Spoletium

Spoletium is an Italian cultural journal founded in 1954 in Spoleto by the journalist and publicist Giovanni Antonelli. Published by the Accademia spoletina (also known as the Accademia degli Ottusi), it is dedicated to the art, history and culture of the city of Spoleto and the territories historically connected to it. The journal was initially published by the Azienda autonoma di soggiorno e turismo, the local tourism board, and later taken over by the Accademia spoletina, which has published it continuously since the late 1950s. Over the decades, Spoletium has hosted contributions from numerous renowned Italian and international scholars, including Alberto Moravia, Giacomo Devoto, Bruno Toscano, and many others. It began as a quarterly publication and later became an annual. After a five-year interruption between 2003 and 2008, it resumed publication under the direction of Letizia Ermini Pani. The journal remains an important reference for the cultural heritage of Spoleto and its region.

Spoletium was founded in 1954 in Spoleto by Giovanni Antonelli, a journalist and publicist from Spoleto. The idea for a journal dedicated to the city came to Antonelli in 1950 while he was working at the State Archives of Florence and happened to read a Sienese art periodical. The decisive moment for the project was the first Congress of Lombard Studies, organized in 1951 by the Accademia spoletina, and the subsequent founding of the Centro italiano di studi sull'alto medioevo (CISAM) in 1952. In its early years, the journal was published by the Azienda autonoma di soggiorno e turismo, headed by Gaetano Petrelli. It was multi-thematic, published in a format of 226 x 313 mm, quarterly, and gained considerable fame both in Italy and abroad. Directed by Antonelli himself, it hosted contributions from illustrious professors and scholars of international repute, including Adriano Peroni, Michelangelo Cagiano de Azevedo, Mario Salmi, Jürgen Sydow, Adriano Belli, Giacomo Devoto, Percy Ernst Schramm, Bernhard Bischoff, Claudio Sánchez-Albornoz, Pedro de Palol, Álvaro d'Ors, Loren C. MacKinney, Edmond Faral, André Loyen, Giuseppe Sordini, Bruno Toscano, Alberto Moravia, Giovanni Carandente and many others. After 1956, the Azienda autonoma was no longer able to fund the publication and suggested that the Accademia spoletina take it over. After long deliberations and fears about the financial burden, the Accademia assumed publication and exclusive editorial care, activities that continue to this day. The Accademia changed the cover and the frequency, from quarterly to annual; its pages continued to host essays, notes, contributions, entries, documents, reviews and announcements by noted Italian and foreign scholars, as well as local ones. The Azienda autonoma continued to handle its worldwide distribution. Under the care of Alceo Rambaldi, secretary of the Accademia spoletina from 1956, a Notiziario was added to the early issues, containing information on the Accademia's activities and on various discoveries, restorations and cultural events in the area. From 2003, the journal experienced a setback: with issue 44, the direction by its founder Giovanni Antonelli came to an end after 50 years. For management reasons, publication was interrupted and only resumed five years later, in 2008, when Letizia Ermini Pani was appointed director. The first 11 issues, from 1954 to 1962, had the same cover, with varying background color tones, but the image always showed the same detail of the facade of the church of San Pietro in Spoleto; the back cover bore the city's coat of arms. In these early issues only the name of the director, Giovanni Antonelli, appeared; the editorial committee was never indicated. From issue 13 to issue 44 (between 1968 and 2003), the cover changed: color triumphed in two bands at the top and bottom, with a different photo in the center each time, depicting monuments or frescoes discussed in one of the internal articles. The editorial committee appeared for the first time, composed of Lionello Leonardi, Silvestro Nessi, Carlo Pietrangeli, Luigi Pompilj, Alceo Rambaldi, Bruno Toscano. These characteristics remained largely unchanged until 2003. After the five-year interruption and the appointment of the new director, in 2008 publication resumed with a different format (221 x 280 mm) and a completely new graphic design: a larger central image, the two bands at top and bottom reduced to a minimum and colored grey.

• 2008

  Publication resumes under new director Letizia Ermini Pani with a new format and graphic design.

• 2003

  Issue 44 marks the end of Giovanni Antonelli's 50-year editorship; publication is interrupted.

• 1968

  Cover redesign from issue 13; editorial committee first listed.

• 1956

  The Azienda autonoma can no longer fund the journal; the Accademia spoletina takes over publication.

• 1954

  First issue of Spoletium published by the Azienda autonoma di soggiorno e turismo, directed by Giovanni Antonelli.

• 1952

  Founding of the Centro italiano di studi sull'alto medioevo (CISAM).

• 1951

  First Congress of Lombard Studies organized by the Accademia spoletina, a decisive moment for the project.

• 1950

  Giovanni Antonelli conceives the idea of a journal for Spoleto while working at the State Archives of Florence.

A scholarly and divulgative annual journal focused on the art, history and culture of Spoleto and its historical territories, published by the Accademia spoletina.

• Spoletium journal

  Annual cultural journal published by the Accademia spoletina, featuring articles and essays on the art, history and culture of Spoleto and its historical territories.

1. 1Spoletium (rivista) - Wikipediait.wikipedia.org
2. 2Spoletium - Wikidatawikidata.org