Bruno Arpaia, born in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

(

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

) in 1957, is an Italian writer and journalist.

Life

After his degree in

political sciences 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 ...

and a specialisation in American history at the

University of Naples The University of Naples Federico II (; , ) is a public university, public research university in Naples, Campania, Italy. Established in 1224 and named after its founder, Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II, it is the oldest public, s ...

, he taught there and then became a journalist with the Italian newspaper ''Il Mattino'' of

, subsequently moving to

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

in 1989, where he worked for the daily ''La Repubblica''. In 1990 he published his first novel, ''I forestieri'' (The Foreigners), which won the Bagutta Prize the following year. Arpaia published another three novels, after leaving the newspaper ''La Repubblica'' in 1998, in order to dedicate himself solely to writing and freelance journalism. ''L'Angelo della storia'' (Guanda, 2001) is his most successful novel, also being selected for the prestigious Campiello Prize in 2001. Translated into English in 2006 with the title ''The Angel of History'' by Minna Proctor, under the patronage of the

Scottish Arts Council The Scottish Arts Council (), was a Scottish public body responsible for the funding, development and promotion of the arts in Scotland. The Council primarily distributed funding from the Scottish Government as well as National Lottery funds ...

and the

Italian Cultural Institute The Istituto Italiano di Cultura, the Italian Cultural Institute in English, is a worldwide non-profit organization created by the Italian government. It promotes Culture of Italy, Italian culture and is involved in the teaching of the Italian l ...

, it tells the partly fictional story of philosopher

Walter Benjamin Walter Bendix Schönflies Benjamin ( ; ; 15 July 1892 – 26 September 1940) was a German-Jewish philosopher, cultural critic, media theorist, and essayist. An eclectic thinker who combined elements of German idealism, Jewish mysticism, Western M ...

and a young Spanish militant in 1940. Arpaia's twofold narrative retraces Benjamin's flight across Europe and the Spaniard's youthful activism, as both men battle to assert their beliefs in the face of ultimate extinction. Arpaia lives in Milan and currently alternates between translation, journalism and writing novels. He is also a publishing consultant for several Italian newspapers and publishing houses.

Bibliography

* ''I forestieri'', Leonardo Editore, 1990. * ''Il futuro in punta di piedi'', Donzelli, 1994. * ''Tempo perso'', Marco Tropea editore, 1997; Guanda, 2003. * ''L'Angelo della storia'', Guanda, 2001. * ''The Angel of History'', Canongate, 2006 * ''Il passato davanti a noi'', Guanda, 2006. * ''Per una sinistra reazionaria'', Guanda, 2007. * ''L'energia del vuoto'', Guanda, 2011. * ''Qualcosa, là fuori'', Guanda, 2016.

References

External links

"''The Angel of History'' by Bruno Arpaia", ''Three Monkeys online'', Steve Porter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arpaia Journalists from Naples Italian male journalists Living people 1957 births Writers from Naples University of Naples Federico II alumni