The Italian prose translations and abridged versions

Several prose versions as well as abridged version of the Kalevala have been published in Italy. Almost every generation has had their own version of the Kalevala.

Francesco Di Silvestri-Falconieri published the first complete prose translation of the Kalevala in 1912. The second printing of this work was published in 1927 and an extended foreword was added to this edition.

Miguel Escalada wrote in 1926 the first abridged version of the Kalevala that was meant for young readers and the abridged version by Elena Primicerio, Finlandia, terra di eroi. Racconti delKalevala was published in 1941, the second edition in 1965 and the third in 1973. Giuseppe Pennazza created a storybook of the tales of the Kalevala. The title of the book is I racconti del mago (1949) and Pino Bava’s work Kalévala. Il poema della Finlandia, narrato in prosa was published in 1957. The Tra gli eroi di Kalevala. Miti e leggende finniche (1971) by Giovanni Randone was a beautifully illustrated version. In 1980 Lialiana Calimeri translated the work A land of Heroes. A retelling of the Kalevala by Ursula Synge, which consisted of tales from the Kalevala. The title of the translation was Racconti Finlandesi (Kalevala) and it was published in 1980 (second printing in 1987).

In 1988 Gabriella Agrati and Maria Letizia Magini edited a prose version, which was named Kalevala. Miti incantesimi eroi nella grande saga del popolo finlandese. It was based on the translations of the Kalevala by Pavolini, Silverstri-Falconieri, Perreti and Peabody Magoun Junior.

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Vesa-Matteo Piludu: “Väinämöisen kyyneleistä tuli Venetsian kaunein tyttö. Kalevala italialaisten kääntäjien ja kulttuurivaikuttajien silmin”– Kalevala maailmalla. Helsinki: SKS. 2012.