Nicoletta Costa (; born 1953) is 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 ...

writer, illustrator and cartoonist, famous for her works of

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...

. She is the creator of characters Olga the Cloud and Julian Rabbit. Costa is renowned for her distinctive drawing style, distinguished by "characterized forms and bright colours." She is the recipient of many awards, including three . Her books have been translated into several languages, including

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, and

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. An animated TV series, based on Costa's Giulio Coniglio and authored by Costa, debuted on

Rai YoYo Rai Yoyo is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's television channel for young children, and is known for its programming for childr ...

on September 29, 2017. Costa is one of the most published authors of children's books in

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 ...

. Her characters Olga the Cloud and Julian Rabbit (Giulio coniglio) are considered two of the most popular characters among Italian children today, alongside

Pimpa ''Pimpa'' or ''La Pimpa'' is an Italian comic strip, created by Francesco Tullio Altan, whose main character is a red-spotted female dog with large feet and a small tail. Pimpa's tail and toes are red as well. The comic strip made its debut on 1 ...

and

Peppa Pig ''Peppa Pig'' is a British preschool animated television series created by Neville Astley and Mark Baker. Produced by Hasbro Entertainment and Karrot Animation and formerly produced by Astley Baker Davies, the show follows Peppa, an anthro ...

. It has been stated that Olga the Cloud was "a worldwide editorial success since its conception n the early 1980s not only in Italy, but allover the world, particularly China, Russia, Spain, and the United States." After Julian Rabbit, another TV series by Costa is currently in production. ''Nina & Olga'', centered on Costa's Olga the Cloud, is set to debut on

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 ...

in the spring of 2021.

Biography

Costa was born in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

Friuli-Venezia Giulia Friuli-Venezia Giulia () is one of the 20 regions of Italy and one of five autonomous regions with special statute. The regional capital is Trieste on the Gulf of Trieste, a bay of the Adriatic Sea. Friuli-Venezia Giulia has an area of and a ...

, in 1953. She enjoyed drawing ever since her childhood, and at twelve she illustrated her first book, titling it ''Il pesciolino piccolo''. The work was first published in Trieste for the series ''Il Zibaldone''. She earned a degree in architecture from the

University of Venice Ca' Foscari University of Venice (), or simply Ca' Foscari, is a public research university and business school in Venice, Italy. Since its foundation in 1868, it has been housed in the Venetian Gothic palace of Ca' Foscari, from which it takes ...

in 1978. Upon earning her degree, she started working in the study of her father. Costa said that she liked her job, but she soon found out that her true passion was writing and illustrating

children's books A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''chi ...

, so, after publishing a number of children's books, she decided to pursue her passion. Costa started her career as an illustrator two years upon graduation. As of today, she has illustrated and written dozens of children's books. Costa has also collaborated with several companies in the creation of stationery, toys, and clothes. She collaborated with

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

for the illustration of Christmas cards, and designed several baby clothes lines for Benetton. Costa has also collaborated with Italian supermarket chain

Coop Coop or Co-op most often refer to: * Chicken coop or other animal enclosure * Cooperative or co-operative ("co-op"), an association co-operating for mutual social, economic or cultural benefit ** Consumer cooperative ** Food cooperative ** Housin ...

; with her characters, notably Olga the Cloud, appearing on Coop's baby products. A TV series based on Costa's character Julian Rabbit debuted on

in 2017. The character was already well known to Italian children and in the Italian literary world, and it was created by Costa several years earlier. After the release of the TV series, the character became the "''beniamino dei bambini''." Beside appearing in Costa's books, such as ''Julian Rabbit and the Chicks'', or ''Julio Bunny and the Chicks'' (''Giulio coniglio e i pulcini''), Julian Rabbit is also the title character of a play written by Costa. The production debuted in 2010 and was warmly received. It returned to Italian theatres the following year. Costa still lives and works from her city of birth, Trieste.

Works

Costa's direct style is characterized by "smooth lines, black stroke as an outline, bright colors, and happy and radiant characters." She has completed over 400 books. Her best known characters are Olga the Cloud (''La nuvola Olga''), Blue Bear (''Orso Blu''), Catherine the Goose (''L'oca Caterina''), Theodora the Witch (''La strega Teodora''), John the Tree (''L'albero Giovanni'' or ''El árbol Juan''), Margaret the Teacher (''La maestra Margherita''), Cats (''I gatti''), Mr Kite (''Il signor Aquilone''), and Julio Bunny, or Julian Rabbit. Olga the Cloud appears in Costa's sketches dating from the time she was studying at the University. Olga is described as a cloud who lets go of rain that she can't hold. Julian Rabbit, who is the title character of the series airing on Rai YoYo, has been described as "an

antihero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero or two words anti hero) or anti-heroine is a character in a narrative (in literature, film, TV, etc.) who may lack some conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism and morality. Al ...

par excellence," who is shy and awkward, but "loves to surround himself with friends." He is "scared of water, of darkness, and is very shy, but also capable of building relationships. Around him moves a kind of tribe, wherein the typology typical of any group of kids is to be found: there is the awkward kid, the bully, the know-it-all; every one has their particular personality, to which is easy for kids to relate, and perhaps not only just for them." Speaking of the TV series, whose key message is mutual aid, Costa has stated: " ulian the Rabbit'sstories teach kids that you get things done only with the help of friends." Julian Rabbit's stories started in books, were later adapted to play, and later still became a TV series. In 2014, a magazine dedicated to Julian Rabbit reached its 100th issue. In 2018 Julian Rabbit's stories were published in a series of 25 bundles of coloring books with stickers published by

Repubblica Repubblica (Republic in Italian) may refer to: *''la Repubblica'', an Italian newspaper *Repubblica (Milan Metro), a rail station in Milan, Italy *Milano Repubblica railway station, a station on the Milan Passante railway *Repubblica (fictional cou ...

and sold as supplement with the newspaper across 25 weeks. After Julian Rabbit, another TV series on Costa's characters is currently in production at RAI. The series, titled ''Nina & Olga'', centered on Costa's character Olga the Cloud, is set to be released in the spring of 2021. Costa has also created books illustrating the

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, which she represented with her "unmistakable and unique style." The latter books are appreciated especially by Italian teachers. Costa's books are often used to introduce kids to reading in Italy, and have been used for this purpose to some extent also in other countries, including the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

's Italo-American community.

Awards

Costa has received several awards, including the 1989, 1994 and 2010 Andersen Prize. Her awards include:

References

External links

Biography at nicolettacosta.it

Bibliography at nicolettacosta.it

Giulio Coniglio at Rai
{{DEFAULTSORT:Costa, Nicoletta 1953 births Italian children's writers Italian women children's writers People from Trieste 20th-century Italian novelists 21st-century novelists Italian women novelists Italian comics artists Italian female comics artists Italian female comics writers Italian women animators Italian animators Italian fashion designers Italian women fashion designers Living people 20th-century Italian women