Carmelo Samonà
Carmelo Samonà (17 March 1926 – 17 March 1990) was an Italian academic and writer, as well one of the most important Italian Hispanists. Biography. He came from the Sicilian aristocratic family Samonà, and was the son of the architect Giuseppe Samonà. In 1936 he settled in Rome. From 1961 he taught Spanish literature at the La Sapienza of Rome. Among his works as a Hispanist are, among others, his "La letteratura spagnola dal Cid ai Re Cattolici" (with , 1972). He was an Academic of the Lincei since 1987, and in 1984 was awarded the Juan Carlos Prize of  the Spanish Academy. From 1976 he collaborated with the newspaper "la Repubblica" with articles on modern Spanish and Hispano-American literature. Samonà is also remembered as a writer, having published two successful novels with : "Fratelli" (his 1978 debut novel, partially autobiographical) and "Il custode" (1983). "Fratelli" tells the story of the narrator's relationship with his brother suffering from a mental illness (in reality, it is Samonà's relationship with his son); he was the winner of the and finalist of the Strega Prize in 1978, finalist of the in 1985 and winner of the in 2002. The novel was  subsequently republished by , included in the series "Gli elefanti", and in 2002 published by Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, in the "Complete Works" entitled ""Fratelli" e tutta l'opera narrativa" edited and with a preface by Francesco Orlando. In addition to the two novels, Samonà wrote the short story "Casa Landau" (Garzanti, 1990) and the theatrical text "Ultimo seminario".