Edoardo Persico: The Critic Who Inspired Camilleri

Edoardo Persico (Naples, 1900 – Milan, 1936) was a multifaceted intellectual: art and architecture critic, gallerist, graphic designer, and publisher. After studying law and serving in WWI, he became involved with Piero Gobetti's antifascist weekly Rivoluzione Liberale, leading to his arrest. He moved to Turin, worked at Fiat, and founded the publishing house La Biblioteca Italiana di Edoardo Persico, which released works by Giuseppe Prezzolini and Lionello Venturi. In Turin, artists Carlo Levi, Luigi Chessa, and Francesco Menzio introduced him to the art world. Persico curated Menzio's exhibition at Sala Guglielmi and wrote for Le Arti Plastiche. Fleeing police surveillance, he relocated to Milan, where he directed the Galleria Il Milione (named after Marco Polo's book), showcasing international artists like Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, Juan Gris, and Jean Arp. In the early 1930s, his focus shifted to architecture; he collaborated with Casabella, contributing criticism and graphic designs influenced by the Bauhaus. He designed temporary installations, including the Sala delle Medaglie d'oro at the 1934 Mostra dell'Aeronautica Italiana and the Domus kiosk for the Bari fair. Persico died under unclear circumstances at his Milan home between January 10 and 11, 1936, while preparing the first monograph on Lucio Fontana, published posthumously in Campo Grafico. His life inspired Andrea Camilleri's novel Dentro il labirinto (2012).