Ottavia Vitagliano

Ottavia Vitagliano (née: Mellone; 1894–1975) was an Italian writer, editor and publisher.[1]

The daughter of Igino Mellone and Giulia Piacentini, she was born in Milan. She became manager for her own publishing house and founded and edited various periodicals: Excelsior, Zenit, Le Vostre Novelle and Eva, most of these targeting a literate female audience.[2] These publications were all Milan-based weekly illustrated magazines (Italian: Rotocalchi) which made her one of the leading magazine publishers of the period like Mondadori and Rizzoli.[3]

By 1939, she was married to Nino Vitagliano. She was editor for the magazine Casa e Moda, which however shut down within a year. Other periodicals that she was associated with after World War II include Novella 2000, Settimo Giorno, Novelle film and Rossana. She also published the children's magazine Libro e Moschetto, which was based on Fascist principles.[1]

She used the pen name Sonia.[1]

Vitagliano was named Commendatore Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana. She died in Milan.[1]

Selected works

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Some of her works included the following:[1]

  • Oh, divina bellezza (1936)
  • Il Capitano Cip, children's novel, with Mario Mortara (1940)
  • Proibito sognare (1965)

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Vitagliano, Ottavia (1894-1975)". Italian Women Writers. University of Chicago Library.
  2. ^ Patrizia Caccia. "Ottavia Vitagliano". Enciclopedia delle donne (in Italian).
  3. ^ Irene Piazzoni (Summer 2020). "Shaping a Weekly 'For Everyone': Italian Rotocalchi Entre-Deux-Guerres". Journal of European Periodical Studies. 5 (1): 25, 27. doi:10.21825/jeps.v5i1.16525. hdl:2434/761032.