fantasy, historical novels, and horror. He is known mainly for his series of novels featuring the inquisitor Nicolas Eymerich and for the Nostradamu ...
, who had won the ''Premio Urania'' for that year with ''Nicholas Eymerich, inquisitore''. Other winners include
Nicoletta Vallorani
Nicoletta Vallorani (born 7 February 1959) is an Italian science fiction writer.
Born in Offida, in the Marche region, she holds a degree in Foreign Languages with a dissertation on Contemporary American Literature, honed her writing skills as ...
and
Massimo Mongai
Massimo Mongai (3 November 1950 – 1 November 2016) was an Italian author of science fiction.
Biography
Born in Rome, by the age of 12 Massimo Mongai was a dedicated reader of science fiction. He graduated in law. According to the biography pr ...
.
Cover artists
First covers were by Carlo Jacono and
Kurt Caesar
Kurt Caesar (also known as Cesare Avai or Caesar Away, true name Kurt Kaiser; 30 March 1906 – 12 July 1974) was a German-Italian painter, journalist and comic book artist.
He was born at Montigny-lès-Metz, Alsace-Lorraine, to German father. ...
, but the "golden era" of the magazine was marked by the renowned
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
painter
Karel Thole
Carolus Adrianus Maria Thole (20 April 1914 – 26 March 2000) was a Dutch-Italian painter and illustrator.
He was born in Bussum, near Amsterdam, and was educated at State Drawing School of Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum.
His first works were f ...
, who introduced his unparalleled, bizarre medley of surrealism, horror, classical citations and sense of humour. Other outstanding cover artists who worked for Urania were
Vicente Segrelles
Vicente Segrelles (born 9 September 1940 in Barcelona) is a Spanish comic book artist and writer.
Segrelles gained popularity in Europe for his painted comic book epic ''The Mercenary'' ('' El Mercenario''), started in 1980. Set in a medieval f ...
from
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
(1988–1991) and
Oscar Chichoni
Oscar Chichoni (born July 14, 1957) is an Argentine illustrator of comic books and science fiction magazines and books.
History
Chichoni was born in a desolate hamlet in Corral de Bustos, province of Córdoba, and is self-taught in art. He publi ...
from
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
(1990s). Current cover artist is Franco Brambilla.
Spin-offs
The magazine sprung a great deal of spin-off series, mostly short-lived and ceased today:
* ''Millemondi'', which started in the 1970s with 3/4 monthly periodicity. Currently ongoing, it reprints famous novels by greatest
SF authors which have been already published in the main series. Sometimes it houses previously unpublished collections of short stories.
* ''Urania Argento'' ("Silver Urania") was a monthly series started in 1995 with covers by
Oscar Chichoni
Oscar Chichoni (born July 14, 1957) is an Argentine illustrator of comic books and science fiction magazines and books.
History
Chichoni was born in a desolate hamlet in Corral de Bustos, province of Córdoba, and is self-taught in art. He publi ...
and more lengthy, previously unpublished novels: it lasted 14 numbers.
*''Urania Blu'' of 1984 was intended to reprint major short-stories collections and other works (including a collection of articles about
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
by
Isaac Asimov
yi, יצחק אזימאװ
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR
, spouse =
, relatives =
, children = 2
, death_date =
, death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
, nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...
), but had a run of only 4 numbers.
*''Urania Biblioteca'' was another series of reprints with irregular periodicity.
*''Classici Urania'' (now ceased) was a monthly reprint of the best novels and anthologies of the main series.
*''Urania Fantasy'' was a monthly series dedicated to fantasy titles (1988–1995): it was canceled after 79 numbers. It has been resumed discontinuously in 2001–2006 (9 issues, with numbering starting again from 1).
A new number 1 (featuring
Robert E. Howard's stories about
Kull Kull may refer to:
Arts
* Kull of Atlantis, a fictional character created by Robert E. Howard
** ''Kull the Conqueror'', a 1997 fantasy action film based on Howard's character and starring Kevin Sorbo
* King Kull (DC Comics), a Fawcett Comics and D ...
) was published in April 2008.
*''Urania Collezione'' started in 2003 and is still monthly outgoing: it is similar to ''Classici Urania'' but has revised translations (until 1980s novels were extensively abridged) and (in the first numbers) a different packaging.
*''Epix'' (rechristened ''Urania Epix'' starting from issue no. 10), a monthly launched in 2009. It housed horror, fantasy and fantastic novels or anthologies, mainly by Italian authors. It ceased after 15 numbers.
For many years ''Urania'' included a comic strip section: main titles were ''
B.C.'' by
Johnny Hart
John Lewis Hart (February 18, 1931 – April 7, 2007) was an American cartoonist noted as the creator of the comic strips '' B.C.'' and ''The Wizard of Id''. Brant Parker co-produced and illustrated ''The Wizard of Id''. Hart was recognized ...
, ''
The Wizard of Id
''The Wizard of Id'' is a daily newspaper comic strip created by American cartoonists Brant Parker and Johnny Hart. Beginning November 16, 1964, the strip follows the antics of a large cast of characters in a shabby medieval kingdom called "Id" ...
'', by the same Hart and
Brant Parker
Brant Julian Parker (August 26, 1920 – April 15, 2007) was an American cartoonist. He co-created and drew ''The Wizard of Id'' comic strip until passing the job on to his son, Jeff Parker, in 1997. Cartoonist Johnny Hart, his co-creator, ...
and ''Catfish'' by Bollen & Peterman.
See also
*
List of magazines in Italy
In Italy there are many magazines. Following the end of World War II the number of weekly magazines significantly expanded. From 1970 feminist magazines began to increase in number in the country. The number of consumer magazines was 975 in 1995 ...
*
Science fiction magazine
A science fiction magazine is a publication that offers primarily science fiction, either in a hard-copy periodical format or on the Internet.
Science fiction magazines traditionally featured speculative fiction in short story, novelette, nov ...
*
Fantasy fiction magazine
A fantasy fiction magazine, or fantasy magazine, is a magazine which publishes primarily fantasy fiction. Not generally included in the category are magazines for children with stories about such characters as Santa Claus. Also not included are ...
*
Horror fiction magazine
A horror fiction magazine is a magazine that publishes primarily horror fiction with the main purpose of frightening the reader. Horror magazines can be in print, on the internet, or both.
Major horror magazines
Defunct magazines
*''The Arkham ...
References
External links
www.mondourania.comSite with all the covers of Urania and sister series
www.uraniamania.comSite of Italian collectors of Urania
Site with infos and covers of the Urania collection
*
{{Authority control
1952 establishments in Italy
Italian-language magazines
Monthly magazines published in Italy
Science fiction magazines published in Italy
Magazines established in 1952
Science fiction magazines established in the 1950s
Arnoldo Mondadori Editore