Farewell to Rosellina Archinto, who revolutionised children’s publishing

The pioneering work is Leo Lionni’s brilliant *Little Blue and Little Yellow* (1967), in which a yellow blob and a blue blob love playing together, but when they hug, they turn green and their parents no longer recognise them. A hug that melts away prejudices and shows just how important it is to mix, learn and change through our interactions with one another.

Having established children’s literature – still regarded as a niche genre in Italia – and won awards at the Bologna Book Fair as well as in Japan, Germany and France, the pioneer Rosellina Archinto – determined to make her mark in a decidedly male-dominated field – founded Archinto Editore in 1986, specialising in collections of correspondence, biographies, and love and travel letters by artists, musicians, scientists and writers from all over the world, but above all driven by a desire to look beyond appearances.

For forty years, a diverse array of authors has enriched the Archinto catalogue: from Rilke to Mann, from Gide to Wittgenstein, from Malerba to Quasimodo, from Apollinaire to Baudelaire. It also publishes literary criticism by world-renowned authors, from Bonnefoy to Briganti, from Manguel to Capote. From 1988 to 1997, Rosellina fostered literary debate by publishing *Leggere*, a monthly magazine featuring discussions, reviews and new book releases, which boasted contributions from Contini to Eco, from Ceronetti to Raboni, alongside a wide range of foreign authors (from Beckett to Celan, from Duchamp to Gombrowicz).

In 1999, in a co-publication with L’école des loisirs, a major French publishing house specialising in children’s literature, she founded Babalibri, which was later entrusted to the care of his daughter Francesca, presenting the public with titles that stand out for their rich illustrations, the accessibility of their texts and their ability to support children in their emotional, cognitive and social development.

Among the leading authors in the catalogue are Leo Lionni, Mario Ramos, Iela Mari, Arnold Lobel, Philippe Corentin and Susie Morgenstern. In 2003, the Archinto brand became part of the Rizzoli Group – RCS Libri, adding poets and writers such as Sereni, Ungaretti, Saba, Montale, Remarque, Ortese, Sade, Capote, Fitzgerald, Ginsberg, Saroyan and Manguel to the catalogue, along with new series.

This partnership lasted until July 2015, when Rosellina Archinto reacquired her brand and catalogue, restoring the publishing house’s independence.

As part of her commitment to culture and social issues, Archinto also served as chair of the Culture Committee of Milan City Council (1990–1993), vice-chair of the Board of Directors of the Carlo Felice Theatre Foundation in Genoa (2003–2006), as well as Honorary President of the Association of Friends of the Ligurian Museums and Palazzo Ducale in Genoa, and President of Milano Musica. Her wide-ranging activities also include serving as a board member of the Accademia del Teatro alla Scala, of Don Gino Rigoldi’s Comunità Nuova, and on the Executive Committee of the Friends of Lalla Romano Association.

For years, she has been a member of the juries for the Strega, Bagutta and Andersen – Baia delle Favole prizes. In 2010, she was awarded the Ambrogino d’Oro, and in 2015 she received the honour of Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur.

For almost forty years the partner of Leopoldo Pirelli, surrounded by her large family of five children and ten grandchildren, “Rosellina Archinto has brought to a close a life lived with extraordinary intensity and an unshakeable faith in the written word and in the culture of reading. ‘She published the books she believed in, the authors and titles that inspired her, driven by an infallible instinct and a proud independence,’ says Babalibri in its tribute to her.