Emilio Villa
Emilio Villa(Milan,21 September 1914 –Rieti,14 January 2003) was an Italian poet, visual artist, translator, art critic and Bible scholar.[1]His poems reflected his knowledge of modern and ancient languages, including Italian, French, English, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Sumerian, and Akkadian.
Villa is considered the forerunner of groups such as the neo-avant-garde,Gruppo 63and Novissimi, as well as for his commitment to promote artists such asAlberto Burri,Mirko Basaldella,Gastone Novelli and, more recently, Claudio Parmiggiani,Mimmo PaladinoandGino De Dominicis.
Life[edit]
Emilio Villa was born in Milan. He aspired to become a priest and attended the Seminario Arcivescovile di Milano before dropping out to concentrate on his studies on ancient languages. He later became interested in Noigandres poetry and the writings ofRoger Caillois,and started to champion primitive writing. He co-founded the magazineHabitatand contributed toO Nivel.,
In 1950, Villa moved toSão Paulo,where he befriended Brazilian "concrete poets"Haroldo de CamposandAugusto de Campos.He later returned to Italy and settled inRomewhere he got involved with the local art scene, working with artists such asAlberto Burri,Sante Monachesi,Mario Schifano,Gino De Dominicis,Mark Rothko,Marcel Duchamp,Sebastiano Matta,Mario Schifano,Giuseppe Capogrossi,Patrizia Vicinelli,Giulio TurcatoandFrancesco Lo Savio.From the late 1950s through the early 1960s he collaborated with the art gallery Appia Antica in Rome. During that time, he also edited a contemporary art magazine associated with the gallery and published by Liana Sisti and Mario Ricci calledAppia Antica: Atlas of New Art.
Villa's scholarly etymological knowledge prompted him to try to make dead languages interact with living ones. He promoted his work in a semi-clandestine way, favouring independent publishers over more established names, as he felt experimentation and mainstream couldn't go together. Most of his writings were printed by small publishing houses or publications throughout Italy, and many are unavailable today. These includeIl Frontespizio,Il Meridiano,Letteratura,Malebolge,Tam Tam,Baobab,Ana Etcetera,Documento-Sud,Linea-Sud,andContinuum.[2]
Villa also translated into Italian the Babylonian creation epicEnuma Elis,Homer'sOdyssey,and several books of the Hebrew Scriptures, including the first five books of Moses (Pentateuch),Job,ProverbsandSong of Songs.
Villa died inRietiin 2003.
Legacy[edit]
From 6 August to 19 September 2021, the Appia Antica Archaeological Park in Rome held the exhibitionAppia Antica: Atlas of New Art.The show traced the history of the Appia Antica art gallery and the magazine.
The largest collection of Villa's material, curated by Aldo Tagliaferri, is in the archive of the Museo della Carale Accattino inIvrea.
Selected bibliography[edit]
- The Selected Poetry of Emilio Villa,Contra Mundum Press, New York, 2014. (Trans. Dominic Siracusa)
References[edit]
- Renello, Gian Paolo. 2007.Segnare un secolo. Emilio Villa: la parola, l’immagine.Rome, DeriveApprodi.
- Campi, Enzo. 2013.Parabol(ich)e dell’ultimo giorno. Per Emilio Villa.Milan, Dotcom Press.
Notes[edit]
External links[edit]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
- Italian male poets
- Italian art critics
- Italian artists
- Translators from Sumerian
- Translators from Hebrew
- Translators of the Bible into Italian
- 1914 births
- 2003 deaths
- 20th-century Italian poets
- 20th-century Italian translators
- 20th-century Italian male writers
- Italian male non-fiction writers
- Italian magazine editors
- Gruppo 63