Italian Authors and Croatian Readership from 2012 to 2020

Abstract

According to Hans Robert Jauss, the history of literature is viewed as "a process of aesthetic reception and production that is reflected in the realization of literary texts by participants of the literary scene such as receptive readers, reflexive critics and authors in their continuous productivity" (Jauss 1982: 21). This means that literary works influence the community if the members of that community have a need for them and consume them. The reception of Italian literature in Croatia should be observed through strong cultural and historical ties, bearing in mind the cultural globalization that has occurred in the last three decades. In this paper, which is a part of a larger study of translation and reception of Italian literature in Croatia, we focus on readership as one of the parameters of reception. For this purpose, we investigated the most borrowed Italian authors in the twenty largest Croatian libraries and which authors and titles the required reading lists include. We surveyed librarians and Croatian writers about the readership of Italian literature. Despite the existence of a large Italian community in Croatia, Italian literature in Croatia is mostly read in translation, and some of the most widely read authors are Elena Ferrante, Andrea Camilleri, Federico Moccia and Alessandro Baricco, in addition to canonical authors represented in reading materials for primary and secondary schools, namely Carlo Collodi, Dante Alighieri, Giovanni Boccaccio, Francesco Petrarca and Umberto Eco. The results of the research highlight the fact that, apart from the reading lists, no significant correlation can be established between the canonical status and readership, so Italo Calvino or Claudio Magris, who, despite the many published translations and the great reputation they have among Croatian writers, do not rank highly on the most borrowed book list. It can also be concluded that it is increasingly difficult for Italian writers to find their way to Croatian audience.