Andrea Camilleri

Camilleri in 2010
Andrea Calogero Camilleri
Born 6 September 1925
Porto Empedocle, Italy
17 July 2019 (aged 93)
Died
Rome, Italy
Occupation Author, director
Accademia Nazionale di Arte
Alma mater
Drammatica Silvio D'Amico
Notable
The Inspector Montalbano novels
works
Notable Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
awards (2003)
Years active 1950–2019

Signature

Website
andreacamilleri.net
Andrea Calogero Camilleri (Italian pronunciation: [anˈdrɛːa kamilˈlɛːri]; 6 September 1925 – 17
July 2019)[1] was an Italian writer.[2]

Contents
1 Biography
2 Recognitions
2.1 Honorary degrees
3 Bibliography
3.1 Inspector Salvo Montalbano
3.2 Other
4 References
5 External links
Biography
Originally from Porto Empedocle, Sicily, Camilleri began university studies in the Faculty of
Literature at the University of Palermo, but did not complete his degree.[3] meanwhile
publishing poems and short stories.
From 1948 to 1950 he studied stage and film direction at the Silvio D'Amico Academy of
Dramatic Arts (Accademia Nazionale d'Arte Drammatica) and began to take on work as a
director and screenwriter, directing especially plays by Pirandello and Beckett. His parents
knew, and were, reportedly, "distant friends" of, Pirandello, as he tells in his essay on
Pirandello, Biography of the Changed Son. His most famous works, the Montalbano series,
show many Pirandellian elements: for example, the wild olive tree that helps Montalbano
think is on stage in his late work The Giants of the Mountain.
With RAI, Camilleri worked on several TV productions, such as Le inchieste del commissario
Maigret[4] with Gino Cervi. In 1977 he returned to the Academy of Dramatic Arts, holding
the chair of Film Direction and occupying it for 20 years.
In 1978 Camilleri wrote his first novel Il Corso Delle Cose ("The Way Things Go"). This was
followed by Un Filo di Fumo ("A Thread of Smoke") in 1980. Neither of these works enjoyed
any significant amount of popularity.
In 1992, after a long pause of 12 years, Camilleri once more took up novel writing. A new
book, La Stagione della Caccia ("The Hunting Season") turned out to be a best-seller.
In 1994 Camilleri published the first in a long series of novels: La forma dell'Acqua (The
Shape of Water) featured the character of Inspector Montalbano, a fractious Sicilian
detective in the police force of Vigàta, an imaginary Sicilian town. The series is written in
Italian but with a substantial sprinkling of Sicilian phrases and grammar. The name
Montalbano is a homage to the Spanish writer Manuel Vázquez Montalbán;[5] the
similarities between Montalban's Pepe Carvalho and Camilleri's fictional detective are
noteworthy. Both writers make use of their protagonists' gastronomic preferences.
This feature provides an interesting quirk which has become something of a fad among his
readership even in mainland Italy. The TV adaptation of Montalbano's adventures, starring
Luca Zingaretti, further increased Camilleri's popularity to such a point that in 2003
Camilleri's home town, Porto Empedocle – on which Vigàta is modelled – took the
extraordinary step of changing its official name to that of Porto Empedocle Vigàta, no doubt
with an eye to capitalising on the tourism possibilities thrown up by the author's work. On
his website, Camilleri refers to the engaging and multi-faceted character of Montalbano as a
"serial killer of characters," meaning that he has developed a life of his own and demands
great attention from his author, to the demise of other potential books and different
personages. Camilleri added that he writes a Montalbano novel every so often just so that
the character will be appeased and allow him to work on other stories.
In 2012, Camilleri's The Potter's Field (translated by Stephen Sartarelli) was announced as
the winner of the 2012 Crime Writers' Association International Dagger. The announcement
was made on 5 July 2012 at the awards ceremony held at One Birdcage Walk in London.[6]
In his last years Camilleri lived in Rome where he worked as a TV and theatre director. About
10 million copies of his novels have been sold to date and are becoming increasingly popular
in the UK (where BBC Four broadcast the Montalbano TV series from mid-2011), Australia
and North America.
In addition to the degree of popularity brought him by the novels, Andrea Camilleri became
even more of a media icon thanks to the parodies aired on an RAI radio show, where
popular comedian, TV host and impressionist Fiorello presents him as a raspy voiced, caustic
character, madly in love with cigarettes and smoking, since in Italy, Camilleri was well known
for being a heavy smoker of cigarettes. He considered himself a "non-militant atheist".[7]
On 17 June 2019, Camilleri suffered a heart attack. He was admitted to hospital in a critical
condition.[8] He died on 17 July 2019.[1][9] He has been buried in the Protestant Cemetery of
Rome.
Recognitions
1998 Nino Martoglio International Book Award.
2003 Grand Officer in the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (Grande Ufficiale Ordine al
Merito della Repubblica Italiana).
2008 RBA Prize for Crime Writing for La rizzagliata / La muerte de Amalia Sacerdote ("The
Death of Amalia Sacerdote"), the world's most lucrative crime fiction prize at €125,000. [10]
Asteroid 204816 Andreacamilleri, discovered by Italian amateur astronomer Vincenzo
Casulli in 2007, was named in his honor.[11] The official naming citation was published by the
Minor Planet Center on 5 October 2017 (M.P.C. 106503).[12]
Honorary degrees
He received a number of honorary degrees from several Italian universities, among which
are the IULM University of Milan (2002), the University of Pisa (2005), the University of
L'Aquila (2007), and the D'Annunzio University of Chieti–Pescara (2007). In 2012 he received
an honorary PhD from the Sapienza University of Rome.
Camilleri also received honorary degrees from University College Dublin on 5 December
2011[13] and the American University of Rome on 30 October 2013.[14]
Bibliography
Inspector Salvo Montalbano
(excluding short stories)
Montalbano Series
Year of Year of Year of
Italian English
Italian Italian English English Spanish Spanish Spanish
publish publish
title publicatio publicatio title publicatio title publisher
er er
n n n
La forma The
La forma Salamand
dell'acqu 1994 Sellerio 2002 Shape of Picador
del agua ra
a Water
Il cane di The El perro
Salamand
Terracott 1996 Sellerio 2002 Terracott Picador 1999 de
ra
a a Dog Terracota
Il ladro di The El ladrón
merendin 1996 Sellerio 2003 Snack Picador de
e Thief meriendas
La voce 1997 Sellerio 2003 The Picador La voz del
Montalbano Series
Year of Year of Year of
Italian English
Italian Italian English English Spanish Spanish Spanish
publish publish
title publicatio publicatio title publicatio title publisher
er er
n n n
del Voice of violín
violino the Violin
Excursio La
Gita a
2000 Sellerio 2005 n to Picador excursión
Tindari
Tindari a Tindari
L'odore The
El olor de
della 2001 Sellerio 2005 Scent of Picador
la noche
notte the Night
Roundin
Il giro di Un giro
2003 Sellerio 2006 g the Picador
boa decisivo
Mark
The La
La
Patience paciencia
pazienza 2004 Sellerio 2007 Picador
of the de la
del ragno
Spider araña
The
La luna di La luna de
2005 Sellerio 2008 Paper Picador
carta papel
Moon
La vampa August Ardores
2006 Sellerio 2009 Picador
d'agosto Heat de Agosto
The
Le ali Las alas
Wings of Penguin
della 2006 Sellerio 2009 de la
the Books
sfinge Esfinge
Sphinx
The
La pista Penguin La pista
2007 Sellerio 2010 Track of
di sabbia Books de arena
Sand
The El campo
Il campo Penguin
2008 Sellerio 2011 Potter's del
del vasaio Books
Field alfarero
L'età del The Age Penguin La edad
2008 Sellerio 2012
dubbio of Doubt Books de la duda
The
La danza ULa danza
Dance of Penguin
del 2009 Sellerio 2013 de la
the Books
gabbiano gaviota
Seagull
La
La caccia Treasure Penguin
2010 Sellerio 2013 búsqueda
al tesoro Hunt Books
del tesoro
Montalbano Series
Year of Year of Year of
Italian English
Italian Italian English English Spanish Spanish Spanish
publish publish
title publicatio publicatio title publicatio title publisher
er er
n n n
Il sorriso La sonrisa
Angelica' Penguin
di 2010 Sellerio 2014 de
s Smile Books
Angelica Angélica
Il gioco
Game of Penguin Juego de
degli 2011 Sellerio 2015 2014
Mirrors Books espejos
specchi
Una lama A Beam Penguin Un filo de
2012 Sellerio 2015
di luce of Light Books luz
A Voice Una voz
Una voce Penguin
2012 Sellerio 2016 in the en la
di notte Books
Night noche
Un covo A Nest of Penguin Un nido
2013 Sellerio 2017
di vipere Vipers Books de víboras
La The La
Penguin
piramide 2014 Sellerio 2018 Pyramid pirámide
Books
di fango of Mud de fango
The
El carrusel
La giostra Overnigh
Penguin de las
degli 2015 Sellerio 2019 t
Books confusion
scambi Kidnappe
es
r
The
L'altro
Other Penguin
capo del 2016 Sellerio 2019
End of Books
filo
the Line
La rete di The
Penguin
protezion 2017 Sellerio 2020 Safety
Books
e Net
Il metodo
Catalanot 2018 Sellerio
ti
Il cuoco
dell'Alcyo 2019 Sellerio
n
Other
(including Montalbano's short stories)
Gli arancini di Montalbano (1999) ISBN 88-04-46972-2
Biografia di un figlio cambiato (2000) ISBN 88-17-86612-1
Il birraio di Preston (1995) ISBN 88-389-1098-7
La bolla di componenda (1993)
La concessione del telefono (1998) ISBN 88-389-1344-7
La concessione del telefono: versione teatrale dell'omonimo romanzo (2005) ISBN 88-7796-
265-8
Il corso delle cose (1978; revised edition, 1998) ISBN 88-389-1472-9
Il diavolo: tentatore, innamorato (2005) ISBN 88-7989-960-0
Favole del tramonto (2000) ISBN 88-86772-22-X
Un filo di fumo (1980)
Il gioco della mosca (1995) ISBN 88-389-1193-2
Gocce di Sicilia (2001) ISBN 88-86772-08-4 (Texts originally published in the Almanacco
dell'Altana between 1995 and 2000.)
Le inchieste del commissario Collura (2002) ISBN 88-7415-002-4
La linea della palma: Saverio Lodato fa raccontare Andrea Camilleri (2002) ISBN 88-17-
87050-1
Il medaglione (2005) ISBN 88-04-55027-9
Un mese con Montalbano (1998) ISBN 88-04-44465-7 (Thirty short stories)
Montalbano a viva voce (2002) ISBN 88-04-50974-0 (Two audio CDs)
La mossa del cavallo (1999) ISBN 88-17-86083-2
L'ombrello di Noe (2002) ISBN 88-17-87011-0
Le parole raccontate: piccolo dizionario dei termini teatrali (2001) ISBN 88-17-86888-4
La paura di Montalbano (2002) ISBN 88-04-50694-6 (Six short stories)
The Fourth Secret (2014), a short story taken from La paura di Montalbano
La Pensione Eva: romanzo (2006) ISBN 88-04-55434-7
La presa di Macallè (2003) ISBN 88-389-1896-1 (Novel in the dialect of Sicily)
La prima indagine di Montalbano (2004) ISBN 88-04-52983-0
Privo di titolo (2005) ISBN 88-389-2030-3
Racconti quotidiani (2001) ISBN 88-900411-4-5
Il re di Girgenti (2001) ISBN 88-389-1668-3
Romanzi storici e civili (2004) ISBN 88-04-51929-0
La scomparsa di Patò: romanzo (2000) ISBN 88-04-48412-8
Hunting Season (2014) La stagione della caccia (1992, 1998) ISBN 88-389-1018-9
Storie di Montalbano (2002) ISBN 88-04-50427-7
La strage dimenticata (1997) ISBN 88-389-1388-9
I teatri stabili in Italia (1898–1918) (1959)
Teatro (2003)
La testa ci fa dire: dialogo con Andrea Camilleri (2000) ISBN 88-389-1568-7
Vi racconto Montalbano: interviste (2006) ISBN 88-7981-302-1
Il colore del sole (2007)
Le pecore ed il pastore (2007)
La novella di Antonello da Palermo (2007)
Voi non sapete (2007)
Maruzza Musumeci (2007)
Il tailleur grigio (2008)
Il casellante (2008)
La muerte de Amalia Sacerdote (2008), La muerte de Amalia Sacerdote (Spanish) ISBN 978-
8490565063
Un sabato, con gli amici (2009)
Il sonaglio (2009)
La rizzagliata (2009)
La tana delle vipere (2009)
Il nipote del Negus (2010) ISBN 88-389-2453-8
L'intermittenza (2010) ISBN 978-88-04-59842-8
Ora dimmi di te (2018) ISBN 978-88-4529-7755, Háblame de ti. Carta a Matilda (Spanish)
ISBN 978-8498389692