Rocco Carabba editore

Rocco Carabba editore, also known as Casa Editrice Rocco Carabba, is an Italian publishing house based in Lanciano, in the Abruzzo region. Founded by Rocco Carabba in 1878, it grew into one of the most important publishers in Abruzzo and a notable presence in Italian literary culture of the early twentieth century. Its historic headquarters stood at the entrance of viale Cappuccini, including the historic printing works in via Ferro di Cavallo; today the company operates from a modern building in the Gaeta industrial zone. The house first made its name by publishing school texts, philosophy, Latin and contemporary literature, and numismatics. Its literary reputation was sealed by its association with Gabriele D'Annunzio: in 1880 it printed the second edition of his first work, Primo vere, and it later published the first edition of Pirandello's L'umorismo in 1904. From 1909 the series Cultura dell'anima, conceived by Giovanni Papini with a cover designed by Ardengo Soffici, brought the publisher national fame. The catalogue also included works by Machiavelli, Leopardi, Seneca, Foscolo, Alberti, Aristotle, and Rabindranath Tagore — Carabba being the first Italian publisher to issue the Indian author. After Rocco Carabba's death in January 1924, management passed to his son Giuseppe. The firm expanded in 1930 and published Eugenio Montale's Ossi di seppia in 1931, but financial difficulties and the Second World War led to bankruptcy on 2 May 1950. In 1972 two Lanciano intellectuals, Emiliano Giancristofaro and Domenico Barbati, revived the imprint, reprinting prestigious titles from Cultura dell'anima and issuing new works. In 1996 Carabba was refounded as a limited liability company (s.r.l.) and today collaborates with several Italian universities on series in Italian studies, philosophy, and economics, with particular strength in D'Annunzio studies, often under the patronage of the Vittoriale degli Italiani. Its historic series Cultura dell'anima, published from 1909 to 1938, is once again available.

Casa Editrice Rocco Carabba was founded in Lanciano in 1878 by Rocco Carabba. The original premises stood at the entrance of viale Cappuccini from corso Roma (Porta Santa Chiara), and the historic printing works were in via Ferro di Cavallo; the site remained in use until the 1960s. In its early years the house published numerous school texts, volumes of philosophy, Latin and contemporary literature, and numismatics by national and international authors. A few years after the typography opened, on 14 November 1880, it printed the second edition of Primo vere, the first work by Gabriele D'Annunzio, which had first appeared in 1878 with the Chieti printer Giustino Ricci. Because D'Annunzio was still a student at the Cicognini in Prato, the contract was signed with Francesco Paolo d'Annunzio Rapagnetta, his father; D'Annunzio maintained a friendship with Rocco Carabba thereafter. In the late 1880s the publisher collaborated with the Abruzzese folklorist Gennaro Finamore on studies of Abruzzese popular traditions; in 1889 Finamore also published the first edition of the Vocabolario del dialetto abruzzese, focused on the speech of Gessopalena. The publisher's wider fame came from 1909 with the series Cultura dell'anima, conceived by Giovanni Papini and embellished with a cover designed by Ardengo Soffici. Papini was also entrusted with the series Scrittori nostri. Other collaborators included Salvatore Di Giacomo, creator of the series I Santi nell'arte e nella vita; Giovanni Rabizzani, with L'Italia negli scrittori italiani e stranieri, antichi e moderni; Giuseppe Antonio Borgese with Classici antichi e moderni; and Eva Kuhn, wife of Giovanni Amendola, who devised the children's series I Classici per il fanciullo and Libri per fanciulli. Among the books published by Carabba were works by Niccolò Machiavelli, Giacomo Leopardi, Rabindranath Tagore (the first Italian publisher to issue the Indian author), Seneca, Ugo Foscolo, Leon Battista Alberti, and Aristotle. The house also published children's literature, gathering titles by English- and French-language authors. Figures of major importance in Italian culture entered the life of the Carabba house in various capacities, from Luigi Pirandello to Matilde Serao, from Massimo Bontempelli to Giuseppe Prezzolini, and younger intellectuals such as Ettore Allodoli, Goffredo Bellonci, Emilio Cecchi, Scipio Slataper, and Giovanni Vailati. In June 1907 the commission president of the Lanciano classical lyceum was Luigi Pirandello, who maintained an editorial relationship with Carabba. The publisher signed a contract for the publication of 12 short stories, but Pirandello sent only 4, beginning a stormy relationship that ended in court, with Pirandello losing the case. In 1904 Carabba had published Pirandello's essay L'umorismo. In the same years the local poet and Latinist Canon Cesare De Titta published his collections in Abruzzese verse, Terra d'Ore – Canti abruzzesi – Acqua, foco e vento. After Rocco Carabba's death in January 1924, management of the Carabba publishing house passed to his son Giuseppe. Activity continued to flourish in the early years of the new management: in 1930 the company was expanded and its machinery modernized. In 1931 Carabba published Eugenio Montale's collection Ossi di seppia. The crisis that followed, probably caused by mistaken investments, and the Second World War sharpened the publisher's difficulties, and it ceased activity through bankruptcy on 2 May 1950. In 1972, after recovering the literary property and rights from those who had taken them over after the bankruptcy, two Lanciano intellectuals, Emiliano Giancristofaro and Domenico Barbati, restarted publishing activities, reprinting prestigious works from the Cultura dell'anima series and publishing new works by authors such as Raffaele Colapietra, Giuseppe Prezzolini, Pasquale Salvucci, and Giacinto Spagnoletti. The activity was encouraged by intellectuals such as Giovanni Amendola, Giovanni Spadolini, Giuseppe Prezzolini, and Maria Teresa Gentile, and received compliments from President of the Republic Sandro Pertini, who wished to meet a delegation of the then-reborn Casa Editrice Rocco Carabba. In 1996 Carabba was refounded as a limited liability company (società a responsabilità limitata). Its new headquarters is in a modern building in the Gaeta industrial zone. Several Italian universities collaborate with the publisher, giving rise in recent decades to prestigious series in Italian studies, philosophy, and economics, directed by prominent names. Especially in the field of D'Annunzio studies, Carabba, often under the patronage of the Vittoriale degli Italiani, has produced titles of international standing. Among the most accredited series, besides the historic Cultura dell'anima (fully reprinted), are La Biblioteca del particolare, I Classici Carabba, La Piccola Biblioteca Carabba, Civiltà letteraria d'Europa, and I Pregiati. Documenti, testimonianze, Immagini.

• 1996

  Carabba is refounded as a limited liability company (s.r.l.).

• 1972

  Emiliano Giancristofaro and Domenico Barbati revive the publishing activity.

• 1950

  Ceases activity through bankruptcy on 2 May.

• 1931

  Publishes Eugenio Montale's Ossi di seppia.

• 1930

  The company is expanded and its machinery modernized.

• 1924

  Rocco Carabba dies in January; management passes to his son Giuseppe.

• 1909

  Launches the Cultura dell'anima series, conceived by Giovanni Papini with cover by Ardengo Soffici.

• 1904

  Publishes Luigi Pirandello's essay L'umorismo.

• 1889

  Publishes the first edition of Gennaro Finamore's Vocabolario del dialetto abruzzese.

• 1880

  Prints the second edition of Gabriele D'Annunzio's Primo vere on 14 November.

• 1878

  Rocco Carabba founds the publishing house in Lanciano.

A historic, culturally prestigious Italian publishing house with a strong regional identity in Abruzzo and a national literary heritage, now combining classic reprints with academic and contemporary titles.

• Primo vere (second edition, 1880)

• L'umorismo by Luigi Pirandello (1904)

• Vocabolario del dialetto abruzzese by Gennaro Finamore (1889)

• Ossi di seppia by Eugenio Montale (1931)

• Cultura dell'anima series (1909–1938, reprinted)

• I Classici Carabba series

• La Biblioteca del particolare series

• La Piccola Biblioteca Carabba series

• Civiltà letteraria d'Europa series

• I Pregiati. Documenti, testimonianze, Immagini series

• Vite di lotta sindacale (€20.00)

• Tutto in una valigia (€15.00)

• L'ultimo viaggio di San Bernardino (€15.00)

• Geografia storica dell'Abruzzo interno (€22.00)

• Il sarto della luce (€25.00)

• D'Annunzio e la malinconia by Gianni Oliva

• Volti by Luigi Emanuele d'Isernia (€15.00)

• Romanticismo by Gerolamo Rovetta (€18.00)

• Studi filosofici by Niccolò Tommaseo (€25.00)

1. 1Casa Editrice Carabba – official websiteeditricecarabba.it
2. 2Casa editrice Rocco Carabba – Wikipedia (Italian)it.wikipedia.org
3. 3Rocco Carabba editore – Wikidatawikidata.org
4. 4Volti – Casa Editrice Carabbaeditricecarabba.it
5. 5Romanticismo – Casa Editrice Carabbaeditricecarabba.it
6. 6Studi filosofici – Casa Editrice Carabbaeditricecarabba.it