Uncovered in the University of Trieste Historical Archives an unpublished letter by Svevo

An unpublished letter by Italo Svevo has been found in the Historical Archives of theUniversity of Trieste, thanks to the research work conducted by Trieste scholar Lorenzo Ielen, PhD of UniTS. The discovery was made known at the Miramare Castle during the conference Dal reale al virtuale: sistemi museali a confronto, in which smaTs - the University Museum System - presented the first results of the digitization work of the University’s collections and funds and some virtual museum tour routes, in view of the now upcoming Centenary of the University of Trieste (1924-2024). A centenary that seems to ideally link the Julian Athenaeum and the Trieste writer, whose perhaps best-known and most important work, The Conscience of Zeno, has completed a century since its publication in 1923.

During research activities aimed at setting up a virtual exhibition dedicated to the history of UniTS, the unpublished document resurfaced.

It is a letter written by Ettore Schmitz (real name of the author known by the pseudonym of Italo Svevo) on April 9, 1927 in response to Rector Giulio Morpurgo, who wished to recall in a yearbook the teaching staff of the Superior School of Commerce, which would later become the Julian University.

Svevo recalls in these lines, which seem to compose a sort of curriculum vitae, his service as a lecturer from 1893 to 1901 and says he is “pleased to be remembered for the most honorable activity that I have performed during my long life.” Also in the letter the writer informs that he published the three novels, A Life, Senility and Conscience, works now considered among the most significant in contemporary Italian and European literature.

The archival research work, which is being carried out under the scientific supervision of Professor Tullia Catalan, professor of Contemporary History at UniTS, has thus enabled the scholar to find the document, with the support also of Dr. Sonia Bertorelle, head of the University’s document system management office.

The unpublished document will be displayed in the virtual exhibition that tells the main stages of the University’s history precisely on the occasion of the Centennial.

Uncovered in the University of Trieste Historical Archives an unpublished letter by Svevo

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