Scipio Slataper (14 July 1888 – 3 December 1915) was an Italian writer, most famous for his lyrical essay '' My Karst''. He is considered, alongside

Italo Svevo Aron Hector Schmitz (19 December 186113 September 1928), better known by the pseudonym Italo Svevo (), was an Italian and Austro-Hungarian writer, businessman, novelist, playwright, and short story writer. A close friend of Irish novelist and ...

, the initiator of the prolific tradition of Italian literature in Trieste.

Biography

Slataper was born to a relatively wealthy middle-class family in the city of

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

, then part of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

(today in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

). After completing his high school studies in the native city, he moved to

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

in Italy, where he studied Italian philology. In Florence, he collaborated to the literary journal '' La Voce'', edited by Giuseppe Prezzolini and

Giovanni Papini Giovanni Papini (9 January 18818 July 1956) was an Italian journalist, essayist, novelist, short story writer, poet, literary critic, and Italian philosophy, philosopher. A controversial literary figure of the early and mid-twentieth century, he ...

. During his stay in Florence, he started writing essays and articles on the literary and cultural situation in Trieste. He maintained a close contact with his native city, collaborating with young

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

intellectuals from the

Austrian Littoral The Austrian Littoral (, , , , ) was a crown land (''Kronland'') of the Austrian Empire, established in 1849. It consisted of three regions: the Margraviate of Istria in the south, Gorizia and Gradisca in the north, and the Imperial Free City ...

, both those who lived in Italy and those who remained in their native region. Slataper's circle included the journalist and critic Giulio Caprin, author Giani Stuparich, his wife Elody Oblath and his brother Carlo Stuparich, the emerging literary critic Silvio Benco, and poets

Umberto Saba Umberto Saba (9 March 1883 – 25 August 1957) was an Italian poet and novelist, born Umberto Poli in the cosmopolitan Mediterranean port of Trieste when it was the fourth largest city of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Poli assumed the pen name "S ...

Virgilio Giotti Virgil Schönbeck (15 January 1885 – 21 September 1957), known by his pen name Virgilio Giotti, was an Italian poet writing both in Italian and in the Triestine dialect. Giotti's poetry "which is not so much linked to the vernacular tradition as ...

and Biagio Marin. After the suicide of his lover in 1910, Slataper retired to the village of Ocizla on the

Karst Plateau The Karst Plateau or the Karst region (, ), also locally called Karst, is a karst plateau region extending across the border of southwestern Slovenia and northeastern Italy. It lies between the Vipava Valley, the low hills surrounding the val ...

above Trieste, where he wrote his best-known work, the lyrical essay ''My Karst'' (), considered one of the masterpieces of Italian fin-de-siecle prose. The essay, in which

Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche became the youngest pro ...

an influences can be seen, is an assertion of vitalism and primitive life force. The essay also contains political and philosophical reflections. Among other things, Slataper was polemical against the superficial business mentality of the Italian merchants of Trieste and criticized their anti-Slavic prejudices. On the other hand, the work contains highly controversial depictions and reflection on the "suppressed brutal and barbaric nature" of the Slovene peasants from the area. ''My Karst'' was published in Florence in 1912, and it remained the only book Slataper published during his lifetime. In 1921, the book was translated into French by

Benjamin Crémieux Benjamin Crémieux (1888–1944) was a French author, critic and literary historian. Early life Crémieux was born to a Jewish family in Narbonne, France in 1888. His family had long ties in the region, having 'settled in France as early as th ...

, which helped spread Slataper's popularity in Europe in the 1920s. After graduation in 1912, Slataper moved to

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, where he taught Italian at the

local university Local colleges and universities (LCUs) are higher educational institutions that are being run by Administrative divisions of the Philippines, local government units in the Philippines. A local government unit (LGU) maybe a barangay, a municipalit ...

. When Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary on 24 May 1915, he moved to Italy and volunteered to join the Italian Army. He was sent to the front along the Isonzo River. In December 1915, he was killed in the Fourth Battle of the Isonzo in the hills surrounding the town of

Gorizia Gorizia (; ; , ; ; ) is a town and (municipality) in northeastern Italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia, Region ...

. Slataper had a crucial influence in the creation of a distinct literary tradition in Trieste. Authors influenced by him include Giani and Carlo Stuparich, Fulvio Tomizza, Enzo Bettiza, Susanna Tamaro, Claudio Magris and others. He also influenced several Slovene writers, most notably Marjan Rožanc and

Igor Škamperle Igor Škamperle (born 21 November 1962) is a Slovenian sociologist, cultural theory, cultural theorist, novelist, essayist, mountaineer and translator. He was born in a Slovene language, Slovene-speaking family in Trieste, Italy. He studied com ...

Works

*''Il mio Carso''. Florence: Libreria della Voce, 1912 (''My Karst and My City and Other Essays''. Edited, with an Introduction and Notes, by Elena Coda. Translated by Nicholas Benson and Elena Coda. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2020). *''I confini necessari all'Italia''. Turin: L'Ora Presente, 1915. *''

Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

'' (with an introduction by Arturo Farinelli). Turin: Bocca, 1916. *''Scritti letterari e critici'' ("Literary and Political Writings"), edited by Giani Stuparich. Rome: La Voce, 1920. *''Scritti politici'' ("Political Writings"). Rome: A. Stock, 1925. *''Lettere'' ("Letters"), edited by Giani Stuparich. Turin: Buratti, 1930. *''Epistolario'', edited by Gianni Stuparich. Verona: Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, 1950. *''Appunti e note di diario'', edited by Giani Stuparich. Milan: Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, 1953. *''Alle tre amiche: lettere'', edited by Giani Stuparich. Verona: A. Mondadori, 1958. *''Le lettere a Maria'', edited by Cesare Pagnini. Rome: G. Volpe, 1981. *''Passato ribele: dramma in un atto''. Trieste: Edizioni Dedolibri, 1988.

References

Biography on Trieste.com

Biography

Works

See also

References

Further reading