Le cornici de La guerra delle salamandre di Karel Čaper: la letteratura ceca tradotto e le collane editoriali

The frames of Karel Čapek’s La guerra delle salamandre (Válka s mloky): Czech literature in translation and the editorial series. The article aims to investigate the relationship between Czech literature in translation and the series, a decisive element in the interpretation of the text. The case study concentrates on the Italian versions of Karel Čapek’s novel Válka s mloky (War with the Newts) published in Italy in 1961 by Editori Riuniti, in 1987 by Lucarini Editore, and in 2009 by UTET. All three editions used Bruno Meriggi’s translation, originally made for Editori Riuniti. Čapek’s novel presented in the three series as a satire of society (“I grandi narratori”, Editori Riuniti), as bitter laughter (“I classici del ridere”, Lucarini Editore), and an apologetic story (“Letterature”, UTET). By comparing three different editions, and three different series, the present contribution aims to highlight the series as a tool for an interpretation of the specific literary work.