December 2006 Volume 1, Number 2

Editors' Note

In the essay by Dr Mauro Barindi that opens the first special issue of Nordicum-Mediterraneum, it is stated that “Whenever one wishes to sketch an overview of the presence of Italian language and culture in the Nordic countries, Iceland stands out as the nation where Italian studies have hardly ever established firm roots and blossomed into a solid scholarly tradition. Amongst the few to have contributed to making this presence less ephemeral, also and especially at the institutional level, is Þórhallur Þorgilsson” (1903—1958). (find out more)

A Promoter of Italian Language and Culture in Iceland: Þórhallur Þorgilsson

by Mauro Barindi Whenever one wishes to sketch an overview of the presence of Italian language and culture in the Nordic countries, Iceland stands out as the nation where Italian studies have hardly ever established firm roots and blossomed into a solid scholarly tradition. Amongst the few to have contributed to making this presence less ephemeral, also and especially at the institutional level, is Þórhallur Þorgilsson. (find out more)

Texts by Þórhallur Þorgilsson

Language books Kennslubók í spænsku (Part one | Part two | Part three) The first Spanish language course published in Iceland. Kenslubók í ítölsku : málfræði, málfræðiæfingar, daglegt mál, fróðleikskaflar, sögur og þættir. Reykjavík : Ísafoldarprentsmiðja, 1949, 325 pp.xvi, 325 s. ; 19 sm The second edition of the first Italian language course published in Iceland. Translations from Italian Maria Savi Lopez (1848-1940), "Akureyri", from Nei paesi del Nord, Torino: Paravia, 1893 Icelandic translation from the Italian description of the city of Akureyri at the end of the XIX century by an Italian woman, Maria Savi Lopez (Napoli, 1846 - 1940); a musician, writer, literary critic, teacher, translator of folk tales, she wrote also about pedagogy. Amongst her main works are: Leggende delle Alpi (Torino, Loescher 1889), Le donne italiane nel '300 (Firenze, Civelli, 1890), Fra le Ginestre (Napoli, Pierro, 1892), Leggende del mare (Torino, Loescher, 1894), Miti e leggende degli indigeni americani (Milano,1894), La dama bianca (Catania, Giannotta, 1899), Il poema di Gudrun (Roma, Unione Ed., 1913), S. Caterina da Siena (Milano, Alpes, 1924), Nei regni del sole. Antiche civiltà americane (Roma, Treves, 1926), Città morte - dal Messico all'Honduras (Firenze, Rinascimento del Libro, 1931). Italo Balbo (1896-1940), "Nella terra dei Vichinghi", from La centuria alata, Milano: Mondadori, 1934 Icelandic translation of a chapter from the book describing Italo Balbo's 1933 journey to Chicago with a hundred Italians on twenty-four seaplanes. As recalled in the essays available in the first issue of Nordicum-Mediterraneum, they flew from Italy to the United States, stopping in Iceland on their way. The book La centuria alata was published also in order to exploit his own growing fame as an aviator in view of a high-level political career inside the Italian fascist regime. Being a fascist since the eraly days of Mussolini's political movement, Balbo led the blackshirt militia in many violent actions directed against democratic politicians. After the notorious "March on Rome" (1922) and the establishment of Mussolini's regime, he played a decisive role in developing the Italian air force, testing for the first time also new weapons of mass destruction, especially during the Spanish Civil War.