SPECIAL ISSUE ON TERRA MATTA

Abstract

In 2007 Einaudi published a book entitled Terra matta, by an unknown Sicilian author, Vincenzo Rabito, which would rapidly become a bestseller. In 2012 a film derived from the book, Terramatta; Il Novecento italiano di Vincenzo Rabito analfabeta siciliano, was presented at the Venice Film Festival to great acclaim. In introducing our analyses of that cultural phenomenon, I describe the nature of the typescript and set it in the context of other writings by Italy’s diversamente colti. I chart the passage from typescript to book to film and outline the interventions – explored in detail by the protagonists in the contributions that follow – shaping its successive incarnations.