By Francesco Veronesi

Friends and colleagues refer to him as an “Eco-logist.” He more modestly defines himself as an impassioned scholar of the works of Umberto Eco. Rocco Capozzi’s passion goes back to the ’70s when the Alessandria-born professor was simply an esteemed lecturer of semiotics. Public acclaim was still quite a ways off.
“I’ve known Eco since 1977,” the University of Toronto’s Italian Department lecturer confides to Corriere Canadese/Tandem. “Year after year, my interest in Eco continued to grow: I attended his conferences, and laboured quite a bit over his works. Our academic relationship has developed into a solid friendship over time.” And it was with a gentle and friendly urging that Capozzi convinced Eco to return to Canada one more time.
“This summer,” says the professor, “I met with him at Montecerignone, at his summer home, and I learned that he would be visiting North America Oct. 5 and 6 on an invitation from the University of Atlanta, in Georgia. ‘Why don’t you come visit us as well,’ I asked him. ‘Ok, I’ll come, but for my friends, and not to hold a conference,’ he answered me.” Said and done.
Eco will be in Mississauga on Oct. 8 for an eagerly awaited lecture on the topic of esthetics and mankind’s evolutionary paths involving beauty and ugliness - themes dealt with in two separate volumes: Storia della bellezza (History of Beauty, 2004), and Storia della bruttezza (On the History of Ugliness, 2007). As well, on Oct. 9 the professor will participate at a round table [discussion] along with Capozzi, Martin Stiglio, and Antonio Nicaso to mark the English language release of A passo di gambero, Guerre Calde e populismo mediatico (Turning Back the Clock (2006).
“Let’s just say that I forced him a bit to come,” adds Capozzi, laughing. “Eco does have a bit of Toronto in his blood. During the ’70s he often came to give courses on semiotic studies at the University of Toronto, and more recently has held lessons at the university’s Italian Department on the inherent problems of translation. In addition, he has always come for the North American release of his books.”

And as always, it will be a very warm welcome. “There’s a lot of anticipation for this event at the university. They’ve already reserved for 1,100 people at the campus. The enthusiasm among both professors and students is overwhelming.”
It could not be any other way, because over the years, Eco has become one of the foremost exponents of Italian intellectualism. His studies on semiotics have become veritable bibles for students of the subject, while his novels have become bestsellers in dozens of countries.
“Personally,” emphasizes Capozzi, “I consider Eco a pioneer. Already during the ’70s he was speaking about mass communication, mass media, and TV, in Opera aperta (The Open Work, 1962) and in Diario minimo (Misreadings, 1963).
He was making inroads in new, unexplored areas. And he was a pioneer in writing Il Trattato di semiotica generale (A Theory of Semiotics, 1975), because this book became the first international manual on semiology. It’s the same thing as far as esthetics are concerned. And I am particularly fond of his studies on Thomas of Aquinas and on the medieval [era]. Eco was a pioneer even in writing his novels: Il nome della Rosa (The Name of the Rose) (1980) and Il pendolo di Foucault (Foucault’s Pendulum, 1987) have influenced hundreds of writers – think of Dan Brown, and many others – who began writing thrillers with a historic or philosophic background.”
As well, Eco represents the “shining example” of Italian culture. “We can safely say,” says Capozzi, “that Umberto Eco has become the foremost Italian cultural ambassador abroad. And, at the same time, he’s a world citizen, able to reiterate the subject matter, showing us new angles, and bringing to light new truths.”
And it’s thanks to his ability of moulding language, digging to the depths of symbolisms, and the desperate need of making sense of chaos, that Eco has created, book upon book, his international success. Always with the use of two picklocks - logic and reason - to unhinge the staggering reality in which we live – illogical, irrational, incomprehensible that it is. With this approach, his transformation from essayist to narrator was natural and painless.

“In Eco’s literary output,” Capozzi points out, “there has never been a real break. From my point of view, in his novels, the professor did none other than to illustrate and put his theories into practice. In The Name of the Rose, Eco wrote about semantics, in Kant and l’ornitorinco (Kant and the Platypus: Essays on Language and Cognition, 1997) he spoke about philosophy, in Foucault’s Pendulum he illustrated his theories on paranoia, in L’isola del giorno prima (The Island of the Day Before, 1994) he did nothing more that present us with his studies on metaphor. In La misteriosa fiamma della regina Loana (The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana, 2004), finally, Eco explained the mechanisms of memory to us, the collective memory that transcends history and the personal one that accumulated within the individual and that is inexorably forgotten. And all without ever abandoning the scientific method.”
For this reason as well, accusations of his having “sold out” with his novels are laughable. “Utter nonsense,” Capozzi bursts out. “That is an opinion of a minority of the academic world who are envious of Eco’s success.”
On campus, in the meantime, preparations for Eco’s arrival are well underway. A huge contribution to organizing all administrative tasks is provided by another teacher and great admirer of the professor, Michael Lettieri. “We wanted a big response,” he says, “from the students, professors, and the Canadian press. We’ve witnessed an extraordinary enthusiasm for what I believe to be, along with Marcel Danesi, the most important semiotics scholar in the world. Last year we hosted Gianni Vattimo, this year Umberto Eco – those are two very extraordinary events for our university.”
The on-campus lecture coincides with the English-language release of the box set containing History of Beauty and On the History of Ugliness.
The discussion inevitably leads to problems of translation. “Some loss occurs in all translations,” adds Capozzi. “This is inevitable. As Eco explains in his essay, whoever claims to make a literal translation will destroy the original text. What is required is an expert on the two languages, on the topic, and on the writer. Then, a lot of flexibility: Language must never become an obstacle. But it’s evident, from one language to another, that the text is destined to change and with that, key details, key nuances [are lost]. Someone reading Shakespeare in Italian will never be able to achieve that same level of ‘enjoyment’ of whoever has the good fortune of reading in English.”

Umberto Eco will give his lecture on his histories of beauty and ugliness on Oct. 8 at the Recreation, Athletics and Wellness Centre (South Building) gymnasium of the University of Toronto in Mississauga. The lecture will begin at 6 p.m. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. For information and reservations call 905-569-4321.

Source: www.corrieretandem.com