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There are two Harry translations that come from Italy - Italian and Latin. Italian, a Romance language, is a descendant of the vulgar Latin. The Italian that we know today is based on the Tuscan dialect, BUT as with all things language, the history of this language is not that simple. In 1861, Italy unified and a decision was made to use Tuscan as the official language throughout the new unified Italy.
Today, there are about 68 million Italian speakers throughout the world.
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To learn more about Italian, Click Here and Here.
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To hear the 1st paragraph of the 1st book in Italian, Click Here.
The Harry Potter books were first translated into Italian in 1998, so shortly after the books were first published in English. Books 1 and 2 were translated by Marina Astrologo and books 3 - 7 were translated by Beatrice Masini. Serena Riglietti was the illustrator. Adriano Salani Editore was and is the publisher. Since the publication of the first editions, many more would follow. Many are included on this page - there are a few that are not. The first editions were published in hardcover - but a softcover with same art was also produced. The first state of the 1st edition Book 1 has become quite in demand, which definitely reflects in sale prices.
Harry Potter e la pietra filosofale
Harry Potter e la camera dei segreti
ISBN: 8877827025 (pre-movie)
Later Print
ISBN: 8877827033 (pre-movie)
Harry Potter e l'Ordine della Fenice
Harry Potter e il Prigioniero di Azkaban
ISBN: 8877828528
Harry Potter e il Calice di Fuoco
ISBN: 9788884513441
ISBN: 888451049X
Harry Potter e il Principe Mezzosangue
ISBN: 8884516374
Harry Potter e i Doni della Morte
ISBN: 978884518781
ISBN: 9788862561686
ISBN: 9788862561693
In 2011, Salani published these beautiful books, featuring the Signature edition illustrations by Clare Melinsky; Melinsky's art work was originally on the Bloomsbury UK hardcover and then softcover sets before making their way to a few translations, Italian being one of them. The Salani Signature edition books are softcover and overall seem nicely made. While I have the original UK hard and softcover edition featuring Melinsky's art, I really enjoy the Italian signature edition as well, I will probably finish out this set anyway.
ISBN: 9788867155958
Salani Editore released a nice edition featuring the beautiful Kazu Kibuishi's cover art. These books, like the first editions, are hardcover with jackets; I don't know of a softcover Italian variant. Due to the overwhelming number of books that I have that feature Kazi Kibuishi cover art, I don't see myself completing this set; to my knowledge all 7 books were published in this art.
Revised Philosopher's Stone. In 2014 Salani revised the Harry Potter books, to better improve their quality. On their website, Salani says of the revision that translating the books one book at a time, with no future knowledge of plot, was daunting, resulting in lower quality translations. To separate the revised editions from the Italian first editions, the cover art from the Dutch books is used, and I must say these covers are amazing. Unlike with the first editions, no jackets were issued with these hardcovers.
ISBN: 9788867158126
ISBN: 9788867158133
ISBN: 9788867158140
ISBN: 9788867158157
ISBN: 9788867158164
ISBN: 9788867158171
ISBN: 9788867158188
ISBN: 9788893814508
ISBN: 9788893814522
in 2018, Salani released a 20th Anniversary edition of their books. This edition has the same cover art as the 1st editions, were issued in hardcover - but no jackets - just pictorial boards. All 7 books were released in this edition. The boards are a wonderful, buttery soft texture; however, as I already have the hardcover 1st edition books, I don't see myself completing this set at this time.
ISBN: 9788831003384
ISBN: 9788831003391
Salani also released a hardcover edition featuring the Jonny Duddle art. This edition is not my favorite rendering of Duddle's art, so I do not see myself completing this set.
1st Edition, 1st Print of the Latin translation of Philosopher's Stone, published by Bloomsbury in 2003. While Latin is a dead language, this translation was created to give students of the language fresh reading material as well as to remove some of the dread of studying this language. For more information about the Latin translation, click here. There are at least 2 editions of this book.
Title: Harrius Potter et Philosophi Lapis
ISBN: 9781582348254 or 1582348251
Translator: Peter Needham
Format: Hardcover with Jacket
Notes: only books 1 & 2 published; are at least 2 Thomas Taylor illustrated Bloomsbury editions; later editions featuring Jonny Duddle art
Difficulty to Find Rating: 3, Common
1st Edition Latin translation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secret,s published by Bloomsbury in 2007. This edition has a gold colored ribbon bookmark, which is missing from the first book.
Title: Harrius Potter et Camera Secretorum
ISBN: 9780747588771
Translator: Peter Needham
Format: Hardcover with Jacket
Notes: There's a Jonny Duddle edition as well.
Difficulty to Find Rating: 3, Common (although Duddle edition easier to find, this one is still quite common).