Valerio Evangelisti (20 June 1952 – 18 April 2022) was an Italian writer of

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

, historical novels, and horror. He is known mainly for his series of novels featuring the inquisitor Nicolas Eymerich and for the

Nostradamus Michel de Nostredame (December 1503 – July 1566), usually Latinised as Nostradamus, was a French astrologer, apothecary, physician, and reputed seer, who is best known for his book '' Les Prophéties'' (published in 1555), a collection ...

trilogy, all bestsellers translated into many languages. Some of his books are seen as part of the body of literary works known as the

New Italian Epic New Italian Epic is a definition suggested by the Italian literary group Wu Ming Foundation to describe a body of literary works written in Italy by various authors starting in 1993, at the end of the so called ‘First Republic’. This body of wo ...

Biography

Evangelisti earned his degree in

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

in 1976 with a historical-political thesis. He was born in

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

, where he lived; he spent some time each year in

Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca Puerto Escondido (English: "Hidden Port") is a small port and tourist center in the municipality of San Pedro Mixtepec Distrito 22 in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. Prior to the 1930s, there was no town. The bay had been used as a port intermittent ...

, Mexico, where he owned a house. Until 1990 his career was mainly academic. He also worked for the Italian Ministero delle Finanze (Treasury Department). His first written works were historical essays, including five books and some forty articles. In 1993 his novel ''Nicolas Eymerich, inquisitore'' won the Urania Award, which was established by ''

Urania Urania ( ; grc, , Ouranía; modern Greek shortened name ''Ránia''; meaning "heavenly" or "of heaven") was, in Greek mythology, the muse of astronomy, and in later times, of Christian poetry. Urania is the goddess of astronomy and stars, he ...

'', Italy’s main

magazine, with the aim of discovering new talent in the field. ''Urania ''published other novels of the series in the following years: ''Le catene di Eymerich'' ("Eymerich’s Chains", 1995), ''Il corpo e il sangue di Eymerich'' ("Eymerich’s Body and Blood", 1996), ''Il mistero dell'inquisitore Eymerich'' ("Eymerich’s Mystery", 1996), ''Cherudek'' (1997), ''Picatrix, la scala per l'inferno'' ("Picatrix, the Stairway to Hell", 1998), ''Il castello di Eymerich'' ("Eymerich’s Castle", 2001), ''Mater terribilis'' (2002). Most of the last ones were however first published as hardcover. Nicolas Eymerich is a real historical character, member of the order of the Dominicans and inquisitor in the

Spanish Inquisition The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition ( es, Tribunal del Santo Oficio de la Inquisición), commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition ( es, Inquisición española), was established in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs, King Ferdinand ...

. He was born in 1320 in

Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in 2020. Girona is the capital ...

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

, and died in 1399. Evangelisti’s interpretation of his character is a cruel, ruthless, haughty, restless man, who acts mercilessly to protect the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

against perceived menaces of natural or supernatural origin. At the same time he shows an outstanding intelligence and a deep culture in his actions. In the novels of the series he investigates the mysterious phenomena of

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

Europe, thus subtly influencing many of the historical events of that epoch; on many occasions the solution of the riddles comes up from stories which are narrated along with the main plot, normally set in the present and in the future. Evangelisti's atmospheres are normally dark, nightmarish, haunting. Another success of 1999, also translated in several languages, is the ''Magus'' trilogy, a romanticized biography of the famous

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

prophecies writer

. The three novels, ''Il presagio'' ("The Omen"), ''L’inganno'' ("The Deceit") and ''L'abisso'' ("The Abyss") sold 100,000 copies in Italy. Evangelisti's novels are greatly appreciated in France (where he won several literary awards), Spain, Germany and Portugal. He was the director of the ''Carmilla'' magazine. In the last years he has written some works which show his love for heavy metal music, namely the short stories collection ''Metallo urlante'' (referring to the French magazine '' Metal Hurlant'') and the novels ''Black Flag'' and ''Antracite'': they are set during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

and feature a new character, Pantera, a '' palero'' shaman. One of his latest novels, ''Noi saremo tutto'' ("We Shall Be All"), spans several decades of the last century, exploring the life of Eddie Florio, a gangster, against the background of the history of the trade unions and the workers' battles for civil rights. Mexico is the setting for his next two novels, ''Il collare di fuoco'' ("The Fire Collar"), which was published in November 2005 and ''Il collare spezzato'' ("The Broken Collar", October 2006). In 2007 ''La luce di Orione'' was released, the ninth title in the Eymerich series, followed in 2010 by ''Rex tremendae maiestatis''. ''Tortuga'', a novel about pirates of the Caribbean, was published in 2008. Evangelisti died on 18 April 2022, at the age of 69.

Main works

Historical essays

*''Storia del partito socialista rivoluzionario 1881-1893'' (1981), Cappelli, Bologna *''Il galletto rosso, precariato e conflitto di classe in Emilia Romagna 1880-1890'' with Salvatore Sechi, (1982), Marsilio, Venezia *''Sinistre eretiche, dalla banda Bonnot al Sandinismo, 1905-1984'' (1985), SugarCo, Milano *''Gallerie nel presente. Punk, Snuffs, Contras: tre studi di storia simultanea'' (1988), Lacaita, Bari *''Gli sbirri alla lanterna: la plebe giacobina bolognese dall'anno I all'anno V (1792-1797)'' (1991), Bold Machine, Bologna

Eymerich series

*'' Nicolas Eymerich inquisitore'' (1994) *'' Le catene di Eymerich'' (1995) *'' Il corpo e il sangue di Eymerich'' (1996) *'' Il mistero dell'inquisitore Eymerich'' (1996) *'' Cherudek'' (1997) *'' Picatrix, la scala per l'inferno'' (1998) *'' Il castello di Eymerich'' (2001) *'' Mater Terribilis'' (2002) *'' La luce di Orione'' (2007) *'' Rex tremendae maiestatis'' (2010) *'' Eymerich risorge'' (2017) *'' Il fantasma di Eymerich'' (2018)

Metal Hurlant series

*''Metallo urlante'' (1998) *''Black Flag'' (2002) *''Antracite'' (2003)

Nostradamus Trilogy

*''Magus: Il Presagio'' (1999) *''Magus. L'Inganno'' (1999) *''Magus: L'Abisso'' (1999) *''Magus: Il Romanzo di Nostradamus'' (2000)

Pirates Cycle

*''Tortuga'' (2008) *''Veracruz'' (2009) *''Cartagena'' (2012)

Other novels

*''Gocce nere'' (2001) *''Noi saremo tutto'' (2004) *''Il collare di fuoco'' (2005) *''Il collare spezzato'' (2006) *''One Big Union'' (2011) *''Il sole dell'avvenire'' (2013)

Comics

*''La furia di Eymerich'', (2003 – art by Francesco Mattioli) *''Nicolas Eymerich inquisitore'' (2003 – art by David Sala)

With Others

*''Lune nere'' (2005), with Paolo Ferrucci. *''Controinsurrezioni'' (2008), with Antonio Moresco.

Sources

* Chianese, A. ''L’anima dell’inquisitore. L’opera di Valerio Evangelisti''. Trento: UNI Service, 2004 * Rossi, Umberto. "Valerio Evangelisti: The Italian Way to Slipstream". ''Science-Fiction Studies'' #120, 40:2 (2013), 335-363. * Somigli, Luca. ''Valerio Evangelisti''. Fiesole: Cadmo, 2007. * Vial, Eric. "Bûchers d'autrefois et guerres à venir: Valerio Evangelisti et l'inquisiteur Nicola Eymerich entre littérature populaire et discours engagé". ''Cahiers d'études italiennes: Novecento.. e dintorni''. N° 3/2005, 125-38.

Footnotes

External links

Official website

Carmilla, the magazine directed by Evangelisti
{{DEFAULTSORT:Evangelisti, Valerio 1952 births 2022 deaths Writers from Bologna Italian fantasy writers Italian science fiction writers 20th-century Italian novelists 20th-century Italian male writers 21st-century Italian novelists Italian male novelists 21st-century Italian male writers University of Bologna alumni Communist Refoundation Party politicians