Meltemi Editore

Meltemi Editore (formally Meltemi Press S.r.l.) is an Italian publishing house founded in Rome in 1994 by Luisa Capelli and Marco Della Lena. It specialises in high-quality essay writing across anthropological research, cultural and postcolonial studies, contemporary economic and political thought, social and communication sciences, semiotics, visual cultures and gender studies. The founders, who came from different publishing backgrounds, aimed to give voice to a rigorous non-fiction that would emerge from what they saw as a 'silence' that had fallen over the human and social sciences after the fall of the Berlin Wall. A turning point came with the 1997 volume 'Scrivere le culture', edited by anthropologists James Clifford and George E. Marcus, which made the publisher's cultural project clearly recognisable. The original Meltemi ceased activity in April 2010. After several years of absence, the brand was revived in Milan at the end of 2016, taken over by the Gruppo Mimesis under the guidance of Pierre Dalla Vigna and Luca Taddio, and relaunched as a new S.r.l. under the direction of Manolo Morlacchi. From autumn 2016 the titles and authors of the 'Melusina' publisher returned to bookshop shelves alongside new releases confirming the intention to continue publishing the best non-fiction on the many faces of modernity and current affairs. The historic catalogue today comprises around 800 titles, with an author network including major contemporary thinkers such as Bruno Latour, Tim Ingold, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Peter Handke, Nancy Fraser, bell hooks, Pierre Bourdieu, Wim Wenders, Edgar Morin, Marc Augé and Judith Butler. The name Meltemi refers to a wind that blows in the Mediterranean, while the Melusina — the two-tailed mermaid from a mythical French tale — is the unmistakable logo of the publishing house, symbolising encounter and confrontation, dialectic and conflict, which underlie all its publications. Meltemi has published numerous thematic series (collane), including an anthropological series directed by Andrea Staid, a sociological series directed by Massimiliano Guareschi, a series on aesthetics and visual cultures directed by Maurizio Guerri, and a semiotics series directed by Gianfranco Marrone. To move beyond the boundaries of pure non-fiction, the Atlantide series was created, inspired by the submerged and ever-sought island-continent. The current Meltemi has kept alive much of its historic catalogue and the 'Melusine', short iconic essays and radical pamphlets. Other series include Culture Radicali (directed by Gruppo Ippolita), Visioni Eretiche (Carlo Formenti), 180 - Archivio critico della salute mentale (Peppe Dell'Acqua), Antropologia Oggi (Alice Bellagamba, Riccardo Ciavolella, Adriano Favole), Antropologia e Cultura pubblica (Berardino Palumbo, Giovanni Pizza), GeoArchivi (Marco Scotini), Denkstil (Gerando Ienna, Lorenzo Sabetta), Rethink (Alessandro Bonetti, Paolo Ortelli), Ccube (Nello Barile), Democrazie e Conflitti (Manuel Anselmi, Fabio de Nardis), Motus (Angelo Romeo), DeviAzioni (Cirus Rinaldi), Testi del Medioevo Germanico (Alessandro Zironi), and Fuori collana. Today Meltemi operates from Milan as part of the Gruppo Mimesis, publishing both Italian and translated international authors, and maintaining an active online store and catalogue. Its editorial identity remains tied to critical theory, anthropology and the humanities, with a strong emphasis on contemporary political and social debate.

Meltemi Editore was founded in Rome in 1994 by Luisa Capelli and Marco Della Lena. Both founders came from different publishing backgrounds and decided to create a publishing house that would give voice to high-quality non-fiction, emerging from the 'silence' that seemed to have fallen over the human and social sciences after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The publisher's cultural identity became clearly recognisable with the 1997 volume 'Scrivere le culture', edited by anthropologists James Clifford and George E. Marcus, which marked a qualitative leap for the house. The original Meltemi concluded its activity in April 2010. After several years of absence, Meltemi was reborn in Milan at the end of 2016. It was taken over by the Gruppo Mimesis, under the guidance of Pierre Dalla Vigna and Luca Taddio, and then relaunched as a new S.r.l. under the direction of Manolo Morlacchi. From autumn 2016, the titles and authors of the 'Melusina' publisher returned to bookshop shelves, accompanied by new releases confirming the intention to continue publishing the best non-fiction on the many faces of modernity and current affairs. To date, the historic catalogue of the publishing house consists of around 800 titles, with a network of authors that includes some of the greatest scholars of contemporary thought: from Bruno Latour to Tim Ingold; from Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o to Peter Handke; from Nancy Fraser to bell hooks; from Pierre Bourdieu to Wim Wenders; from Edgar Morin to Marc Augé and Judith Butler. The name Meltemi is the name of a wind that blows in the Mediterranean, and the Melusina — the two-tailed mermaid from a mythical French tale — is the unmistakable logo of the publishing house. It symbolises encounter and confrontation, dialectic and conflict, which underlie all the publisher's publications. Since its foundation, Meltemi has published thematic series (collane), including the anthropological series directed by Andrea Staid; the sociological series directed by Massimiliano Guareschi; the series dedicated to aesthetics and visual cultures directed by Maurizio Guerri; and the semiotics series directed by Gianfranco Marrone. To move beyond the boundaries of pure non-fiction, the Atlantide series was created, inspired by the submerged and ever-sought island-continent. Like all unrealised theories, it remains the horizon of a thought still to be traversed — a series of titles in which grand narratives dissolve into local tales, regimes of speech break their paradigms and find themselves in hybrid, recombined and wild discourses. The current Meltemi has kept alive much of the historic catalogue and the 'Melusine', short iconic essays and radical pamphlets. Other series include Culture Radicali (directed by Gruppo Ippolita), Visioni Eretiche (Carlo Formenti), 180 - Archivio critico della salute mentale (Peppe Dell'Acqua), Antropologia Oggi (Alice Bellagamba, Riccardo Ciavolella, Adriano Favole), Antropologia e Cultura pubblica (Berardino Palumbo, Giovanni Pizza), GeoArchivi (Marco Scotini), Denkstil (Gerando Ienna, Lorenzo Sabetta), Rethink (Alessandro Bonetti, Paolo Ortelli), Ccube (Nello Barile), Democrazie e Conflitti (Manuel Anselmi, Fabio de Nardis), Motus (Angelo Romeo), DeviAzioni (Cirus Rinaldi), Testi del Medioevo Germanico (Alessandro Zironi), and Fuori collana.

• 2016

  Meltemi is reborn in Milan, taken over by Gruppo Mimesis and relaunched as a new S.r.l. under Manolo Morlacchi.

• 2010

  Original Meltemi concludes its activity in April.

• 1997

  Publication of 'Scrivere le culture', edited by James Clifford and George E. Marcus, marking a qualitative leap.

• 1994

  Founded in Rome by Luisa Capelli and Marco Della Lena.

Independent Italian publisher of critical, high-quality non-fiction in the humanities and social sciences.

• 1997

  Scrivere le culture

  Edited by James Clifford and George E. Marcus; a landmark volume for the publisher.

• Su Cuba

  A work of deconstruction of 70 years of propaganda.

• Fotografare Mussolini

  On the power of photography and fascism.

• Incoscienza di classe

  On class consciousness and cooperation.

• La razza maledetta

  On narratives, stereotypes and prejudices.

• L'essere della relazione

  Part of the Biblioteca / Antropologia series.

• Einstein, Israele e il sionismo

  Part of the Linee series.

1. 1Home - Meltemi Editoremeltemieditore.it
2. 2Meltemi Editore - Wikipediait.wikipedia.org
3. 3Meltemi editore - Wikidatawikidata.org