Umberto Eco

Italian semiotician, essayist, philosopher, literary critic, and novelist (1932-2016) · Italy · Writers · Died at 84 · also Serbia

Umberto Eco is read about 2,620 times a day, in 115 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 15 October 2026

The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 390 days, one point a day.

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The Italian semiotician who turned medieval monastery murders into a surprise bestseller, proving that a thriller stuffed with Latin, heresy, and footnotes could sell millions - then spent the rest of his life writing everything from children's books to a prescient anatomy of fascism.

Writers Academic Philosophy Fiction Screenwriting Literature History Italy

A life in dates

2016Died19 February 20162015Honorary Doctor of the University of ŁódźAward2011Cesare Pavese PrizeAward2010Honorary Doctorate from University of Paris-IIAward2004Honorary Doctor of the Marie and Louis Pasteur UniversityAward2002Honorary Doctor of Rutgers UniversityAward2000The VIZE 97 PrizeAward1997Honorary Doctorate of Grenoble-III UniversityAward1996Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian RepublicAward1995“I don't even have an E-mail address. I have reached an age where my main purpose is not to receive messages.”In their words26 June 1995As quoted in "Of Eco And E-mail" by Anthony Haden-Guest, in The New Yorker (26 June 1995)Read the whole statement

1994“To read fiction means to play a game by which we give sense to the immensity of things that happened, are happening, or will happen in the actual world.”In their wordsSix Walks in the Fictional Woods (1994) Chapter Four: "Possible Woods"Read the whole statement

1993Honorary DoctorateAward1990Honorary Doctor of Sofia UniversityAward1989Honorary Doctor of the Sorbonne Nouvelle UniversityAward1986“In the United States, politics is a profession, whereas in Europe it is a right and a duty.”In their wordsPreface to the American edition of Travels in Hyperreality (1986)Read the whole statement

“The real hero is always a hero by mistake; he dreams of being an honest coward like everybody else.”In their words"Why Are They Laughing In Those Cages?", in Travels in Hyperreality : Essays‎ (1986), Ch. III : The Gods of the Underworld, p. 122Read the whole statement

1985Honorary Doctor of the Katholieke Universiteit LeuvenAwardHonorary Doctorate from Brown UniversityAward1981Strega PrizeAward1978“I started to write [The Name of the Rose] in March of 1978, moved by a seminal idea. I wanted to poison a monk.”In their wordsQuoted in Myriem Bouzaher's introduction to the French version of The Name of the Rose, Postille al Nome della Rosa, Page 18 (1985)Read the whole statement

1973“Not long ago, if you wanted to seize political power in a country you had merely to control the army and the police.”In their wordsIl costume di casa (1973); as translated in Travels in Hyperreality (1986)Read the whole statement

1932Born5 January 1932

Also in Deutsch

Photos 8

Italiaanse schrijver Umberto Eco , kop, Bestanddeelnr 932-9758

2011-03-04 Margot Dijkgraaf en Umbert Eco in De Rode Hoed

2011-03-04 Umberto Eco en Margot Dijkgraaf in De Rode Hoed

2011-03-04 Umberto Eco signeert (De Rode Hoed)

Frankfurter Buchmesse 2011 - Scheck und Eco

Frankfurter Buchmesse 2011 - Umberto Eco

Boekenconferentie in Amsterdam Umberto Eco (links) en minister Brinkman, Bestanddeelnr 934-1145

Boekenconferentie in Amsterdam Umberto Eco (links) en minister Brinkman, Bestanddeelnr 934-1146

In their own words 10

Umberto Eco

10 statements, newest first

I don't even have an E-mail address. I have reached an age where my main purpose is not to receive messages.
Jun 26, 1995, As quoted in "Of Eco And E-mail" by Anthony Haden-Guest, in The New Yorker (26 June 1995), Own words
To read fiction means to play a game by which we give sense to the immensity of things that happened, are happening, or will happen in the actual world.
1994, Six Walks in the Fictional Woods (1994) Chapter Four: "Possible Woods", Own words
How should we deal with intrusions of fiction into life, now that we have seen the historical impact that this phenomenon can have?
1994, Six Walks in the Fictional Woods (1994) Chapter Six: "Fictional Protocols", Own words

Wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0

Awards

Honorary Doctor of the University of Łódź2015

Honorary Doctorate of the University of Burgos2013

Cesare Pavese Prize2011

Honorary Doctorate from University of Paris-II2010

Honorary Doctor of the University of Belgrade2009

Honorary Doctor of the Marie and Louis Pasteur University2004

Honorary Doctor of Rutgers University2002

Austrian State Prize for European Literature2001

Princess of Asturias Award for Communications and Humanities2000

The VIZE 97 Prize2000

Honorary Doctorate of Grenoble-III University1997

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic1996

Honorary Doctor of the University of Tartu1996

Honorary Doctorate1993

Honorary Doctor of Sofia University1990

Honorary Doctor of the University of Madrid Complutense1990

Honorary Doctor of the Sorbonne Nouvelle University1989

Bancarella Literary Prize1989

Honorary Doctor of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven1985

Honorary Doctorate from Brown University1985

Prix Médicis étranger1982

Strega Prize1981

Officer of the Legion of Honour

Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres

Pour le Mérite for Sciences and Arts order

Knight Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

Honorary doctor of the Free University of Berlin

Honorary doctor of the University of Liège

Honorary Doctor of Tel Aviv University

Honorary Doctor of the University of Uppsala

Honorary Doctorate of the University of Glasgow

Honorary Doctor of the University of Athens

Honorary Doctorate of University of Buenos Aires

Honorary Doctor of Loyola University Chicago

Honorary Doctor of the University of Kent

Gold Medal of the Italian Order of Merit for Culture and Art

In their orbit

Spouse: Renate Ramge

About this person

Umberto Eco was born 5 January 1932 and built his career as a medievalist and philosopher at the University of Bologna, where he would teach for decades. In 1980 he published The Name of the Rose, a historical mystery that wove semiotics, biblical analysis, and literary theory into popular fiction; it became an unexpected international phenomenon. Foucault's Pendulum followed in 1988, touching on similar dense territory. Beyond novels he wrote prolifically: children's books, translations, and from 1985 onward a twice-monthly column "La Bustina di Minerva" for L'Espresso - his last piece, on Romantic painter Francesco Hayez, appeared 27 January 2016, weeks before his death on 19 February. His 1995 essay "Ur-Fascism", listing fourteen properties of fascist ideology, has gained new attention in the 21st century.

Country

Italy

In common with Umberto

Sean ConneryAlso in The Name of the Rose (1986)

Marcello MastroianniAlso in La Notte (1961)

Christian SlaterAlso in The Name of the Rose (1986)

Michelangelo AntonioniAlso in La Notte (1961)

F. Murray AbrahamAlso in The Name of the Rose (1986)

Jeanne MoreauAlso in La Notte (1961)

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