Archinto Editore

Archinto Editore (also known as Rosellina Archinto Editore) is an Italian publishing house founded in 1986 by Rosellina Archinto, following her long experience with the children's publisher Emme Edizioni. The company is based in Milan and is known for its distinctive catalogue of literary correspondence — collections of letters by major writers, artists and musicians — alongside critical essays and a poetry series. The publisher's catalogue includes letters by Anna Akhmatova, André Gide, Carlo Emilio Gadda, Guillaume Apollinaire, Antonin Artaud, James Joyce, Charles Baudelaire, Mikhail Bulgakov, Paolina Leopardi, Ezra Pound, Rainer Maria Rilke and Emil Cioran, among others. Historical correspondences include those of Pietro Bembo, Elizabeth I of England, Maria Theresa of Austria and Catherine II of Russia. Visual artists represented include Édouard Manet, Salvador Dalí and Wassily Kandinsky; musicians include Glenn Gould, Claude Debussy and Pierre Boulez. Archinto also publishes literary criticism, from Bonnefoy to Briganti, from Manguel to Capote. From 1988 to 1998 the house published the monthly magazine Leggere, a review of literature, criticism and book news, for a total of ninety issues, edited successively by Maurizio Ciampa, Franco Marcoaldi and Antonio D'Orrico. In 2003 Rosellina Archinto sold the publishing house to RCS MediaGroup, and in 2015 — at the age of 82 — she bought it back, explaining that she wanted to continue making books her own way, publishing correspondence and essays. The company remains a small, independent, owner-run Italian publisher with a clearly defined literary identity.

Archinto Editore was founded in 1986 by Rosellina Archinto, after she had built a long career in publishing with the children's book publisher Emme Edizioni (the 'M' standing for Marconi, her maiden name). The new house was established following the sale of Emme Edizioni and specialised from the outset in literary correspondence — collections of letters by writers, artists and musicians. Its catalogue came to include letters by Anna Akhmatova, André Gide, Carlo Emilio Gadda, Guillaume Apollinaire, Antonin Artaud, James Joyce, Charles Baudelaire, Mikhail Bulgakov, Paolina Leopardi, Ezra Pound, Rainer Maria Rilke and Emil Cioran, as well as Mann, Gide, Wittgenstein, Malerba and Quasimodo. Historical correspondences included those of Pietro Bembo, Elizabeth I of England, Maria Theresa of Austria and Catherine II of Russia. Among visual artists the house published letters of Édouard Manet, Salvador Dalí and Wassily Kandinsky; among musicians, Glenn Gould, Claude Debussy and Pierre Boulez. Archinto also published literary criticism, from Bonnefoy to Briganti and from Manguel to Capote. For ten years, from 1988 to 1998, the publisher issued the monthly magazine Leggere, devoted to literature, reviews and book news, reaching ninety issues in total. Its editors were, successively, Maurizio Ciampa, Franco Marcoaldi and Antonio D'Orrico. In 2003 Rosellina Archinto sold the publishing house to RCS MediaGroup. In 2015, at the age of 82, she bought it back, explaining: 'Someone will say I am a crazy old woman, but I did it only because I want to keep making books my way. I want to publish epistolaries and essays.' The house continues to operate as an independent, owner-run publisher with a distinctive literary catalogue organised in series such as Lettere (epistolaries), Le Mongolfiere (short narratives tending toward the essay), Le Vele (essays in paperback), In viaggio con... (travel narrative), Quaderni di poesia, Il colore della vita and Il panpepato.

• 2015

  Rosellina Archinto, aged 82, buys the publishing house back.

• 2003

  Rosellina Archinto sells the publishing house to RCS MediaGroup.

• 1998

  Leggere ceases publication after ninety issues.

• 1988

  Begins publishing the monthly magazine Leggere.

• 1986

  Archinto Editore founded by Rosellina Archinto after the sale of Emme Edizioni.

Small independent Italian literary publisher specialising in epistolaries and critical essays.

• Lettere

  Epistolary series.

• Le Mongolfiere

  Short narratives tending toward the essay.

• Le Vele

  Essays in paperback edition.

• In viaggio con...

  Travel narrative.

• Quaderni di poesia

  Poetry notebooks.

• Il colore della vita

  Book series.

• Il panpepato

  Book series.

1. 1Archinto Editore — Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2Rosellina Archinto Editore — Wikipedia (Italian)it.wikipedia.org
3. 3Archinto Editore — official sitearchinto.it