How did The Lord of the Rings become a secret weapon in Italy’s culture wars? | Jamie Mackay
Giorgia Meloni and the hard right are celebrating JRR Tolkien’s saga – while taking over Italy’s key cultural institutions, says Florence-based author Jamie Mackay
You're viewing a single thread.
I know that the rules in the sidebar says No Politics, but this is specifically relevant.
Does anyone have the Italian version they reference with the tone-setting forward? I'd be interested in seeing it.
I think the article’s connection to some of the aspects of the source material is relevant as well. As long as the conversation stays civil, I don’t see a problem with its inclusion in this community.
Absolutely, it's worth talking about since it's not a new phenomena with Tolkien's work. We should be mindful of these kinds of interpretations and be clear about how we, as a community, respond.
In Italy there are mainly two translations of LotR, one is the "historical" one to which many old school fans are religiously attached like the Bible even if it contains some mistakes (translation by Alliata, 1967), the newer one is more faithful to the original but has some unfortunate choices (especially for some names of places, rivers, even characters) and is considered "heretic" (translation by Fatica, 2019).
Italian fans are usually split into lovers or haters of the new (Fatica) translation.
I personally love the first translation I read when I was a kid, which is Bompiani's revision of 2009 of the Alliata version, even if it contains mistakes.