Smuggling culture. Lavinia Mazzucchetti and German
literature in the interwar period
One of the first Italian women to become a member of Faculty, Lavinia
Mazzucchetti (1889-1965) was libero docente and docente incaricato for
German Literature from 1917 to 1929. She also cooperated with several
renowned publishers, as well as with the Enciclopedia Italiana under the
direction of Giovanni Gentile. Work on Stefan Zweig’ and Thomas Mann’s
masterpieces ensured her acclaim as a translator. Her antifascist stance was
reflected in her critical works and she showed a particular regard for fiction
targeted at women and children. She followed her own particular version of
the European canon, closely related to her family legacy as well as with her
experience of both the limits and the wealth offered by Italian and German
literature.