Franco Cuomo (22 April 1938, 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 ...

– 23 July 2007, in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and writer.Paola Spinozzi (2016). Italian Translations and Editions of Thomas More's ''Libellus vere aureus''. ''

Utopian Studies ''Utopian Studies'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes articles on utopia and utopianism. The journal is published three times a year by the Penn State University Press on behalf of the Society for Utopian Studies. The Editor is J ...

'' 27 (3): 505–520 Project Musebr>640832
/ref> Best known for his

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...

s set in the

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

, he was short-listed twice for the Strega Award (the most prestigious

literary prize A literary award or literary prize is an award presented in recognition of a particularly lauded literary piece or body of work. It is normally presented to an author. Organizations Most literary awards come with a corresponding award ceremony. Man ...

in Italy), first with ''Gunther d'Amalfi, cavaliere templare''Rocco Capozzi (2013). "Revisiting History: Conspiracies and Fabrication of Texts in "Foucault's Pendulum" and "The Prague Cemetery"". ''Italica'' 90 (4): 620–649 (Gunter D'Amalfi,

Knight Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...

) in 1990 and then ''Il Codice Macbeth'' in 1997. According to Rocco Capozzi, ''Gunther d'Amalfi''s publication, shortly after ''

Foucault's Pendulum ''Foucault's Pendulum'' (original title: ''Il pendolo di Foucault'' ) is a novel by Italian writer and philosopher Umberto Eco. It was first published in 1988, with an English translation by William Weaver being published a year later. The bo ...

'', "started a trend of neo-historical novels featuring symbols and secret codes linked to Templars, Rosicrucians, Cathars and Masons" in Italy. Cuomo gained a degree in law and then simultaneously worked in journalism and the theatre, moving on to

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

and historical studies. His most recent works included the

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

s ''I sotterranei del cielo'', ''Il tatuaggio'', and ''Anime perdute''. ''Notturno veneziano con messa nera e fantasmi d'amore'' and the

nonfiction Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to convey information only about the real world, rather than being grounded in imagination. Non-fiction typically aims to present topics objectively ...

''I dieci'' examined the Italian

scientist A scientist is a person who Scientific method, researches to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engag ...

s who signed the "Racial Manifesto" in 1938 leading to the introduction of

racial Race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 16th century, when it was used to refer to groups of va ...

laws. Among his other works of fiction are ''I semidei'', a spy story set in contemporary Italy with clear references to many of the major figures involved in

Tangentopoli (; ) was a nationwide judicial investigation into political corruption in Italy held in the early 1990s, resulting in the demise of the First Italian Republic and the disappearance of many political parties. Some politicians and industry leade ...

inspired by his work as journalist, ''Il signore degli specchi'' on the life of

Nostradamus Michel de Nostredame (December 1503 – July 1566), usually Latinisation of names, Latinised as Nostradamus, was a French Astrology, astrologer, apothecary, physician, and reputed Oracle, seer, who is best known for his book ''Les Prophéti ...

, and ''Scroll'' on the legend that

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

may not have been English. He is also the author a five-volume series on the origins of Europe, ''Il romanzo di Carlo Magno'', and a biography of Rita da Cascia, ''Santa Rita degli impossibili''. The latter, rejecting a sort of

hagiographic A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an wiktionary:adulatory, adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religi ...

stance, instead reconstructs the mystery in which the medieval mystic was involved surrounding the murder of her husband. His works of nonfiction include works on idleness (''L'ozio''), seduction (''Elogio del libertino''),

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

decadence (''Chi ha guardato negli occhi la bellezza''), the tragedy of

Beatrice Cenci Beatrice Cenci ( , ; 6 February 157711 September 1599) was an Italian noblewoman imprisoned and repeatedly raped by her own father. She killed him, and was tried for murder. Despite outpourings of public sympathy, Cenci was beheaded in 1599 ...

and historical themes concerning the formation and influence of the collective imagination, such as ''Le grandi profezie'' (on prophecies from the dawn of human civilization to the modern age) and on

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

hood (''Gli ordini cavallereschi nel mito e nella storia''). He was the author of a vast theatrical body of works, staged in Italy and abroad by such directors as Carmelo Bene, Maurizio Scaparro, Sergio Fantoni, and Françoise Petite. They include ''Faust o Margherita'' (with Carmelo Bene), ''Romeo e Giulietta'' (with Carmelo Bene and Roberto Lerici), ''Compagno Gramsci'', ''Il caso Matteotti'', ''Caterina delle misericordie'' (Premio Riccione), ''Nerone'' (Premio Idi), ''Giovanna d'Arco e Gilles de Rais'' (Premio Vallecorsi), ''Addio amore'' (Beatrice Cenci) (Premio Fondi), ''Una notte di Casanova'' (Premio Flaiano) and the recent ''Gladiator''. Among his awards were the Fregene Prize for journalism (1984), the Premio per la Cultura della Presidenza del Consiglio (1989), the Ravello (1990), the Vanvitelli (1995), and the Blow In (1997). He translated ''Utopia'' by

Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, theologian, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VII ...

and numerous classics for stage productions including ''

Cyrano de Bergerac Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac ( , ; 6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian, and duelist. A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the libertine literature of the first half of the 17th ce ...

'' and

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, journalist, world federalist, and political activist. He was the recipient of the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the s ...

' ''Caligula'', directed by Maurizio Scaparro, as well as works by

Christopher Marlowe Christopher Marlowe ( ; Baptism, baptised 26 February 156430 May 1593), also known as Kit Marlowe, was an English playwright, poet, and translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe is among the most famous of the English Renaissance theatre, Eli ...

Ben Jonson Benjamin Jonson ( 11 June 1572 – ) was an English playwright, poet and actor. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence on English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for the satire, satirical ...

Plautus Titus Maccius Plautus ( ; 254 – 184 BC) was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the genre devised by Livius Andro ...

and

Alfred de Musset Alfred Louis Charles de Musset-Pathay (; 11 December 1810 – 2 May 1857) was a French dramatist, poet, and novelist.His names are often reversed "Louis Charles Alfred de Musset": see "(Louis Charles) Alfred de Musset" (bio), Biography.com, 2007 ...

. He worked with

public broadcaster Public broadcasting (or public service broadcasting) is radio, television, and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service with a commitment to avoiding political and commercial influence. Public broadcasters receive ...

RAI (), commercially styled as since 2000 and known until 1954 as (RAI), is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terrestrial and subscription television channels a ...

and directed or advised on a wide variety of radio and television programmes on cultural topics (''L'occhio sul teatro and Magico e nero for Videosapere'') as well as ones appealing to a more general audience (''Cararai'', ''Cronache del cinema e del teatro'', ''Obbiettivo Europa'' and ''Cineteatro''). Over his life he was on the editorial staff of a number of newspapers and periodicals as special correspondent, critic and editor-in-chief of culture sections, as well as co-edito of magazines (''Fiera'' and ''Achab'') and author of monographs for specialized magazines (''Medioevo'' and ''Ulisse 2000''). He frequently appeared as a guest on television programmes on RAI, Mediaset and other broadcasters, taking part in programmes including ''Stargate'', ''Voyageur'', ''Unomattina'', ''Maurizio Costanzo'', ''Top Secret'' and ''SpecialestoriaTG1''. The last essay he published for the daily newspaper ''

l'Unità (; English: "the Unity") is an Italian newspaper, founded as the official newspaper of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) in 1924. It was supportive of that party's successor parties, the Democratic Party of the Left, Democrats of the Left, a ...

'' readers in 2005 was "''I DIECI: chi erano gli scienziati italiani che firmarono il manifesto della razza''" ("The Ten: who were the Italian scientists that signed the race manifesto").

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuomo, Franco 1938 births 2007 deaths Italian male writers Writers from Rome Writers from Naples Journalists from Naples