Louis Notari (

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

, 1879–1961) was a Monégasque poet, who was the pioneer of Monégasque literature. He wrote in the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

and Monégasque languages.

Principal writings

He wrote in 1931 the final version of the text of the

Monaco national anthem Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, on the Mediterranean Sea. It is a semi-enclave bordered ...

and he is considered as the first writer in Monégasque; before him, there was just

oral literature Oral literature, orature, or folk literature is a genre of literature that is spoken or sung in contrast to that which is written, though much oral literature has been transcribed. There is no standard definition, as anthropologists have used v ...

. He wrote three books: *''A legenda de Santa Devota''/''Santa Devota'' (1927) -about the legend of

Saint Devota Devota (; ; died ca. 303 AD) is the patron saint of Corsica and Monaco. She was killed during the persecutions of the Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian. She is sometimes identified with another Corsican saint named Julia, who was describ ...

. *''Bülüghe munegasche'' (1941). *''U Campanin de San Niculau'' *''Quelques notes sur les traditions de Monaco'' (1960). Notari's writing in Monégasque has led to a veritable flowering of literature published in the language. A grammar and a dictionary by

Louis Frolla Louis Frolla (1904-1978) was a clergyman and writer in Monégasque, the national language of the Principality of Monaco. Lexicographical writings He was notably the author of a Monégasque Grammar (1960) through the medium of French and a Monég ...

and numerous other works, including by Georges Franzi,

Louis Barral Louis Barral (1910–1999) was a Monégasque lexicographer. Lexicographical writings He was the joint author, with Suzanne Simone, of a French–Monégasque Dictionary (1983). This work complements Louis Frolla's Monégasque–French Dictionary ...

and Suzanne Simone (dictionary) Louis Canis, Jules Soccal, Lazare Sauvaigo and Robert Buisson, combine to allow this small country's own language to take its visible and permanent place among the other Romance languages. However, while a substantial proportion of Notari's work was religious in inspiration, Monégasque is probably unique among the Romance languages in that it possesses, as yet, no Bible translation.

Former fascist sympathies

In his researches in Monégasque identity, Notari got in touch in the 1930s with Italian academics sustaining regional languages for a Latin federation pledged to the

fascist Italian Italian fascism (), also called classical fascism and Fascism, is the original fascist ideology, which Giovanni Gentile and Benito Mussolini developed in Italy. The ideology of Italian fascism is associated with a series of political parties le ...

government. In this way, he wrote a few poems celebrating

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

.Annales du comté de Nice (1934-1935), FM17-Bibliothèque Notari (Monaco) In the

post-War A post-war or postwar period is the interval immediately following the end of a war. The term usually refers to a varying period of time after World War II, which ended in 1945. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum, ...

era, however, any fascist sympathies which Notari may once have held were not stressed.

Personal legacy

The decision by the late

Prince Rainier III Rainier III (Rainier Louis Henri Maxence Bertrand Grimaldi; 31 May 1923 – 6 April 2005) was Prince of Monaco from 1949 to Funeral of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, his death in 2005. Rainier ruled the Principality of Monaco for almost 56 year ...

to sponsor Monégasque teachers in local schools owed much to the groundwork in promoting Monégasque which writers such as Notari and others laid. Louis Notari was also prominent in

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

in the Principality, and was noted for his work on Monaco's renowned exotic garden, which annually hosts large numbers of visitors from many countries. His daughter Roxane became the first woman elected to the National Council in 1963.Droit de vote des femmes: « pas un combat féministe »
Monaco Hebdo, 23 January 2013 A street in the suburb of

La Condamine La Condamine (; ) is the central ward and a quartier in the Principality of Monaco. The quartier's landmarks include Port Hercules, the Rainier III Nautical Stadium, and the Princess Antoinette Park. Its farmers' market, at ''Place d'Armes, ...

, Monaco, is named after Louis Notari. A library, the

Bibliothèque Louis Notari The Louis Notari Library () is the National library of Monaco, founded in 1909. It has been the legal deposit and copyright library for Monaco since 1925. It has more than 400,000 books. It is named for Monegasque writer Louis Notari. References ...

, which serves as the national

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...

library for Monaco, is also named after him.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Notari, Louis Monegasque writers in French Monegasque poets 1879 births 1961 deaths National anthem writers