In which city was Umberto Eco born? Umberto Eco - Biography - current and creative path

AiF.ru put together a short guide to creativity Eco- books worth reading to get an idea about the Italian writer, philosopher and researcher of popular culture.

"The Name of the Rose"

The Russians learned about Eco precisely because of this novel, although in the West the writer first became known for his scientific works, and only then - works of art. In Russia, however, the translation of The Name of the Rose, the debut novel by Umberto Eco, which tells about the investigation, was the first to become available. strange death in a monastic cloister. The case includes a mysterious labyrinth library, from the window of which the monk fell out. The heroes are trying to unravel the mystery of the sinister library.

Eco's book turned out to be of interest both to intellectuals, who consider it as an ideal embodiment of a postmodern novel with many semantic layers, quotations and allusions, and to the general reader, who found in it a good and interesting detective in the dark and unusual scenery. Eco filled the novel with so many mysteries and hidden meanings that after the publication of the book he began to receive hundreds of letters with questions from readers. As a result, he was forced to write an explanation - "Notes on the margins of the Name of the Rose." In 1986, the book was filmed - the main characters were played Sean Connery and Christian Slater. True, the writer did not like the film so much that he generally forbade the screening of his books. Even Stanley Kubrick who wanted to make a film based on Foucault's Pendulum.

"Foucault Pendulum"

Eco's second novel came out in 1988, eight years after The Name of the Rose. Eco has always been distinguished by subtle humor (and a healthy sense of self-irony), so his second novel is a parodic and ironic look at intellectuals interested in conspiracy theories, who are often so carried away by the beauty of the idea that they cease to soberly assess reality. The three main characters work in a book publishing house and constantly receive graphomaniac texts from the authors. Many of them are about various conspiracy theories. The editors are amused by this and decide to create their own conspiracy theory. But... they get a little carried away. So that they themselves begin to believe in it.

The book is timeless! Just out of curiosity, go to any bookstore today and be sure that numerous books about conspiracy theories and new interpretations are looking at you from the shelves. historical events. Such books are always in bright flashy covers, and, alas, often in the bestseller section. Love for conspiracy theories is indestructible.

"Island of the Eve"

A novel that only loyal Eco fans will enjoy - it looks completely simple story about the next Robinson, who ended up on a desert island, is in fact simply crammed with complex postmodern quotes.

"Prague Cemetery"

An adventure novel is the diary of the secret agent Simone Simonini, who, at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, recalls his hectic life, participation in covert operations and political intrigues that changed the fate of entire countries. Eco writes about Freemasonry, anti-Semitism and his favorite conspiracy theories. The novel is curious and fascinating, so it quickly became a bestseller.

"Zero number"

The latest novel by Umberto Eco was released in early 2015 and tells about the everyday life of a newspaper editorial office, consisting of chronic losers and inventing events rather than telling about them. So, one of the employees is investigating the death of Mussolini - according to another conspiracy theory, the Duce was not killed, his double was executed. In this novel, Eco continues to sneer at the modern mass consciousness and the participation of the media in this.

"Five Essays on Ethics"

Abroad, Eco became famous as an essayist. Many of his essays have now been translated into Russian. By the way, for example, he has a collection dedicated to the phenomenon of Bondiana - the writer is a longtime fan and expert in the field of bondology (yes, this is a whole science!).

But the most accessible is his collection “Five Essays on Ethics” - Eco’s reflections on public morality, the nature of fascism and Nazism, modern media, and the problems of migrants. Many of the essays written in the last century do not lose their relevance even now.

"Three Tales"

Eco also tried to write fairy tales, and they were also translated into Russian. This is a children's book, but adults can enjoy it too. A story about kind atoms who do not want to kill people and jump out of atomic bombs.

The story of three cosmonauts - Russian, American and Chinese - who fly to Mars but can't learn to trust each other - until they realize that they all, although they speak different languages, are very similar: they miss their mother, they are afraid of aliens ... True, then everything goes well with aliens.

A story about gnomes from another planet who really wanted to know what a real civilization is, but when they see its incarnation on Earth, they immediately volunteer to come and clean the planet - from dirt, smog and oil spilled in the seas.

In general, philosophical tales about the world around us, which, by the way, children really like.

"Missing Structure"

Another facet of the work of Eco, a professor at the University of Boulogne, is a textbook on semiotics, the science of signs and sign systems. The book is highly recommended for journalism and other majors in mass communications, but since Eco writes in simple and accessible language, The Missing Structure may be of interest to amateurs as well. The professor talks about enough complex matters using simple examples from popular culture - from painting and literature to advertising and card games.

Feb 06 2011

Italian writer Umberto Eco gave the world great amount works, but more recently, on October 29, 2010, another masterpiece appeared. However, before talking about Eco's new work "Prague Cemetery", let's turn to the biography of the master. The writer was born in Alexandria on January 5, 1932. Despite the clear desire of his father, Julio Eco, to become a lawyer, Eco entered the University of Turin and graduated in 1954.

Immediately after graduation, Umberto became an employee of RAI (Italian Television), but in the same year and in 1958-1959 he served in the army. In the same years, the first book of the writer was published, which brought him fame and was subsequently reprinted three times. original name the book was - "Problems of Aesthetics at St. Thomas" (1956), and the final version to this day sounds like "Art and Beauty in Medieval Aesthetics" (1987).

Any master of literature has his own style, and Umberto Eco is no exception. In particular, it is very difficult to understand what exactly is the true version of the work, since the author changes something all the time, makes many comments throughout his life. In principle, Umberto is always involved in any project, but there is the only communication that he does not accept, and even rejects throughout his life - this is television.

Since 1959, Eco begins to develop. It all started with the fact that he became the chief collaborator of "literature non fiction» editions of Bompiani. Here Umberto Eco will work until 1975. But in the publishing house "Il Verri" he had a whole column, the materials of which subsequently formed two collections - Diario minimo (1963), as well as Diario minimo (1992).

You can list names for a very long time. educational institutions, in which Umberto Eco lectured in various disciplines - semiotics, literature, philosophy. We list only the main ones - the Polytechnic Institute of Milan (1961-1964), the University of Florence (1966-1969), the University of Bologna (since 1975), professor at the College de France, Paris (1992-1993) and many others. In addition to these universities, the writer in different time visited almost all countries of the world, and among them - Egypt, Denmark, Israel, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal and the USSR. In addition, the writer became the founder of the first international congress on semiotics in 1974, and subsequently became general secretary International Association for Semiotic Research. In addition, Umberto Eco has a lot of awards and honorary titles, in particular, Chevalier of the Legion of Honor in France (1993).

Despite the density of the schedule, Eco creates new works. In particular, in 1962 a book was published called Opera aperta, which translates into Russian as "Open Work". The work became a whole treatise on culture, which predetermined its further development. Here the reader will come across the concepts of many sciences - physics, computer science, mathematics and others.

Two years later, a book was published under the title - "Frightened and united" (1964), "Joyce's Poetics" (1965), "On the periphery of the empire" (1977), About mirrors (1985), "Limits of interpretation" (1990) , "The search for the ideal language in European culture"(1993), "Kant and the Platypus" (1997), "Between lies and irony" (1998). And this is not the whole list of books that Umberto Eco wrote in his life. Reading the literature that the writer created will show how versatile he was a person, how deep his knowledge was in all areas of science. In each book, he tries to penetrate the essence of the words and sentences he writes, he tries to find and test the reader.

In some works, Eco discusses the problems of semiotics, and his contribution to the development of cinema and architecture is considered the most significant. The author paid a lot of attention to postmodernism and popular culture. In particular, for Umberto Eco, postmodernism is a certain state of the human soul.

Of course, Umberto's most famous and first serious work is The Name of the Rose (1980). It was this novel that brought the author such popularity and became the most readable work that time. Among other things, the book was awarded such awards as the Italian Strega Prize (1981), as well as the Medici Prize (1982). The essence of the novel comes down to the opposition of two worlds, which in turn come down to Aristotle's book Poetics. Despite the fact that the work has a logical end in the form of a fire, the struggle of the worlds continues. A peculiar highlight of the novel was the library, as well as the manuscript and the labyrinth. Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, the novel was successfully filmed in 1986, starring Sean Connery.

Among the symbolic novels like "The Name of the Rose" were written novels, "The Island of the Eve and Others." One of the last and, one might say, contemporary works is the book "Baudolino", which was published in 2000.

As for life apart from creativity, Eco's life is quite coherent. In 1962 he became married man, Renata Ramge became his companion in life. The family has a daughter and a son. In general, Umberto Eco, despite his age, is very cheerful and half this day. Until now, he smokes a lot and works a lot. Until now, he has his own column called - "Minerva's Paper Match Box" in Italian edition"Espresso".

By the way, another book of his has recently been published - “ Prague cemetery". This time it's not like always. Umberto Eco is famous for the fact that before the release of his books, he makes a chic announcement, advertises and gives interviews, but this time there was nothing like that. However, some facts of the plot are known. The action takes place in Paris, in March 1897, and the main character Simonini collected the most negative traits among all the heroes of world literature. In addition, all actions are based on real events, and almost all the characters lived in reality. The work contains the idea of ​​anti-Semites and Jews. The book is enough wide circle readers, even those who do not know what events were in the 20th century and that the whole book is based on real events. However, this fact does not at all mean that the writer did not paint a portrait of the ideal reader. For Umberto, such a person will be someone who still suspects the existence of real events, and also does not deny their existence at the present time.

Elena Kostyukovich will translate the novel into Russian in the near future. In general, Umberto Eco is great writer which not everyone can read. The thing is that he is specifically looking for "his" reader and makes special tests. In particular, the first hundred pages of the work "The Name of the Rose" are specially written boringly in order to "weed out" some of the readers.

P.S. If you have recently got on the Internet, but really want to learn how to create your own personal website on the World Wide Web, read useful articles on our website.
Interesting games , flash games online.
For those who have vision problems and need contact lenses, a link to the Lensmaster online store is useful.

Notable students Marco Belpoliti[d]

Giulio Eco was one of thirteen children in the family and wanted his son to get a law degree, but Umberto entered Turin University to study medieval philosophy and literature, and graduated in 1954 (Bachelor of Philosophy). During his studies, Umberto became an atheist and left Catholic Church.

From September 1962 he was married to a German art teacher Renate Ramge. The couple had a son and a daughter.

Eco died at his home in Milan on the evening of February 19, 2016 from pancreatic cancer, which he had been fighting for two years. February 23, 2016 at Castle Sforza farewell ceremony took place in Milan.

Scientific works

Umberto Eco has touched on a wide range of topics throughout a prolific scientific career. He was engaged in research of medieval and modern aesthetics, mass culture, developed his own theory of semiotics. One of the central problems for him was the problem of interpretation: the relationship between the reader and the author, "the role of the reader".

Early work

"The Evolution of Medieval Aesthetics" ( Sviluppo dell'estetica medievale, ) is devoted to the problem of the development of the idea of ​​the Beautiful in medieval philosophy. In having a significant impact on further development science of culture of the second half of the 20th century, the work "Open Work" ( Opera Aperta, ) Eco puts forward the idea of ​​the incompleteness of works of culture, their openness to a variety of interpretations. The author focuses on the phenomenon of " open work”, that is, one in which the creative role of the “performer” sharply increases, not only offering this or that interpretation, but becoming a real co-author. Eco does not confine himself to art criticism, he operates with analogies and concepts from modern mathematics, physics, and information theory; does not lose sight of the social aspects of art. A separate chapter is devoted to the influence Zen Buddhism on Western culture. In Joyce's Poetics Le poetiche di Joyce, ) Eco explores the universe in as much detail as possible Joyce, especially two of his monumental works: " Ulysses" and " Finnegan's Wake ».

Cultural Studies

Eco has been studying various forms of culture for a long time - from " high literature» Western tradition to popular culture. On the one hand, his research reflected the ongoing epistemological changes in the status of elite and mass culture, which led to postmodern blurring the boundaries between the two areas. On the other hand, Eco considered the cultural field in holistic key, as an area of ​​symbolic production, where both forms of culture do not just coexist, but are interchangeable and complementary. In the 1960s and 1970s, Eco took a modernist approach to the analysis of culture; in his area of ​​interest were popular novels XIX-XX centuries and various forms mass communication (television, cartoons, songs, movies). In the monograph "Apocalyptic and Integrated Intellectuals: mass communications and theories of mass culture” (1964), the scientist discusses a wide range of topics: comics, music, radio, various literary genres (science fiction, gothic, noir). The Bond Case (1965) analyzes the genesis and structure of the James Bond novels, their social and ideological models, and the impact of books and films on the reader and viewer. In the collection "Superman for the Masses" (1976), the scientist examines the best-selling novels of the 18th-20th centuries - from William Beckford and Alexandre Dumas to Ian Fleming. The most striking example of criticism of modern "mythologies" is the essay "The Myth of Superman", which was later included in the book "The Role of the Reader. Studies in the Semiotics of Text” (1979). Analyzing the mythological structure of the stories about Superman, Eco shows the absurdity, the paradoxical discrepancy between the virtual omnipotence of the hero and the small scale of his real deeds. According to Eco, such a paradox is inevitable: the myth contains an ideological message. Superman must do good with the help of small deeds, since he is "the perfect example of a civic consciousness, completely separated from the political consciousness", incapable of a holistic awareness of the world.

Structuralism and the theory of semiotics

Starting from early work in medieval aesthetics and literary criticism in the 1970-1980s, the scientist developed the theory of semiotics. In The Missing Structure: An Introduction to Research in Semiology ( La struttura assente, ) Eco criticizes provisions structuralism, unconsciously claiming, according to Eco, the status new religion with a deity-structure in the center. The scientist rejects the ontological approach to the structure (there are no “great-structures” in nature and culture) and considers it methodologically as an effective model, and not an object of study. The author draws many examples from various fields of human activity, including architecture, painting, music, cinema, advertising, card games. The work "Form of Content" (1971) deals with questions of semantics.

Eco developed the semiotic concept in the main works on semiotics - "Treatise on General Semiotics" (1975) and "Semiotics and Philosophy of Language" (1984). In the "Treatise on General Semiotics" (1975), the scientist systematizes modern semiotics and addresses cognitive-interpretive semiotics Charles S. Pierce, trying to combine it with the structuralist approach Louis Helmslev. Turning to Peirce allows us to rethink the provisions of early work and go beyond structuralism: Eco gradually translates structuralist codes into a theory of interpretation, a version of semiotics in which the construction of meanings is a dynamic process. Eco builds on Peirce's idea of ​​"unlimited semiosis", however, seeks to avoid an infinite number of meanings and, at the same time, univocality; unrestricted semiosis becomes something of a middle ground in relation to the position of the reader and is more in line with Peirce's "interpretant" (learning something new about "meaning" by understanding signs).

In the "Treatise ..." Eco defines semiotics as follows:

A Treatise on General Semiotics presents the theory of codes and the production of signs. Eco identifies two types of codes. First, unambiguous codes (for example, alphabet Morse code), in which a certain series of signals (dots and dashes) corresponds to a sign series (for example, letters of the alphabet). This kind of code is widespread; so the relationship between DNA and RNA in biology can be considered as an unambiguous code. Another type of code corresponds to the structure of the language and its specific organization, Saussurean separation between speech (language act) and language (grammar, syntax, system); or, in terms of L. Hjelmslev, the division of language into planes of expression and content. Eco calls this kind of code "S-code" (semiotic code), which can be " denotation" (when the statement is taken literally) or " connotation' (when code within code occurs). Despite the similarities with de Saussure's linguistics, Eco's S-code is more dynamic. First, the meaning of the sign-bearer ( sign-vehicle Pierce; for example, a word or an image) does not depend on the alleged real object. In other words, the “referential fallacy” must be avoided: the sign bearer “dog” is not the equivalent of any particular dog (that is, a real object), but refers to all dogs. A prime example can serve as "nevertheless" - the code in pure form, which has no referent. Secondly, codes exist in the context of social and cultural life. As Eco writes, "cultural units" are

…signs that social life put at our disposal: images interpreting books; appropriate responses interpreting ambiguous questions; words that interpret definitions and vice versa.

Another aspect of code theory is the concept of sign production. Eco considers elements that are easily assimilated by the code (Pearce's symbols) and those whose assimilation is difficult (Pearce's icons). Eco calls them, respectively, ratio facilis and ratio difficilis. Proximity to ratio difficilis increases the "motivation" of the sign of the object, which is clearly seen in the signs-icons. However, even strongly "motivated" signs (for example, the image of a virgin) have conventional elements. Even if an object or behavior appears to exist outside of codes, it quickly becomes conventional. Eco refers in particular to examples Ernst Gombrich about what was considered realism in the history of art (for example, paintings Durer). Even photo has conventional aspects; Digitization is essentially a form of codification and includes new possibilities for reproduction.

The following key elements can be distinguished in the typology of the production of Eco signs: physical labor - effort for the production of a sign; recognition - an object or event must be recognized as an expression of sign content through traces, symptoms or clues; ostensive definition- the object or act must be an example of a class of objects or acts; replica: close to ratio difficilis, however, acquires the properties of codification through stylization (for example, emblems, musical constructions, mathematical symbols); invention is the purest option ratio difficilis, which cannot be deduced from the existing code, the basis of the new material continuum. According to Eco, in the Q model, the language is able to change and update, its system is open and dynamic.

"Semiotics and Philosophy of Language" presents detailed analysis such semiotic concepts as sign, symbol, code, meaning, metaphor, which are analyzed in diachrony. Eco considers, first of all, the difference between the structure of the dictionary and encyclopedias. For Eco, the dictionary is a kind of hierarchical " tree Porphyria”, a model of definition through genera, species and properties. This approach is consistent with conventional linguistics' view of language as a static and closed system, which Eco does not like because this model does not provide a satisfactory explanation for unrestricted semiosis. The encyclopedia model, on the contrary, corresponds to a network without a center, a labyrinth without an exit. The vocabulary is limited either in scope or in meaning; encyclopedia- rhizome It has the structure of a map, not a hierarchical tree. For Eco, it is the encyclopedia that is the general model of language, infinitely open to new elements.

The problem of interpretation and later work

Since the second half of the 1970s, Eco has dealt with the problem of interpretation a lot. The monograph "The Role of the Reader" (1979) introduces the concept of the "ideal reader" - a reader who is aware of the existence of many possibilities for interpreting the text. Eco revisits his earlier thesis of an infinite number of interpretations: their number is numerous, but not infinite. The text provides opportunities for real interpretations that are adequate to the structure inherent in the text. From this, however, it does not follow that a particular author can judge certain interpretations of his ideas: rather, it is about moving towards an adequate interpretation, although the “ideal reader” is not at all “perfect” .

The Limits of Interpretation (1990) clarifies Eco's approach to freedom of interpretation, responding to criticism from followers of deconstruction Derrida. The monograph "Kant and the Platypus" (1997) completes the theoretical research of the scientist, considering the links between language, cognition and reality. Eco's attention was focused on ways of signifying the external world: the scientist insisted that language not only mediates reality, but participates in its construction; critics considered this approach idealism.

AT later works Eco is gradually abandoning general classifications and global interpretations in favor of " short stories describing specific forms of experience. Fragmentation and differentiation of knowledge significantly narrow the possibilities of general theoretical constructions. In Kant and the Platypus, Eco noted:

If in the 1970s it seemed possible to connect the disparate fragments of many semiotic studies and summarize them, today the boundaries of these studies have expanded so much (capturing the field of various epistemological sciences) that any new systematization should be considered rash.

Compositions

Novels

In January 2015, Bompiani published new novel Umberto Eco - " Zero number ».

Scientific, popular science works, essays and journalism

Also published in Russian:

"How to write thesis» ( Come si fa una tesi di laurea, ).

Other jobs

Umberto Eco is a recognized expert in the field bondology, that is, everything related to James Bond. The following works have been published: ital.(Il Caso Bond) English The Bond Affair), () - a collection of essays edited by Umberto Eco; English The Narrative Structure in Fleming, ().

They wrote several stories:

• ital. La bomba e il generale, English The Bomb and the general).
• ital. I tre cosmonauti, English The Three Astronauts).
• ital. Gli gnomi di Gnu, .

Subsequently, these books were published under the same cover and received the title "Three Tales" in the Russian edition.

Screen versions of works

• Name rose  (film)(film, 1986, 128 min.) - dir. Jean-Jacques Anno.

Publications of works in Russian

• Three tales. Per. from Italian. M. Wiesel. From illus. Eugenio Carmi. - M. : OGI, 2013. - 112 p. - ISBN 978-5-94282-701-4.

Scientific works

• Art and beauty in medieval aesthetics / Per. from Italian. A. Shurbeleva (Series "Library of the Middle Ages"). - M.: Aletheia, . - 256 p. - ISBN 5-89329-640-0.
• Revelations of a Young Novelist = Confessions of a Young Novelist / Translator: Alexander Klimin. - corpus, 2013. - 320 p. - 7000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-17-077819-5..
• Five Essays on Ethics / Per. from Italian. E. Kostyukovich. - St. Petersburg: Symposium, . - 160 s. - ISBN 5-89091-210-0.
  Perv. ed.: St. Petersburg: Symposium, Bompiani, . - 160 s. - ISBN 5-89091-125-2.
• Six walks in literary forests / Per. from Italian. A. Glebovskaya. - St. Petersburg: Symposium, . - 288 p. - ISBN 5-89091-211-9. (Literary Prize named after Alexander Belyaev 2003 for translation).
• Open work / Per. from Italian. A. Shurbelev. - M.: Academic project, . - 384 p. - ISBN 5-7331-0019-2.
• The evolution of medieval aesthetics / Per. from Italian. Y. Ilyin and A. Strukova (Series "Artist and connoisseur"). - St. Petersburg: ABC-classic, . - 288 p. - ISBN 5-352-00601-8.
• Poetics of Joyce / Per. from Italian. A. Koval. - St. Petersburg: Symposium, . - 496 p. - ISBN 5-89091-251-8.
• missing structure. Introduction to semiology / Per. from Italian. V. Reznik and A. Pogonyaylo. - St. Petersburg: Symposium, . - 544 p. - ISBN 5-89091-252-6.
• Say almost the same thing. Experiences about translation / Per. from Italian. A. Koval. - St. Petersburg: Symposium, . - 576 p. - ISBN 5-89091-316-6.
• The search for a perfect language in European culture / Per.s ital. A. Mirolyubova (Series "Formation of Europe"). - M.: Alexandria, . - 430 p. - ISBN 978-5-903445-05-9 , ISBN 978-5-903445-03-5.
• The role of the reader. Studies in the semiotics of the text / Per. from English. and ital. S. Silver. - St. Petersburg: Symposium, . - 502 p. - ISBN 978-5-8-9091-336-4.
• Make yourself an enemy. And other texts on the occasion / per. Ya. Arkova, M. Wiesel, E. Stepantsova. - M.: AST: Corpus, 2014. - 352 p. - ISBN 978-5-17-083136-4
• About literature / trans. S. Sidneva. - M.: AST: Corpus, 2016. - 416 p. - ISBN 978-5-17-086204-7
• From tree to labyrinth. Historical research sign and interpretation / per. O. Popova-Ple. - M.: Academic project, 2016. - 559 p. - ISBN 978-5-8291-1716-0 ]

Novels

• Name rose/ Per. from Italian. E. Kostyukovich. - M.: Book Chamber, . - 496 p. - ISBN 5-7000-0132-2.
  Dr. ed.: Collected Works. In 3 vols. T. 1. The name of the rose. - St. Petersburg: Symposium, . - 686 p. - ISBN 5-89091-037-X , ISBN 5-89091-038-8.
  Dr. ed.: St. Petersburg: Symposium, . - 632 p. - ISBN 5-89091-197-X , ISBN 978-5-89091-325-8.
• Pendulum Foucault/ Per. from Italian. E. Kostyukovich. - Kyiv: Fita, . - 752 p. - ISBN 5-7101-0075-7.
  Dr. ed.: Collected Works. In 3 vols. Vol. 2. Foucault's pendulum. - St. Petersburg: Symposium, . - 764 p. - ISBN 5-89091-037-X , ISBN 5-89091-085-X.
  Dr. ed.: St. Petersburg: Symposium, . - 736 p. - ISBN 978-5-89091-326-5.
• Island the day before/ Per. from Italian. E. Kostyukovich. - Collected works. In 3 vols. T. 3. The island on the eve. - St. Petersburg: Symposium, . - 496 p. - ISBN 5-89091-037-X , ISBN 5-89091-076-0.
  Dr. ed.: St. Petersburg: Symposium, . - 477 p. - ISBN 5-89091-199-6.
• Baudolino/ Per. from Italian. E. Kostyukovich. - St. Petersburg: Symposium, . - 544 p. - ISBN 978-5-89091-328-9 , ISBN 5-89091-254-2.
• Mysterious flame Queen Loana/ Per. from Italian. E. Kostyukovich. - St. Petersburg: Symposium, . - 596 p. - ISBN 978-5-89091-355-5.
• Prague cemetery/ Per. from Italian. E. Kostyukovich. AST Series: Corpus, 2011. - 560 p. - ISBN 978-5-271-38543-8.
• Zero number/ Per. from Italian. E. Kostyukovich. AST Series: Corpus, 2015. - 240 p. - ISBN 978-5-17-091032-8.

Notes and newspaper articles

• Notes on the margins of "The Name of the Rose" / Per. from Italian. E. Kostyukovich. - St. Petersburg:

Italian writer, historian and philosopher Umberto Eco died at the age of 85 at his home.

Most famous works Umberto Eco's novels are The Name of the Rose (1980), Foucault's Pendulum (1988), The Island of the Eve (1994). In January 2015 was published last novel writer - "Zero number".

1. Italian writer, historian and philosopher Umberto Eco died at the age of 85 at his home.

2. "I was born in Alessandria - the same town that is famous for borsalino hats."

Eco in Italy was considered a rather stylishly dressed man, and in his wardrobe there was a certain touch of humor.

3. In 1980, his novel "The Name of the Rose" was published, which became a bestseller and made the writer famous all over the world.

This book later became his most famous literary work and was filmed in 1986. main role The film stars Sean Connery and Christian Slater.

4. Eco himself considered writing as not the most important part of his life. “I am a philosopher. I only write novels on the weekends."

Umberto Eco was a scientist, a specialist in mass culture, a member of the world's leading academies, a laureate of the largest world awards, a holder of the Grand Cross and the Legion of Honor. Eco has been an honorary doctor of numerous universities. He wrote a large number of essays on philosophy, linguistics, semiotics, medieval aesthetics.

5. Umberto Eco is a recognized expert in the field bondology, that is, everything that is connected with James Bond.

6. There were about thirty thousand books in Umberto Eco's library.

7. Umberto Eco never ran after transport.

“Once my Parisian classmate, the future novelist Jean-Olivier Tedesco, urged me that I shouldn’t run to catch the metro: “I don’t run after trains” .... Despise your fate. Now I do not rush to run in order to leave on schedule. This advice may seem very simple, but it worked for me. Learning not to run after trains, I appreciated the true meaning of grace and aesthetics in behavior, I felt that I was in control of my time, schedule and life. It’s a shame to miss the train only if you run after it!

In the same way, not achieving the success that others expect from you is a shame, only if you yourself strive for it. You find yourself above the mouse races and the line to the feeder, and not outside them, if you act in accordance with your own choice, ”Eco reasoned.

8. To warm up, in the morning, Mr. Eco solved such astrological puzzles.

“Everyone is always born not under their own star, and the only way to live like a human being is to correct your horoscope daily.”

9. Eco has a lot of fans (namely fans, not book lovers) around the world.

The number on the car of an Eco fan from the USA.

10. "The best way to approach death is to convince yourself that there are only fools around."

Umberto Eco wrote: “The idea that when death comes, all this wealth will be lost, is the cause of both suffering and fears ... I think: what a waste, dozens of years spent on building a unique experience, and all this will have to be thrown away. burn Library of Alexandria. Blow up the Louvre.

Imprison in the abyss of the sea the most wondrous, richest and full of knowledge Atlantis." — In this essay, Eco concludes that immortal life, despite all this, would weigh him down.

, .