During a conference held at the University of Bologna, Italy, between May 27 and 29, the first-ever translation into Maltese of a book written by Umberto Eco was included in the collection of volumes bequeathed to the University of Bologna Library by the late renowned Italian writer.
The conference, entitled ‘Umberto Eco, the University of Bologna and all the knowledge in the World’, celebrating the world-famous writer, was attended by Clare Vassallo, herself a former university student of Eco and now a professor at the University of Malta.
Besides giving her valid academic contribution to the conference, Vassallo also met Carlotta Eco, the author’s daughter, and presented her with copies of Isem il-Warda (Klabb Kotba Maltin, 2025), the Maltese translation by Adrian Stivala of Eco’s Il Nome della Rosa.
The book is now one of the few books in Maltese at the Bologna University Library and the only one within the vast collection of books formerly forming part of Umberto Eco’s private library, that have now merged with the other volumes at the prestigious university library.
The presentation took place in a very cordial, informal atmosphere and was well received by Carlotta Eco, who took an active part in the conference and expressed her appreciation of the book.
The event had to wait years to take place as Eco had stated in his final will that he should not be celebrated before 10 years from his passing, which occurred in February 2016.
