HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Roberto Saviano (; born 22 September 1979) is an Italian writer, journalist, and screenwriter. In his writings, including articles and his book '' Gomorrah'', he uses literature and investigative reporting to tell of the economic reality of the territory and business of
organized crime in Italy Criminal organizations have been prevalent in Italy, especially in Southern Italy, the southern part of the country, for centuries and have affected the social and economic life of many Italian regions. There are major native mafia-like organiz ...
, in particular the Camorra crime syndicate, and of
organized crime Organized crime is a category of transnational organized crime, transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a f ...
more generally. After receiving death threats in 2006 made by the Casalesi clan of the Camorra, a clan which he had denounced in his exposé and in the piazza of Casal di Principe during a demonstration in defence of legality, Saviano was put under a strict security protocol. Since 13 October 2006, he has lived under police protection. Saviano has collaborated with numerous important Italian and international newspapers. Currently, he writes for the Italian publications ''
l'Espresso () is an Italian progressive weekly news magazine. It is one of the two most prominent Italian weeklies; the other is the conservative magazine . Since 2022, it has been published by BFC Media. From 7 August 2016 to 10 September 2023, it was ...
'', ''
la Repubblica (; English: "the Republic") is an Italian daily general-interest newspaper with an average circulation of 151,309 copies in May 2023. It was founded in 1976 in Rome by Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso (now known as GEDI Gruppo Editoriale) and l ...
'', and ''The Post Internazionale''. Internationally, he collaborates in the United States with ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'', ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', and ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
''; in Spain with ''
El País (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second-most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . is the most read newspaper in ...
''; in Germany with ''
Die Zeit (, ) is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in Germany. The newspaper is generally considered to be among the German newspapers of record and is known for its long and extensive articles. History The first edition of was ...
'' and ''
Der Spiegel (, , stylized in all caps) is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of about 724,000 copies in 2022, it is one of the largest such publications in Europe. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...
''; in Sweden with ''
Expressen (''The Express'') is one of two nationwide evening newspapers in Sweden. Describing itself as independent liberal, was founded in 1944; its symbol is a wasp and its slogans are "it stings" or " to your rescue". The newspaper awards the cultu ...
''; and in the United Kingdom with ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' and ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
''. His writing has drawn praise from many important writers and other cultural figures, such as
Umberto Eco Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian Medieval studies, medievalist, philosopher, Semiotics, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular ...
. Saviano identifies as an atheist.


Biography

Son of Luigi Saviano, a Neapolitan doctor, and Miriam Haftar, a Ligurian of Jewish origins, Roberto Saviano received his high school diploma from the Armando Diaz State Scientific High School and then graduated in philosophy from the
University of Naples Federico II 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 ...
, where he was the student of historian Francesco Barbagallo. In 1997, while in high school, he grew close to the Italian Marxist–Leninist Party (PMLI) and published articles on its weekly newspaper, '' Il Bolscevico'', under the pseudonym Roberto Ercolino. However, in 2001, he broke all links with the PMLI. He began his career in journalism in 2002, writing for numerous magazines and daily papers, including ''Pulp'', ', ', ', the website , and for the Camorra monitoring unit of the '. His articles at the time were already important enough to spur judicial authorities at the beginning of 2005 to listen to him regarding organized crime. In March 2006, he published '' Gomorrah'', a novel inspired by real events. He is the author, along with Mario Gelardi, of a theatrical work of the same name and is a screenwriter for '' Gomorrah'', the movie based on the novel. On 10 December 2009, in the presence of Nobel Prize winner
Dario Fo Dario Luigi Angelo Fo (; 24 March 1926 – 13 October 2016) was an Italian playwright, actor, theatre director, stage designer, songwriter, political campaigner for the Italian left wing and the recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Literature. ...
, Saviano received the title of Honorary Member of the Academy of Fine Arts of Brera and the Second Level Academic Diploma
Honoris Causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...
in Communication and Art Education, which is the highest degree given by the university. On 22 January 2011, the
University of Genoa The University of Genoa () is a public research university. It is one of the largest universities in Italy and it is located in the city of Genoa, on the Italian Riviera in the Liguria region of northwestern Italy. The original university was fou ...
awarded him a bachelor's degree ''honoris causa'' in law "for the important contribution to the fight against crime and to the defence of legality in our country". Saviano dedicated the honour to the judges of Milan's district attorney's office who were investigating '' Rubygate''. This led to a controversy with Marina Berlusconi, daughter of
Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; 29 September 193612 June 2023) was an Italian Media proprietor, media tycoon and politician who served as the prime minister of Italy in three governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a mem ...
and president of the publishing house
Arnoldo Mondadori Editore Arnoldo Mondadori Editore () is the biggest publishing company in Italy. History The company was founded in 1907 in Ostiglia by 18-year-old Arnoldo Mondadori who began his publishing career with the publication of the magazine ''Luce!''. In ...
. Saviano is primarily influenced by southern Italian intellectuals such as Giustino Fortunato and
Gaetano Salvemini Gaetano Salvemini (; 8 September 1873 – 6 September 1957) was an Italian socialist and anti-fascist politician, historian, and writer. Born into a family of modest means, he became a historian of note whose work drew attention in Italy and ab ...
, by the anarchists
Errico Malatesta Errico Malatesta (4 December 1853 – 22 July 1932) was an Italian anarchist propagandist, theorist and revolutionary socialist. He edited several radical newspapers and spent much of his life exiled and imprisoned, having been jailed and expel ...
and
Mikhail Bakunin Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin. Sometimes anglicized to Michael Bakunin. ( ; – 1 July 1876) was a Russian revolutionary anarchist. He is among the most influential figures of anarchism and a major figure in the revolutionary socialist, s ...
, and by poet Rocco Scotellaro. Additionally, he has said that his educational background includes many prominent writers such as
Ernst Jünger Ernst Jünger (; 29 March 1895 – 17 February 1998) was a German author, highly decorated soldier, philosopher, and entomology, entomologist who became publicly known for his World War I memoir ''Storm of Steel''. The son of a successful busin ...
,
Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an List of poets from the United States, American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Ita ...
, Louis Ferdinand Celine,
Carl Schmitt Carl Schmitt (11 July 1888 – 7 April 1985) was a German jurist, author, and political theorist. Schmitt wrote extensively about the effective wielding of political power. An authoritarian conservative theorist, he was noted as a critic of ...
, and
Julius Evola Giulio Cesare Andrea "Julius" Evola (; 19 May 1898 – 11 June 1974) was an Italian far-right philosopher and writer. Evola regarded his values as Traditionalist conservatism, traditionalist, Aristocracy, aristocratic, War, martial and Empire, im ...
. In 2015, Saviano collaborated with the Neapolitan playwright Mimmo Borrelli on the play ''Sanghenapule – Vita straordinaria di San Gennaro'', which was part of the 2015/2016 season of the Piccolo Teatro of Milan. In 2006, following the success of '' Gomorrah'', which denounces the activities of the
Camorra The Camorra (; ) is an Italian Mafia-typeMafia and Mafia-type orga ...
, Saviano received ominous threats. These were confirmed by police informants and reports that revealed attempts on Saviano's life by the Casalesi clan. Investigators have claimed that the Camorra selected Casalesi clan boss Giuseppe Setola to kill Saviano. After the Neapolitan police investigations, the Italian Minister for Interior Affairs
Giuliano Amato Giuliano Amato (; born 13 May 1938) is an Italian politician who twice served as Prime Minister of Italy, first from 1992 to 1993 and again from 2000 to 2001. Upon Arnaldo Forlani's death in July 2023, Amato became the country's earliest-servin ...
assigned Saviano a personal bodyguard and transferred him from Naples. In the fall of 2008, informant Carmine Schiavone, cousin of the imprisoned Casalesi clan boss Francesco Schiavone, revealed to the authorities that the clan had planned to eliminate Saviano and his police escort by Christmas on the motorway between Rome and Naples with a bomb; in the same period, Saviano announced his intention to leave Italy in order to stop having to live as a convict and reclaim his life. On 20 October 2008, six Nobel Prize-awarded authors and intellectuals (
Orhan Pamuk Ferit Orhan Pamuk (born 7 June 1952; ) is a Turkish novelist, screenwriter, academic, and recipient of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature. One of Turkey's most prominent novelists, he has sold over 13 million books in 63 languages, making him ...
,
Dario Fo Dario Luigi Angelo Fo (; 24 March 1926 – 13 October 2016) was an Italian playwright, actor, theatre director, stage designer, songwriter, political campaigner for the Italian left wing and the recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Literature. ...
,
Rita Levi-Montalcini Rita Levi-Montalcini ( , ; 22 April 1909 – 30 December 2012) was an Italian neurobiologist. She was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly with colleague Stanley Cohen for the discovery of nerve growth factor ( ...
,
Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop ...
,
Günter Grass Günter Wilhelm Grass (; 16 October 1927 – 13 April 2015) was a German novelist, poet, playwright, illustrator, graphic artist, sculptor, and recipient of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Literature. He was born in the Free City of Danzig (now Gda ...
, and
Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...
) published an article saying that they sided with Saviano against the Camorra. They also stated that the Italian government must protect Saviano's life and help him lead a normal life. Signatures were collected on the website of the Italian newspaper ''La Repubblica.'' Saviano contributed an op-ed piece to the 24 January 2010 issue of the ''New York Times'', entitled "Italy's African Heroes". He wrote about the January 2010 riots between African immigrants and Italians in Rosarno, a town in
Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...
. Saviano suggests that the rioting was more of a response to the migrants' exploitation by the
'Ndrangheta The 'Ndrangheta (, , ) is a mafia-type organized crime, criminal syndicate originating from the Calabria region of Italy. Gratteri & Nicaso, ''Fratelli di Sangue'', pp. 65–68 This body, also referred to as the Commission in reference to the ...
, or Calabrian mafia, than to the hostility of Italians. In November 2010, he hosted, along with Fabio Fazio, the Italian television program '' Vieni via con me'', which was broadcast over four weeks by
Rai 3 Rai 3 (formerly Rai Tre) is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It was launched on 15 December 1979 and its programming is centred towards cultural a ...
. Saviano's book, ' was published by Feltrinelli in 2013, and the English translation was published by
Penguin Random House Penguin Random House Limited is a British-American multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, with the merger of Penguin Books and Random House. Penguin Books was or ...
in July 2015. This book is a study of the financial dealings around cocaine, covering its movement across continents and the role of drug money in international finance. In October 2023, Saviano was given a suspended €1,000 fine for his use of profanity against
Giorgia Meloni Giorgia Meloni (; born 15 January 1977) is an Italian politician who has served as Prime Minister of Italy since 2022. She is the first woman to hold the office. A member of the Chamber of Deputies (Italy), Chamber of Deputies since 2006, s ...
in December 2020. Saviano used the word during a televised interview while describing Meloni's and
Matteo Salvini Matteo Salvini (; born 9 March 1973) is an Italian politician who has been serving as Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Italian Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport since 2022. He has been List of F ...
's anti-immigration stance. Per the ruling, Saviano will only have to pay the fine if he repeats the offence. According to Saviano's lawyer, he will appeal the verdict.


''Gomorrah'', ''ZeroZeroZero''

In March 2006, Saviano's first book, '' Gomorrah: A Personal Journey into the Violent International Empire of
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 ...
' Organized Crime System'', was published as part of
Mondadori Arnoldo Mondadori Editore () is the biggest publishing company in Italy. History The company was founded in 1907 in Ostiglia by 18-year-old Arnoldo Mondadori who began his publishing career with the publication of the magazine ''Luce!''. In 19 ...
's Strade Blu series. It describes the business and criminal world of the
Camorra The Camorra (; ) is an Italian Mafia-typeMafia and Mafia-type orga ...
and of the places where the organization was born and exists: the region of
Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...
, the city of Naples, the towns of
Casal di Principe Casal di Principe (Campanian: or simply ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Caserta in the Italian region of Campania, located about northwest of Naples and about southwest of Caserta. It has a population of approximately 21,000 ...
, San Cipriano d'Aversa, and the territory around
Aversa Aversa () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Caserta in Campania, southern Italy, about 24 km north of Naples. It is the centre of an agricultural district, the ''Agro Aversano'', producing wine and cheese (famous for the typical dome ...
known as the ''agro aversano''. Having grown up there, the author introduces the reader to a reality unknown to outsiders. The book talks about the criminal bosses' sumptuous villas copied from Hollywood films, rural lands filled with the toxic waste of half of Europe, and a population that not only cohabitates with organised crime but even protects it and approves of its actions. As of August 2009, the book had sold 2.5 million copies in Italy alone and was translated into 52 languages. In the rest of the world, about 2 million copies of ''Gomorrah'' were sold. It was present on bestseller lists in Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Sweden, Finland, Lithuania, Albania, Israel, Lebanon, and Austria. A stage show was based on ''Gomorrah'', earning Saviano the best actor of a new Italian play award at the Olimpici del Teatro/Theater Olympics in 2008. A film of the same name, directed by
Matteo Garrone Matteo Garrone is an Italian filmmaker. Early life Matteo Garrone was born in Rome, Italy, the son of a theatre critic, Nico Garrone and a photographer, Donatella Rimoldi. Career In 1996 Garrone won the ''Sacher d'Oro'', an award sponsored b ...
, was also created; it won the prestigious Grand Prix at the
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...
in 2008. In 2009, the film won the Tonino Guerra Prize for best script at the Bari International Film Festival. A television show titled '' Gomorrah - La serie'' was produced by Sky Italia, Fandango, Cattleya, Beta Film, and LA7, under the supervision of Saviano and the direction of Stefano Sollima, Francesca Comencini, and Claudio Cupellini. It ran for five series, commencing in 2014 and concluding in 2021. In 2016, the same production crew began filming ''
ZeroZeroZero ''ZeroZeroZero'' is an Italian crime drama television series created by Stefano Sollima, Leonardo Fasoli and Mauricio Katz for Sky Atlantic, Canal+ and Amazon Prime Video. It is based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Roberto Saviano ...
'', an adaptation of Saviano's 2013 book of the same name about the international cocaine trade.


Threats and life under police protection

The success of his book created numerous problems for Saviano, starting with threatening letters, silent phone calls, and protective isolation. During a demonstration for legality in
Casal di Principe Casal di Principe (Campanian: or simply ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Caserta in the Italian region of Campania, located about northwest of Naples and about southwest of Caserta. It has a population of approximately 21,000 ...
on 23 September 2006, the writer denounced the business of the leaders of the Casalese clan, Francesco Bidognetti and Francesco Schiavone (currently in prison), and the two ruling bosses at the time, Antonio Iovine and Michele Zagaria. He addressed them in robust tones ("You are not from this land! Quit being part of this land!") and invited residents to rebel. Because of the threats and intimidation Saviano received consequently, the then-Minister of the Interior,
Giuliano Amato Giuliano Amato (; born 13 May 1938) is an Italian politician who twice served as Prime Minister of Italy, first from 1992 to 1993 and again from 2000 to 2001. Upon Arnaldo Forlani's death in July 2023, Amato became the country's earliest-servin ...
, decided to assign him police protection beginning on 13 October 2006. On 14 March 2008, during the Spartacus Trial, the attorney for Casalese bosses Francesco Bidognetti and Antonio Iovine, Michele Santonastaso (assisted by Carmine D'Aniello), read a letter written jointly by Bidognetti and Iovine (while both were in prison) to the president of the First Section of the Appellate Court of Assizes, Raimondo Romeres. The letter contained a request to move the trial due to ''legittima suspicione'', or doubt surrounding the impartiality of the judicial body, caused by the alleged influence of Roberto Saviano, Rosaria Capacchione, and the district attorneys Federico Cafiero de Raho and Raffaele Cantone, on the judges. Following this, Minister of the Interior Amato decided to strengthen security measures for the writer, increasing his police escort from three to five men. Bidognetti and Iovine, and their attorneys Michele Santonastaso and Carmine D'Aniello, were then charged with intimidation of Saviano and Capacchione. Before the third criminal section of the Court of Naples, the Assistant Prosecutor of the District Anti-Mafia Directorate (DDA), Antonello Ardituro, requested the maximum sentence on conviction of one year and six months imprisonment. The sentence was passed for Bidognetti, Santonastaso, and D'Aniello, while Iovine was acquitted due to insufficient proof. The attorney general for Reggio Calabria, Federico Cafiero de Raho, testified during the trial, stating that Saviano was a "mortal enemy of the clan" and recalling that Saviano was among the few journalists present at all 52 of the prosecutor's closing speeches for the Spartacus Trial. On 14 October 2008, reports emerged of a possible assassination plot against Saviano. A police inspector of the Milan Anti-Mafia Investigation Department DIA) informed the DDA that the
pentito ''Pentito'' (; lit. "repentant"; plural: ''pentiti'') is used colloquially to designate collaborators of justice in Italian criminal procedure terminology who were formerly part of criminal organizations and decided to collaborate with a public ...
, Carmine Schiavone (cousin of boss Francesco Schiavone, aka Sandokan), had informed him of a plan, already in operation, to kill the writer and his bodyguards before Christmas through a spectacular attack on the highway between Rome and Naples, in the style of the assassination of anti-Mafia judge
Giovanni Falcone Giovanni Falcone (; 18 May 1939 – 23 May 1992) was an Italian judge and prosecuting magistrate. From his office in the Palace of Justice in Palermo, Sicily, he spent most of his professional life trying to overthrow the power of the Sicilian ...
at Capaci. However, when interrogated by magistrates, Schiavone denied any knowledge of the plan, provoking the writer's immediate response: "It's obvious that he'd say this; if he were to talk bout the plan it would mean implicitly admitting to still having connections with organized crime". Subsequently, the district attorney heading the investigation requested and obtained dismissal of the case as the reports appeared to be unfounded, although Schiavone confirmed that Saviano had been condemned to death by the Casalese clan. In October 2008, Saviano decided to leave Italy for a time, as the result of threats, which were confirmed by reports and statements from informants, revealing a Casalesi clan plan to eliminate him.


Appeal from Nobel Prize winners

On 20 October 2008, six international
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...
winners rallied in support of Roberto Saviano, asking the Italian government to do something to protect him and to defeat the
Camorra The Camorra (; ) is an Italian Mafia-typeMafia and Mafia-type orga ...
, and emphasizing the fact that organized crime is not merely a problem for police that only concerns the writer, but is a problem for democracy that concerns all free citizens. The appeal concluded that citizens cannot tolerate the fact that the events described in Saviano's book are taking place in 2008 in Europe, just as they can't tolerate that the price one pays for denouncing these events means losing one's freedom and safety. The Nobel Prize winners who launched the appeal were:
Dario Fo Dario Luigi Angelo Fo (; 24 March 1926 – 13 October 2016) was an Italian playwright, actor, theatre director, stage designer, songwriter, political campaigner for the Italian left wing and the recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Literature. ...
,
Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...
,
Günter Grass Günter Wilhelm Grass (; 16 October 1927 – 13 April 2015) was a German novelist, poet, playwright, illustrator, graphic artist, sculptor, and recipient of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Literature. He was born in the Free City of Danzig (now Gda ...
,
Rita Levi-Montalcini Rita Levi-Montalcini ( , ; 22 April 1909 – 30 December 2012) was an Italian neurobiologist. She was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly with colleague Stanley Cohen for the discovery of nerve growth factor ( ...
,
Orhan Pamuk Ferit Orhan Pamuk (born 7 June 1952; ) is a Turkish novelist, screenwriter, academic, and recipient of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature. One of Turkey's most prominent novelists, he has sold over 13 million books in 63 languages, making him ...
, and
Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop ...
. The appeal was signed by writers including
Jonathan Franzen Jonathan Earl Franzen (born August 17, 1959) is an American novelist and essayist. His 2001 novel ''The Corrections'' drew widespread critical acclaim, earned Franzen a National Book Award, was a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction finalist, earned a Jame ...
,
Javier Marías Javier Marías Franco (20 September 1951 – 11 September 2022) was a Spanish author, translator, and columnist. Marías published fifteen novels, including '' A Heart So White'' (''Corazón tan blanco,'' 1992'')'', '' Tomorrow in the Battle Th ...
,
Jonathan Safran Foer Jonathan Safran Foer (; born February 21, 1977) is an American novelist. He is known for his novels '' Everything Is Illuminated'' (2002), '' Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close'' (2005), '' Here I Am'' (2016), and for his non-fiction works '' Eat ...
,
Jonathan Lethem Jonathan Allen Lethem (; born February 19, 1964) is an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. His Debut novel, first novel, ''Gun, with Occasional Music'', a genre work that mixed elements of science fiction and detective fiction, ...
,
Martin Amis Sir Martin Louis Amis (25 August 1949 – 19 May 2023) was an English novelist, essayist, memoirist, screenwriter and critic. He is best known for his novels ''Money'' (1984) and '' London Fields'' (1989). He received the James Tait Black Mem ...
,
Chuck Palahniuk Charles Michael Palahniuk (;, , born February 21, 1962) is an American novelist of Ukrainian and French ancestry who describes his work as transgressional fiction. He has published 19 novels, three nonfiction books, two graphic novels, and two ad ...
, Nathan Englander,
Ian McEwan Ian Russell McEwan (born 21 June 1948) is a British novelist and screenwriter. In 2008, ''The Times'' featured him on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945" and ''The Daily Telegraph'' ranked him number 19 in its list of the ...
,
Hans Magnus Enzensberger Hans Magnus Enzensberger (11 November 1929 – 24 November 2022) was a German author, poet, translator, and editor. He also wrote under the pseudonyms Andreas Thalmayr, Elisabeth Ambras, Linda Quilt and Giorgio Pellizzi. Enzensberger was regarde ...
,
José Saramago José de Sousa Saramago (; 16 November 1922 – 18 June 2010) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese writer. He was the recipient of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Literature for his "parables sustained by imagination, compassion and irony ith which ...
, Elfriede Jelinek">ith which ...
, Elfriede Jelinek, Wislawa Szymborska, Betty Williams, Lech Wałęsa">Betty Williams (Nobel laureate)">Betty Williams, Lech Wałęsa, Paul Auster">Lech_Wałęsa.html" ;"title="Betty Williams (Nobel laureate)">Betty Williams, Lech Wałęsa">Betty Williams (Nobel laureate)">Betty Williams, Lech Wałęsa, Paul Auster, Siri Hustvedt, Peter Schneider (writer), Peter Schneider, Colum McCann, Patrick McGrath (novelist), Patrick McGrath, Cathleen Shine, Junot Díaz, Tahar Ben Jelloun, Taslima Nasreen, Caro Llewelyn, Ingrid Betancourt,
Adam Michnik Adam Michnik (; born 17 October 1946) is a Polish historian, essayist, former Anti-communist resistance in Poland (1944–1989), dissident, Intellectual#Public intellectual, public intellectual, as well as co-founder and editor-in-chief of the P ...
, and Claudio Magris. Foreign media—from ''
El País (; ) is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA. It is the second-most circulated daily newspaper in Spain . is the most read newspaper in ...
'' to ''
Le Nouvel Observateur (), previously known as (2014–2024), (1964–2014), (1954–1964), (1953–1954), and (1950–1953), is a weekly French news magazine. Based in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, ' is one of the three most prominent French news magazines ...
'' and from ''
Courrier International ''Courrier International'' (; ) is a Paris-based French weekly newspaper which translates and publishes excerpts of articles from over 900 international newspapers. It also has a Portuguese and a Japanese edition. ''Courrier Japon'' was launche ...
'' to
Al Arabiya Arabiya (, transliterated: '; meaning "The Arabic One" or "The Arab One") is a Saudi state-owned international Arabic news television channel. It is based in Riyadh and is a subsidiary of MBC Group. The channel is a flagship of the media c ...
and
CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
—also spread the initiative. Following this, various radio stations opened up to debates and comments on the subject. The program ''Fahrenheit'' on Italy's Rai Radio 3 organized a marathon reading of ''Gomorrah'' in which celebrities from the world of culture, news, theatre, and civil society participated. Numerous Italian cities also offered honorary citizenship to the writer, while many schools subscribed to the appeal. The Casa della Memoria e della Storia ("House of Memory and History") in Rome hosted an eight-hour choral reading of ''Gomorrah''. In addition to the signatures of the six prominent figures, normal citizens were able to sign the appeal on a special page created by the newspaper ''
La Repubblica (; English: "the Republic") is an Italian daily general-interest newspaper with an average circulation of 151,309 copies in May 2023. It was founded in 1976 in Rome by Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso (now known as GEDI Gruppo Editoriale) and l ...
''. More than 250,000 signatures were collected.


Detailed analysis

Need for bodyguards In October 2009, the head of the Rapid Response Team of Naples, Vittorio Pisani, questioned the need for a security detail to protect Roberto Saviano, maintaining that the death threats had not been confirmed. In 2008, the director Pasquale Squitieri also cast doubt on the appropriateness of the security detail. According to him, Saviano went to the
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...
"probably to put on a bit of a show" and "those who are really targets have bodyguards, of course, but they are also prohibited from flying on ommercialplanes and frequenting public places because they could put themselves and others in danger." Squitieri's declarations triggered a controversy between the two of them, and the producer of the film ''Gomorrah'', Domenico Procacci, intervened, calling Squitieri's declarations "despicable." The head of police, Antonio Manganelli, replied by reaffirming the need for bodyguards. Furthermore, the head DA for the Anti-Mafia Office of Naples, Federico Cafiero de Raho, declared that Saviano is exposed to a high risk and, therefore, requires protection. The district attorneys Raffaele Cantone and Franco Roberti, both magistrates with years of experience on the front lines fighting against the clans, reiterated Saviano's dangerous situation. Journalist Giuseppe D'Avanzo wrote a piece for ''La Repubblica'', requesting the resignation of the head of the Rapid Response Team for his declarations. Saviano replied in an article for ''La Repubblica'', denouncing the attempt to isolate him and to cause the "disintegration" of the public's solidarity with him, comparing his case with those of Peppino Impastato, Giuseppe Fava, and Giancarlo Siani. Following Pisani's initiatives, Saviano had to "exhibit, as requested, the real cause of the threats." On 19 May 2014, Pisani, testifying during the trial of the Casalesi bosses and their lawyers, who had used an ''istanza di remissione'' (request for remission) to threaten Saviano and others in the courtroom, renounced the headline of the interview that he had given to the ''Corriere della Sera'' in 2009: ''Saviano should not have bodyguards''. "I don't agree with the headline of that article," Pisani declared to the judges. He also clarified the content of the investigation his team had conducted on the threats to Saviano: "We investigated and showed some photos to Saviano, who, however, did not identify them as the people who had threatened him. The decision to assign a security detail was obviously not up to us." Pisani, therefore, explained that he did not say the words pronounced in the article since the Carabinieri (Italy's national military police) were the ones who had to make the decision concerning Saviano's security detail. Cesare Battisti In 2004, the internet site Carmilla Online collected signatures in support of the ex-terrorist member of
PAC Pac or PAC may refer to: Aviation * IATA code PAC Albrook "Marcos A. Gelabert" International Airport in Panama City, Panama * Pacific Aerospace Corporation, New Zealand, manufacturer of aircraft: ** PAC 750XL ** PAC Cresco ** PAC CT/4 ** PA ...
(Armed Proletarians for Communism), Cesare Battisti, who had become a writer and was then hiding in France and Brazil. More than 1,500 signatures were obtained from the political-cultural areas of France and Italy, including Saviano's. However, in January 2009, Saviano retracted his signature, saying that this was out of respect for the victims. This petition attracted media attention thanks to the interest of the weekly magazine ''
Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek language, Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any Obtuse angle, wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography (panoramic photography), film, seismic image ...
''. Declarations on Israel During the demonstration "For Truth, for Israel", organized by representative Fiamma Nirenstein of the PdL and held in Rome on 7 October 2010, Saviano participated through a video message, praising the Jewish state as a place of freedom and civilization. In his speech, the writer spoke of his Jewish roots and declared that Israel is a "democracy under siege,"
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...
is "a hospitable city" "that never sleeps, is full of life and, above all, tolerance, a city that succeeds more than any other in welcoming the gay community" and that "the refugees of Darfur, for example, are welcomed in Israel." These, along with other declarations, caused controversy and were criticized for having ignored the injustices suffered by the Palestinian population. Activist Vittorio Arrigoni responded to Saviano's affirmations through a video, inviting him to revise his opinions and to define
Shimon Peres Shimon Peres ( ; ; born Szymon Perski, ; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the president of Israel from 2007 t ...
—commended by Saviano—as a "war criminal." Saviano responded to the objections by saying "In the video ... I never supported the war, never supported Operation Cast Lead, or the Israeli Right, never Netanyahu. I spoke about another Israel, an Israel to which one may turn in order to obtain peace." Referring to the writer Arrigoni, he replied, "In response to the question of are you with the Palestinians or the Israelis, I may disappoint, but I will always respond how my friend David Grossman taught me: 'I am with peace.'" Article on Benedetto Croce Saviano was accused by Marta Herling, the granddaughter of the Abruzzese philosopher
Benedetto Croce Benedetto Croce, ( , ; 25 February 1866 – 20 November 1952) was an Italian idealist philosopher, historian, and politician who wrote on numerous topics, including philosophy, history, historiography, and aesthetics. A Cultural liberalism, poli ...
, of having written a dishonest article about him. The writer affirmed that during the 1883 earthquake of Casamicciola, in which Croce lost his parents and sister, he allegedly followed his dying father's advice and offered 100,000 lire (a very large sum for the time), to whoever helped him out from under the rubble. The testimony taken up by Saviano during the show ''Vieni via con me'' ("Come away with me") in 2010, was denied by Herling in a letter published in the ''
Corriere del Mezzogiorno ''Corriere del Mezzogiorno'' is an Italian local newspaper owned by RCS MediaGroup and based in Naples, Italy, with editorial offices in all over southern Italy (''Mezzogiorno''). It was launched in 1997 in Campania to handle the growing competit ...
'' and in two interviews given to TG1, during which she explicitly maintained that the writer invented the episode. Such a theory, according to the director of the ''Corriere del Mezzogiorno'', Marco Demarco, came from an "anonymous source" reported by Ugo Pirro in the magazine '' Oggi'' in 1950. Actually, two detailed sources document the episode described by Saviano. A later and better-known one is by Carlo del Balzo, who describes the tragedy suffered by the Croce family in a book published shortly after the event: ''Cronaca del Tremuoto di Casamicciola'' ("Report on the Casamicciola Earthquake") (Naples: Carluccio, De Blasio & Co., 1883). Nevertheless, there is also a previous book drawn on by Carlo del Balzo, titled ''Ricordi. Casamicciola e le sue rovine. Cenni storici – Geografici – Cronologici'' ("Memories. Casamicciola and its ruins. Historical – Geographic – Chronological Accounts") (Naples: Prete, 1883.). The passage taken by del Balzo is the following: "And at Casamicciola the son of Comm. Croce was dug out alive. He is the only survivor of the rich family from Foggia, which has been settled in Naples for a long time. He recounted that his mother and sister were found among the rubble and passed away. His father, who was writing with his son at the table when the quake struck, was completely covered by debris except for his head and told him – Offer 100 thousand lire to whoever can save us. – And then his voice could no longer be heard and he was completely buried. The young Croce had a fractured arm and leg." A legal complaint between Roberto Saviano and TG1 resulted from this affair since TG1 had interviewed Marta Herling, who maintained that the writer had "invented" the episode of the 100,000 lire, without giving Saviano the right to reply. Feeling that he had been defamed, Saviano sued RAI for 4,700,000 euros in damages.


Plagiarism dispute

In 2013, Saviano and the
Arnoldo Mondadori Editore Arnoldo Mondadori Editore () is the biggest publishing company in Italy. History The company was founded in 1907 in Ostiglia by 18-year-old Arnoldo Mondadori who began his publishing career with the publication of the magazine ''Luce!''. In ...
publishing house were sentenced for plagiarism on appeal. The Appeals Court of Naples recognized that some pages of ''Gomorrah'' (0.6% of the entire book) were the results of an illicit reproduction of some lines from two articles from local daily papers, ''Cronache di Napoli'' and ''Corriere di Caserta''. Therefore, it partially modified the sentence from the first-degree court in which the court had rejected the accusations made by the two newspapers and had, instead, condemned them to pay damages for having "abusively reproduced" two of Saviano's articles (this sentence was confirmed in the appeal). In the appeal, the writer and Mondadori were ordered to jointly pay reparations for property and other damages of 60,000 Euros, plus a portion of legal costs. The writer appealed the ruling at the Court of Cassation, and the Supreme Court partially confirmed the sentence of the Appeals Court, but called for a reconsideration of the damages, evaluating 60,000 Euros to be an excessive sum for newspaper articles with a very limited readership. The Supreme Court did not agree with Saviano's appeal, rejecting almost all of the findings and largely confirming the basic structure of the Appeals Court's sentenc

In September 2015, journalist Michael C. Moynihan wrote an article for ''
The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. Founded in 2008, the website is owned by IAC Inc. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief ...
'', criticizing ''ZeroZeroZero'' and accusing Saviano of having used sections of text, including from Wikipedia, without citing his sources. In an article for the Italian newspaper ''
La Repubblica (; English: "the Republic") is an Italian daily general-interest newspaper with an average circulation of 151,309 copies in May 2023. It was founded in 1976 in Rome by Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso (now known as GEDI Gruppo Editoriale) and l ...
'', Saviano demonstrated how the passages from ''ZeroZeroZero'' and the presumed sources identified by Moynihan were manipulated in order to appear similar. The English newspaper ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' reported on the controversy with an article entitled "Roberto Saviano dismisses plagiarism claims over latest book", in which Saviano says, "I'm not a journalist (or a reporter), but, rather, a writer, and I recount real facts." Saviano adds that "Interpretations and theories have a provenance, not mere facts: those belong to all, to those who recount them and to those who read them, making them their own". Among the various public personalities who have expressed their support of Roberto Saviano, the then-editor-in-chief of ''La Repubblica'',
Ezio Mauro Ezio Mauro (born 24 October 1948) is an Italian journalist. He was editor-in-chief of the newspaper ''la Repubblica'' from 1996 to 2016. Biography Mauro was born in Dronero, in the province of Cuneo. He started his career as a journalist, writ ...
, appeared in a video on the paper's website on 28 September 2015, to give his contribution to the "Saviano case". He repeated that "the facts of the news are available to all" and spoke about the "typical iconoclasm toward famous people who have constructed success and visibility based on their own hard work and studies." He continued by saying: "Saviano is paying for having an enormous following and, above all, for the fact that he hasn't remained comfortably in cultural obscurity."


Television

On 8–29 November 2010, Roberto Saviano hosted the cultural programme '' Vieni via con me'' ("Come Away with Me") with Fabio Fazio on
Rai 3 Rai 3 (formerly Rai Tre) is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It was launched on 15 December 1979 and its programming is centred towards cultural a ...
. The programme had very successful ratings: the third episode was seen by 9,671,000 viewers, or 31.6% of the television audience that evening. The show covered themes such as organized crime, immigration, women's emancipation, politics, and serious problems in Italian society. The programme typically features the reading of "lists", with the goal of highlighting the issues addressed through a series of data. Numerous special guests appeared in the four episodes of the programme. Beginning on 14 May 2012, Saviano hosted the programme ("What I (don't) have"), once again with Fabio Fazio. It aired on La7 and was also streamed live on YouTube. The first episode was a record for La7, with 12.65%, or 3,036,000, viewers, and was the third most-watched programme of the evening. This record was surpassed two days later with the third and final episode of the programme, which registered 13.06% of viewers. For four weeks from 4 October 2017, Saviano hosted the show on the TV channel Nove, where he spoke of the major Italian and international bosses of the organized crime system.


Awards and honours

* 2010 European Book Prize * 2011 PEN/Pinter Prize * 2011 Olof Palme Prize, together with
Lydia Cacho Lydia María Cacho Ribeiro (born 12 April 1963) is a Mexican journalist, feminist, and human rights activist. Described by Amnesty International as "perhaps Mexico's most famous investigative journalist and women's rights advocate", Cacho's repo ...
. * Bachelor's degree ''honoris causa'' in law -
University of Genoa The University of Genoa () is a public research university. It is one of the largest universities in Italy and it is located in the city of Genoa, on the Italian Riviera in the Liguria region of northwestern Italy. The original university was fou ...
, 22 January 2011 * On 18 January 2012, Roberto Saviano was named honorary citizen of Milan. * Asteroid 278447 Saviano, discovered by Italian amateur astronomer
Silvano Casulli __NOTOC__ Vincenzo Silvano Casulli, usually known as Silvano Casulli (25 August 1944 – 24 July 2018
in 2007, was named in honour of Saviano's merits as a writer and journalist. The official was published by the
Minor Planet Center The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. Funct ...
on 6 April 2012 (). * On 7 June 2013, he officially received honorary citizenship of Florence from then-mayor
Matteo Renzi Matteo Renzi (; born 11 January 1975) is an Italian politician who served as prime minister of Italy from 2014 to 2016. He has been a senator for Florence since 2018. Renzi has served as the leader of Italia Viva (IV) since 2019, having bee ...
. * 2019 Oxfam Novib/PEN Award for Freedom of Expression


Music

* British trip hop group
Massive Attack Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol, England, by Robert Del Naja, Robert "3D" Del Naja, Daddy G, Grant "Daddy G" Marshall, Tricky (musician), Adrian "Tricky" Thaws and Andrew Vowles, Andrew "Mushroom" ...
wrote a song inspired by the story of Roberto Saviano and ''Gomorrah''. Titled "Herculaneum", it was featured in the soundtrack for the film '' Gomorrah''. * Neapolitan rapper Lucariello wrote a song called " Cappotto di legno" (Wooden Coat) with music by Ezio Bosso. Before writing the song, Lucariello received Saviano's approval for it because it tells the story of a killer who is preparing to kill Saviano. * The group Subsonica, from Turin, dedicated their song "Piombo" from the album ''L'eclissi'' to the writer. * The end of the track "In Italia" by rapper Fabri Fibra contains part of Enzo Biagi's interview with Roberto Saviano, in which the writer states, "One of my dreams was to remain in my own land, to recount it and to continue—how can I say it—to resist". * The same rapper refers to Saviano in another one of his pieces. In the track "Teoria e Pratica" from the EP ''Casus Belli'', he says, "Who would you like as president? Me, Saviano!" * The song "TammorrAntiCamorra", from the album ''Suburb'' by the rap group 'A 67, contains the line "smettiamo di essere Gomorra" ("Let's Quit Being Gomorrah"), and is dedicated to the priest don Giuseppe Diana, who was killed by the Camorra. In the song, Roberto Saviano reads a fragment of his book. * During the U2 concert in Rome on 8 October 2010,
Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by the nickname Bono ( ), is an Irish singer-songwriter and activist. He is a founding member, the lead vocalist, and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Bono is known for his impassioned voca ...
mentioned Roberto Saviano two times and dedicated the group's famous song "
Sunday Bloody Sunday "Sunday Bloody Sunday" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the opening track from their 1983 album '' War'' and was released as the album's third single on 21 March 1983 in the Netherlands and West Germany. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" is noted ...
" to the writer. Saviano was at the concert and had met with the U2 frontman before the show. * Fabri Fibra cites Saviano and his book ''Gomorrah'' once again in the track "Guerra e pace" ("War and Peace") on his eponymous 2013 album. * Clementino also cites Saviano in the song "Mea Culpa", on the album of the same name. * Saviano is cited by the Sardinian rapper Salmo in the track "Nella pancia dello squalo" ("In the Stomach of the Shark") on the album ''The Island Chainsaw Massacre''. * The journalist is cited in the track "Perdona e dimentica" ("Forgive and Forget") by I Cani. Saviano showed his appreciation for the one-man band, writing that his songs "are among the best stories of our country. Electronic anthropology." The writer dedicated a section of his official site to music in the Galleries section.


Bibliography


Books

* ''Gomorra. Viaggio nell'impero economico e nel sogno di dominio della camorra''. Segrate:
Mondadori Arnoldo Mondadori Editore () is the biggest publishing company in Italy. History The company was founded in 1907 in Ostiglia by 18-year-old Arnoldo Mondadori who began his publishing career with the publication of the magazine ''Luce!''. In 19 ...
. 2006. - ** '' Gomorrah: A Personal Journey into the Violent International Empire of Naples' Organized Crime System''. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2008. * '' Zero Zero Zero''. Milan: Feltrinelli. 2013. ** ''Zero Zero Zero''. Penguin Press. 2015. * '' La paranza dei bambini''. Milan: Feltrinelli. 2016. ** ''The Piranhas: The Boy Bosses of Naples''. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. (2018). * '' Bacio feroce''. Segrate: Mondadori. 2017 ** ''Savage Kiss: A Novel''. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2020. * *


Short stories

* '' Il contrario della morte'' (2007) * ''Super Santos'' (2012)


Comics

* **


"Le storie della paranza"

* * * *


Essays

* * ''La parola contro la camorra''. Turin: Einaudi. 2010 (published with DVD). * ''Vieni via con me''. Milan: Feltrinelli. 2011. * * *


Audiobooks

* '' Se questo è un uomo'' (If This Is a Man) by
Primo Levi Primo Michele Levi (; 31 July 1919 – 11 April 1987) was a Jewish Italian chemist, partisan, Holocaust survivor and writer. He was the author of several books, collections of short stories, essays, poems and one novel. His best-known works i ...
, read in Italian by Roberto Saviano. Rome: Emons. 2013.


Miscellaneous

* Preface to
Anatole France (; born ; 16 April 1844 – 12 October 1924) was a French poet, journalist, and novelist with several best-sellers. Ironic and skeptical, he was considered in his day the ideal French man of letters.The Revolt of the Angels ''The Revolt of the Angels'' () is a 1914 novel by Anatole France. Plot ''Revolt'' retells the classic Christian story of the war in Heaven between angels led by the archangel Michael and others led by Satan. The war ends with the defeat and ca ...
'') * ''A occhi aperti. Le nuove voci della narrativa italiana raccontano la realtà'', et al., Milan
Oscar Mondadori Arnoldo Mondadori Editore () is the biggest publishing company in Italy. History The company was founded in 1907 in Ostiglia by 18-year-old Arnoldo Mondadori who began his publishing career with the publication of the magazine ''Luce!''. In 19 ...
, 2008. * ''Raccontare la realtà. Un grande reporter americano incontra l'autore di Gomorra'', con William Langewiesche, Rome, Internazionale, 2008 (publication of the conversation between Saviano and
William Langewiesche William Archibald Langewiesche (; June 12, 1955 – June 15, 2025) was an American author and journalist who was also a professional airplane pilot for many years. From 2019, he was a writer at large for ''The New York Times Magazine''. Prior to ...
at the Ferrara Internazionale literary festival, 2007) * Introduction to ''Michael Herr, Dispacci'', Milan, Bur, 2008 (Italian edition of ''Michael Herr's Dispatches'') * Preface to Raffaele Sardo's ''La bestia. Camorra storie di delitti, vittime e complici'', Milan, Melampo, 2008 * ''La Ferita. Racconti per le vittime innocenti di camorra'', Naples, ad est dell'equatore, 2009 * Preface to
Nanni Balestrini Nanni Balestrini (2 July 1935 – 19 May 2019) was an Italian experimental poet, author and visual artist of the Neoavanguardia movement. Context Nanni Balestrini is associated with the Italian writers' movement Neoavanguardia. He wrote fo ...
's '' Sandokan, storia di camorra'', Rome, DeriveApprodi, 2009 * Preface to
Giuseppe Fava Giuseppe "Pippo" Fava (; 15 September 1925 in Palazzolo Acreide – 5 January 1984 in Catania) was an Italian writer, investigative journalist, playwright, and Antimafia activist who was killed by the Mafia. He was the founder of the '' I Sici ...
's ''Prima che vi uccidano'', Milan, Bompiani, 2009 * Essay in ''Makeba: la storia di Miriam Makeba'', Iesa, Goree, 2009 (Italian edition of ''Makeba: My Story'') * Introduction to ''Anna Politkovskaja, Cecenia. Il disonore russo'', Rome, Fandango, 2009 (Italian edition of
Anna Politkovskaya Anna Stepanovna Politkovskaya (; 30 August 1958 – 7 October 2006) was a Russians, Russian investigative journalist who reported on political and social events in Russia, in particular, the Second Chechen War (1999–2005). It was her repor ...
's ''A Small Corner of Hell: Dispatches from Chechnya'') * ''LiberaMente. Storia e antologia della letteratura italiana'', et al., 3 voll., Palermo, Palumbo, 2010 * Preface to Andrea Pazienza's ''Astarte'', Rome, Fandango, 2010 * Preface to Mario Gelardi's ''Liberami dal male. La vera storia di Marco Marchese'', Naples, ad est dell'equatore, 2010 * Introduction to Joseph Conrad, ''La linea d'ombra'', Rome,
Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso GEDI Gruppo Editoriale S.p.A., formerly known as S.p.A., is an Italian media conglomerate. Founded in 1955, it is based in Turin, Italy, and controlled by the Agnelli family through Exor. The company is known for publishing newspapers ''La Re ...
, 2011 (Italian edition of
Joseph Conrad Joseph Conrad (born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, ; 3 December 1857 – 3 August 1924) was a Poles in the United Kingdom#19th century, Polish-British novelist and story writer. He is regarded as one of the greatest writers in the Eng ...
's ''The Shadow Line'') * Preface to
Umberto Eco Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian Medieval studies, medievalist, philosopher, Semiotics, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular ...
's ''Der ewige Faschismus'',
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
, Hanser, 2020. ('' The Eternal Fascism'', a collection of several of Eco's works, published in Italy as ''Il fascismo eterno'' and ''Migrazioni e intolleranza'' in 2018 and 2019, retranslated from the Italian, English, and French texts of Eco into German, with a preface by Saviano).


Journalism

* "Un sogno leghista", ''Nazione Indiana'', 21 February 2003 * "Pasta, fagioli e clandestinità", ''Diario'', 4 July 2003 * "La parola camorra non esiste", ''Nazione Indiana'', 16 September 2003 * "L'infinita congettura", ''Nazione Indiana'', 27 February 2004 * "La città di notte", ''Nazione Indiana'', 22 March 2004 * "Annalisa. Cronaca di un funerale", ''Nazione Indiana'', 9 April 2004 * "L'odiatore", ''Nazione Indiana'', 4 May 2004 (an abridged version of this article was published in ''Pulp Libri'' in 2003) * "Su Gustaw Herling", ''Nazione Indiana'', 3 June 2004 (from ''Pulp Libri'', n. 48) * "Giancarlo Siani", ''Nazione Indiana'', 11 June 2004 * " Mauro Curradi, scrittore d'Africa", ''Nazione Indiana'', 17 July 2004 (from ''Pulp Libri'', January 2003) * "Vi racconto di Marano e dei due compari", ''Nazione Indiana'', 5 August 2004 * "L'affermazione della libertà. Intervista a Mauro Curradi", ''Nazione Indiana'', 24 August 2004 * "Kaddish per Enzo", ''Nazione Indiana'', 27 August 2004 * "La bugia perenne", ''Nazione Indiana'', 23 September 2004 * "Lettera a Federico Del Prete", ''Nazione Indiana'', 13 October 2004 * "La brillante carriera del giovane di sistema", ''Nazione Indiana'', 26 October 2004 (from ''
Il manifesto (; English: "the manifesto") is an Italian daily newspaper published in Rome, Italy. While calling itself " communist" and broadly left-wing, it is not connected to any political party A political party is an organization that coordin ...
'', 24 October 2004) * "Qui", ''Nazione Indiana'', 23 November 2004 * "Il mestiere dei soldi", ''Nazione Indiana'', 15 December 2004 (from ''Sud. Rivista di cultura, arte e letteratura'', n. 3, December 2004) * "Felicia", ''Nazione Indiana'', 8 December 2004 * "Pandori e moda. La camorra spa", ''Nazione Indiana'', 23 December 2004 (from ''
Il manifesto (; English: "the manifesto") is an Italian daily newspaper published in Rome, Italy. While calling itself " communist" and broadly left-wing, it is not connected to any political party A political party is an organization that coordin ...
'', 16 December 2004) * "Isaac Bashevis Singer", ''Nazione Indiana'', 14 January 2005 (from ''Pulp Libri'', n. 52, November–December 2004) * "Boss e poeti", ''Nazione Indiana'', 13 February 2005 (from ''
Corriere della Sera (; ) is an Italian daily newspaper published in Milan with an average circulation of 246,278 copies in May 2023. First published on 5 March 1876, is one of Italy's oldest newspapers and is Italy's most read newspaper. Its masthead has remain ...
-
Corriere del Mezzogiorno ''Corriere del Mezzogiorno'' is an Italian local newspaper owned by RCS MediaGroup and based in Naples, Italy, with editorial offices in all over southern Italy (''Mezzogiorno''). It was launched in 1997 in Campania to handle the growing competit ...
'', January 2005) * " Giuliana Sgrena: quello che sta accadendo", by Sergio Nazzaro and Roberto Saviano, ''Nazione Indiana'', 25 February 2005 * "33", ''Nazione Indiana'', 14 March 2005 (from ''Corriere della Sera - Corriere del Mezzogiorno'', 13 March 2005) * "Ferdinando Tartaglia, Fenomenologia di un'eresia anarchica", ''Nazione Indiana'', 10 April 2005 (from ''Pulp'', n. 53, January–February 2005) * "Il matriarcato", ''Nazione Indiana'', 14 May 2005 (da ''Corriere della Sera - Corriere del Mezzogiorno'', 16 April 2005) * "Scrivere sul fronte meridionale. Lettera agli amici indiani", ''Nazione Indiana'', 17 April 2005 * "La terra padre", ''Nazione Indiana'', 2 June 2005 (from '' Nuovi Argomenti'', n. 30, April–June 2005) * "Io so e ho le prove", ''Nazione Indiana'', 2 December 2005 (from ''Nuovi Argomenti'', n. 32, October–December 2005) * "Super santos, pali e capistazione", ''Nazione Indiana'', 10 October 2005 (from ''Il pallone è tondo'', edited by Alessandro Leogrande, L'ancora del mediterraneo, 2005) * "Scampia Erzegovina" 13 July 2005 ''I Miserabili'' (from Generazioni. Nove per due, L'ancora del mediterraneo, 2005) * "Langewiesche, scrittore d'aria, di terra e di mare", ''Nazione Indiana'', 2 December 2005 (from ''Pulp Libri'', n. 56, July–August 2005)
"Inferno napoletano"
''L'espresso'' n. 36, 14 September 2006
"Da Scampia si vede Pechino"
''L'espresso'' n. 38, 28 September 2006
"E voi dove eravate"
''L'espresso'' n. 46, 21 November 2006
"Quanto costa una parola"
''L'espresso'' n. 52, 4 January 2007
"Vi racconto l'impero della cocaina"
''L'espresso'' n. 10, 15 March 2007
"Spartani di George Bush"
''L'espresso'' n. 12, 29 March 2007
"Guai a raccontare questo paese"
''L'espresso'' n. 15, 19 April 2007 * "Io sto con gli indiani", ''L'espresso'' n. 16, 23 April 2007 * *


Filmography


Director

* ''I'm Still Alive'' (TBA)


Creator

*'' Gomorrah'' (since 2014, directed by Stefano Sollima,
Francesca Comencini Francesca Comencini (; born 19 August 1961) is an Italian film director and screenwriter. She attended the Lycée français Chateaubriand (Rome), Lycée français Chateaubriand school with her sisters. She has directed 14 films since 1984. Her f ...
,
Claudio Cupellini Claudio Cupellini (born 18 February 1973) is an Italian film director and screenwriter. Biography In 1999, Cupellini realized his first short-movie ''Le diable au vélo'' and then took part to two anthology films: ''Sei pezzi facili'' and ''4- ...
, Claudio Giovannesi, Marco D'Amore)


Screenwriter

* '' Gomorrah'' (2008, directed by
Matteo Garrone Matteo Garrone is an Italian filmmaker. Early life Matteo Garrone was born in Rome, Italy, the son of a theatre critic, Nico Garrone and a photographer, Donatella Rimoldi. Career In 1996 Garrone won the ''Sacher d'Oro'', an award sponsored b ...
) * ''Gomorrah'' (since 2014, directed by Stefano Sollima, Francesca Comencini, Claudio Cupellini, Claudio Giovannesi, Marco D'Amore) * '' Piranhas'' (2019, directed by Claudio Giovannesi) * ''I'm Still Alive'' (TBA)


Adaptations

* '' Tatanka'' (2011, directed by Giuseppe Gagliardi) * ''
ZeroZeroZero ''ZeroZeroZero'' is an Italian crime drama television series created by Stefano Sollima, Leonardo Fasoli and Mauricio Katz for Sky Atlantic, Canal+ and Amazon Prime Video. It is based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Roberto Saviano ...
'' (since 2019, directed by Stefano Sollima, Janus Metz, Pablo Trapero)


Video games

* ''Gomorrah'' (
Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
, Android,
iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...
, 2023)


References


External links


Official website

Articles by Roberto Saviano published on Nazione Indiana

''Il Sistema Camorra''
Interviewed by Arcoiris TV (VIDEO) *

opening talk at the conference "The Italian Perspective on metahistorical fiction: The New Italian Epic", IGRS,
University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...
, 2 October 2008
Top Naples Policeman Opposes Protection for Anti-Mafia Author
by ''
Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...
'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Saviano, Roberto 1979 births Living people Antimafia David di Donatello winners European Film Award for Best Screenwriter winners History of the Camorra in Italy Italian atheists Italian male journalists Italian male screenwriters Italian people of Jewish descent Italian people of Libyan descent Journalists from Naples The New York Review of Books people Non-fiction writers about organized crime in Italy Silver Bear for Best Screenplay winners La Repubblica people University of Naples Federico II alumni Viareggio Prize winners Writers from Naples