About the Translator
Stephen Riggio
Stephen Riggio is the former Chief Executive Officer of Barnes & Noble. His career in bookselling began upon joining the company in 1974 when it operated a single flagship retail location in New York. In 1981 he was appointed Executive Vice President of the company’s direct mail division. With Barnes & Noble’s acquisition of B. Dalton Bookseller in 1987 he was made president of the new division, which operated over 700 nationwide stores. He was appointed chief operating officer and joined the company’s Board of Directors when it went public in 1993. During the nineties he led the company’s dramatic transformation from small format B. Dalton shopping mall locations to large format Barnes & Noble superstores, pioneering the concepts of full selection bookstores and of retail stores as destinations in which to spend leisure time. He expanded the company into Internet retailing in 1997 with the launch of its e commerce web site, into book publishing with the acquisition of Sterling Publishing, and into digital content with the development of its nook eBook reader. He was appointed chief executive officer of Barnes & Noble in 2002. He retired from the company in 2012.
Stephen and his wife Laura have been longtime advocates for individuals with Down Syndrome and developmental disabilities. Their charitable efforts have supported and developed programs that enable individuals with disabilities to reach their full potential in life, focusing on early intervention and inclusive education, post-secondary education, independent living, and employment. Mr. Riggio has served on the boards of the National Book Foundation, the National Down Syndrome Society, and is a founding member of the AHRC New York City Foundation Board. He and his wife live in New York City.
How I Came to Translate i Beati Paoli
In 2013 I decided to make a concerted effort to research our genealogy. It began with a trip that Laura and I made to Sicily that year, a typical first-timers tour of the island. During our whirlwind tour of the island we visited the ancient town of Burgio, the presumed birthplace of my grandfather Leonardo Riggio. By a series of serendipitous introductions, and with great good fortune, we were given access to the town’s birth, marriage, and death records. While we did not find any information about my grandfather, we did learn about his grandfather, one Leonardo Riggio, a pharmacist.
From that tiny bit of information I followed the trail that ultimately led me to trace our family back over four hundred years. More importantly, I discovered distant relatives living in and around Burgio, with whom Laura and I have developed a special bond.
My grandmother, Leonarda Ancona, was born in Sicily. My first exposure to the Italian language was literally on her knee, as she read Italian to me from Il Progresso, the Italian language newspaper published for Italian-American immigrants. I studied the language through high school, but it ended there, until Laura and I began taking Italian lessons together in 2012.
At one point in our studies, our teacher Beatrice Muzi, of Scuola Italian in Greenwich Village, placed a two-volume set in front of us: I Beati Paoli by Luigi Natoli. Midway through the novel, I declared that I would translate it. Thus was born the English language edition, which we have given the name Sicilian Avengers.
The process of translating Natoli’s epic work ignited in me an interest in Sicilian history and culture that has been nourished by subsequent trips to the island. My hope is that it will do the same for readers of Sicilian Avengers.
