Umberto Eco: Legacy of the Italian philosopher and novelist

Umberto Eco, the renowned Italian semiotician, philosopher, and novelist, is being commemorated ten years after his passing. Known for his profound intellectual contributions, Eco’s work often blended medieval studies with complex semiotic theories.

His masterpiece, ‘The Name of the Rose’ (1980), utilized a historical deductive mystery setting to explore Thomist philosophy and the nature of signs. The novel, which won the Strega Prize, examines the human struggle to grasp truth through the lens of a medieval labyrinth.

Elena Kostioukovitch, who translated Eco’s seven novels and various essays between 1980 and 2016, has released a text titled ‘Translating Umberto Eco while Revolutions Break Out’. The work explores the intricate relationship between author and translator, framing translation as an act of hermeneutics and a bridge between different worlds. Kostioukovitch also discusses the political implications of translation and the historical censorship of Eco’s work within the Soviet regime.