Sky TG246 hours agoCulture2 min readItaly

Goodbye to Rosellina Archinto

The Genoese publisher, founder of Emme Edizioni, Casa Editrice Archinto and Babalibri, has passed away

Quick Look

Rosellina Archinto, a leading figure in Italian publishing, has passed away.
Founder of Emme Edizioni, Babalibri and the Archinto Publishing House, she promoted children's literature and literary correspondence, receiving prestigious international recognition.

AI-generated summary

Why It Matters

Rosellina Archinto was a central figure in Italian publishing of the 20th century, known for having introduced works of international pedagogy into Italy and for editing literary letters.

Font size

Born in Genoa in 1933, Archinto lived and worked in Milan. After graduating in Economics in Milan, in 1958 the publisher married Alberico Archinto Rocca Saporiti. After a stay in New York, during which he attended Columbia University, in 1963, upon returning to Italy, he founded Emme Edizioni. An achievement that has earned her numerous awards at the Children's Book Fair in Bologna and international recognition in Japan, Germany and France. In the psychopedagogy series, Archinto has published in Italy volumes by the most famous scholars in the world such as Jean Piaget, Francoise Dolto, Arno Stern.

In 1985 he founded the Archinto Publishing House, specialized in the publication of literary epistolaries, love and travel letters from artists, musicians and authors of literature from all over the world, from Rilke to Mann, up to Quasimodo, Apollinaire and Baudelaire, also publishing literary critical essays by internationally known authors. In 1999 he then founded Babalibri, which he directed in collaboration with his daughter Francesca, in co-edition with the large French publishing house specializing in children's literature L'école des Loisirs. Since 2003 the Archinto brand has become part of the Rizzoli - Rcs Libri group, adding poets and writers such as Sereni, Ungaretti, Saba, Montale, Remarque, Ortese, Sade, Capote, Fitzgerald, Ginsberg, Saroyan, Manguel and new series to the catalogue. A partnership that lasted until July 2015, when Rosellina Archinto reacquired its brand and catalogue, making the publishing house independent again.

Archinto has also held institutional roles, as president of the Culture Commission of the Municipality of Milan (1990-1993) and vice-president of the Carlo Felice Theater Foundation in Genoa (2003-2006). But she was also honorary president of the Association of Friends of the Ligurian Museums and of Palazzo Ducale in Genoa and president of the "Amici di Lalla Romano" Association, as well as a member of the jury of the Strega Prize and the Bagutta Prize. In October 2015 she was appointed Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honour.