Laura Mancinelli (18 December 1933 – 7 July 2016) was an Italian

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

, Germanist,

medievalist The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

and university professor. Mancinelli also wrote academic texts, children's books,

essays An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...

(numerous of

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

history), and novels.

Life

Laura Mancinelli was born in

Udine Udine ( ; ; ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in northeastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Carnic Alps. It is the capital of the Province of Udine, Regional decentralization entity ...

in 1933, then, after a period of short stays between Rovereto and

Mantua Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...

where she spent her early childhood, in 1937 the family moved permanently to

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

. After her school education and studies, she graduated from the University of Turin in 1956 with a degree in German literature with a focus on modern literature. In the years following her doctorate she taught without ever giving up her passion for medieval German culture. In 1969 she wrote the essay ''The Song of the Nibelungs. Problems and values''. In the 1970s she taught

Germanic philology Germanic philology is the philology, philological study of the Germanic languages, particularly from a Comparative method, comparative or historical perspective. The beginnings of research into the Germanic languages began in the 16th century, wi ...

at the University of Sassari and then called in

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

by the Germanist , in 1976 she founded the ''Department'' of '' History of German Language'' at the University of Venice. On the advice of his colleague and friend, Claudio Magris, in 1972 she edited and translated into Italian from the original volume, the '' Nibelungenlied'', followed in 1978 by ( Gottfried von Straßburg) and in 1989 by '' Gregorius'' and '' Poor Heinrich'' ( Hartmann von Aue). In the early 1990s, affected by

multiple sclerosis Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease resulting in damage to myelinthe insulating covers of nerve cellsin the brain and spinal cord. As a demyelinating disease, MS disrupts the nervous system's ability to Action potential, transmit ...

, Laura Mancinelli left the Chair of German philology. Mancinelli died on 7 July 2016 in Turin as a result of her illness. The farewell ceremony took place on 11 July 2016 in the monumental cemetery of Turin; the funeral took place in Exilles in the Susa Valley, where the writer had set one of her novels.

Career

Writing career

After returning to Turin as holder of the University Chair of Germanic philology, in 1981 Laura Mancinelli made her debut in fiction, publishing, '' The Twelve Abbots of Challant'' (winner the same year of the Mondello Prize), a historical novel that the author had begun to write in 1968. After came ''Il fantasma di Mozart'' in 1986 and '' The Miracle of Saint Odilia'' in 1989. Other works were: '' Amadé'', a tale of

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

's journey in Turin as an adolescent; ''La casa del tempo''; ''Gli occhi dell'imperatore'', winner of the Rapallo Prize in 1994; ''Raskolnikov''; ''I tre cavalieri del Graal'' and ''Il principe scalzo''. In 1999, the theatrical performance ''Notte con Mozart'', based on the play of the same name in two acts (published in 1991), was performed at Regio in Turin. From 1994 onwards, she devoted herself entirely to writing and published more than fifteen works throughout the decade, despite hospital stays and lengthy rehabilitation. In 2001, ''La sacra rappresentazione'' (The holy representation) came out in bookshops. It recounts the handover of the Fortress of Exilles from

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

(

Dauphiné The Dauphiné ( , , ; or ; or ), formerly known in English as Dauphiny, is a former province in southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was ...

) to

Savoy Savoy (; )  is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south and west and to the Aosta Vall ...

, which took place after a night of revelry by the French garrison in 1708. In the same year, the author was simultaneously working on an autobiographical novel that occupied her for several years and was published in 2002 under the title ''Andante con tenerezza''. In 2009 she published the novel ''Gli occhiali di Cavour'', followed by ''Due storie d'amore'' in 2011, free interpretations of the story of two famous couples, Kriemhild and Siegfried, Tristan and Iseult.

Bibliography

Novels

*''I dodici abati di Challant'' (1981; English translation: '' The Twelve Abbots of Challant'', 2003) *''Il fantasma di Mozart'' (1986) *''Il miracolo di santa Odilia'' (1989; English translation: '' The Miracle of Saint Odilia'', 2003) *'' Amadé'' (1990) *''La casa del tempo'' (1993) *''Gli occhi dell'imperatore'' (1994) *'' Raskolnikov'' (1996) *''I tre cavalieri del Graal'' (1996) *''Il principe scalzo'' (1999) *''La musica dell'isola'' (2000) *''Attentato alla Sindone'' (2000) *''La sacra rappresentazione ovvero Come il forte di Exilles fu conquistato ai francesi'' (2001) *''Biglietto d'amore'' (2002) *''I colori del cuore'' (2005) *''Un misurato esercizio della cattiveria'' (2005) *''Il ragazzo dagli occhi neri'' (2007) *''Natale sotto la Mole'' (2008) *''Due storie d'amore'' (2011) *''Un peccatore innocente'' (2013)

Translation of Classics of Austrian and German Literature

* ''Nibelungenlied'', Turin: Einaudi, 1972 * Gottfried von Strassburg, ''Tristan'', Turin: Einaudi, 1978 * Heimito von Doderer, ''I demoni. Dalla cronaca del caposezione Geyrenhoff'', Turin: Einaudi, 1979 * Hartmann von Aue, ''Gregorio'' and ''Il povero Enrico'', Turin: Einaudi, 1989 * Konrad Bayer, ''The Head of Vitus Bering'', Alessandria: Edizioni dell'Orso, 1993

Honours

National honours

Grand Officer of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking honour of the Republi ...

(26 May 2005)Sito web del Quirinale: dettaglio decorato.
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References

Sources

* * * *

External links

Official website

Laura_Mancinelli Open Library, Internet Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mancinelli, Laura 1933 births 2016 deaths 20th-century Italian novelists 21st-century Italian novelists 20th-century Italian women writers 21st-century Italian women writers Italian essayists Italian women essayists Italian medievalists Women medievalists Italian alternate history writers Postmodern writers University of Turin alumni Academic staff of the University of Turin 20th-century Italian essayists 21st-century Italian essayists People from Udine 20th-century Italian translators Grand Officers of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Germanists