Marsilio Editori, Venice – Fondazione Giorgio Cini

One hundred years after the death of Eleonora Duse (Vigevano, 1858 – Pittsburgh 1924), this volume offers a previously unpublished selection of the many letters preserved in the actress’s archive held at the Giorgio Cini Foundation’s Institute for Theatre and Opera. It includes one hundred of the many voices that had artistic and friendly relations with her, including actresses and actors, intellectuals and men of letters.
From the letters to Duse emerge memories of encounters, exchanges of opinions, shared projects and creative visions. A plurality of voices, often far removed from each other, surprisingly agree in recognising the exceptional nature of the figure of Eleonora Duse, of her vision, of her theatre.

A revolutionary and passionate artist, Eleonora was the most famous Italian actress of our recent past. A successful actress and leading lady, she left an indelible mark on the Italian and European culture of her time. Many pages were written about her, and some of the most significant testimonies are collected in this book: the poet Ada Negri describes her as ‘the most sublime female figure of our time’, Piero Gobetti speaks of her as ‘a religious spirit’ and the Florentine writer Fernando Agnoletti compares those who did not have the good fortune to hear her at the theatre ‘to those who have not read the Odyssey in poetry’.

La Fondazione Giorgio Cini. Settant’anni di storia, edited by Pasquale Gagliardi and Egidio Ivetic and published by Marsilio, is the third volume marking the historical stages of the Fondazione Giorgio Cini, after Venezia 1951 – 1971. Vent’anni di attività della Fondazione Giorgio Cini (Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Venice 1972) and La Fondazione Giorgio Cini. Cinquant’anni di storia, edited by U. Agnati (Electa, Milan 2001). This book thus follows on from the previous two by highlighting what has been achieved in the 21st century, which saw a new phase in the life of the Foundation. The recent history of the Foundation is reviewed, including a commemoration of the most important cultural figure in its development, Vittore Branca, who died in 2004.

The contributions to the book are divided into two sections: “A New Landscape” and “Reports and Personal Accounts”. In the first section, several authors describe the architectural restorations and art works of the past twenty years, enabling the Foundation to update into a material and cultural landscape capable of meeting the demands of our age. In the second, the authors reflect on the experiences of cultural life, research and study, the activities of the institutes and research centres, and the wealth of archives, collections and artistic heritage. Seen overall, the book pays tribute to the Foundation on San Giorgio Maggiore by bearing witness to an extraordinary place.

Publisher: Marsilio Editori, Venice

«Illustre Signora Duse». Cento voci dall’archivio dell’attrice

La Fondazione Giorgio Cini. Settant’anni di storia