Urania (magazine)
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<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image: Urania 1.jpg|thumb|200px|right|First number of ''Romanzi di Urania''.]] -->
[[Image:U1518.jpg|thumb|200px|Cover for a recent number of ''Urania'', featuring [[Alan Dean Foster]]'s ''[[The Mocking Program]]''.]]
'''''Urania''''' is an [[Italy|Italian]] [[science fiction]] [[magazine]] published by [[Arnoldo Mondadori Editore]] since [[October 10]], [[1952]].
==History==
The first issue featured the novel ''[[The Sands of Mars]]'' by [[Arthur C. Clarke]] (as ''Le sabbie di Marte''). The original name of the series was '''''I Romanzi di Urania''''' ("Urania's novels"), to differentiate it from another magazine with the same name (but popularly known as '''''Urania Rivista''''', "Urania Magazine"), which featured only short stories. The latter, however, lasted only 14 issues, and ''Romanzi di Urania'' soon took the simpler name, which still holds today. Short story collections were thenceforth published in the main series, which at its height had a weekly periodicity with a circulation of 160,000 copies a month. Since the very beginning Urania has been indeed the best selling [[Science fiction|SF]] magazine of [[Italy]], also introducing to Italian readers some famed authors like [[Isaac Asimov]], [[Alfred Elton van Vogt]], [[Robert A. Heinlein]], [[J. G. Ballard]], [[Philip K. Dick]] and many others. The first editor was [[Giorgio Monicelli]] (brother of movie director [[Mario Monicelli]]): Monicelli is credited with the invention of the word ''fantascienza'', meaning ''science-fiction'' in Italian. From 1964 to 1985 novels and short stories were selected by the renowned Italian writers and intellectuals [[Carlo Fruttero]] and [[Franco Lucentini]], who also appeared in the magazine with a few short stories written under pseudonyms. Their successor was [[Gianni Montanari]], a well-known SF editor and writer, who worked for the magazine until 1990.
Most of the novels and short stories were from [[USA|US]] and [[Great Britain|British]] authors (with some [[France|French]] novels in the 1950s). Italian authors appeared uncredited, only under [[pseudonym]]s. In recent times [[Italy|Italian]] SF writers are a more frequent presence. The competition of ''Premio Urania'' ("[[Urania Award]]") was launched in 1990, open to all previously unpublished Italian novels from famous or unknown authors. The winner is awarded with publication in the magazine. The first winner was [[Vittorio Catani]] with his ''[[Gli universi di Moras]]'' (''Urania'' #1120). In 1994 Urania published the first novel by now-world-famed [[Valerio Evangelisti]], who had won the ''Premio Urania'' for that year with ''[[Nicholas Eymerich, inquisitore]]''. Other winners include [[Nicoletta Vallorani]] and [[Massimo Mongai]].
==Cover artists==
First covers were by [[Carlo Jacono]] and [[Kurt Caesar]], but the «golden era» of the magazine was marked by the renowned [[Netherlands|Dutch]] painter [[Karel Thole]], who introduced his unparalleled, bizarre medley of surrealism, horror, classical citations and sense of humour. Other outstanding cover artists who worked for Urania were [[Vicente Segrelles]] from [[Spain]] (1988–1991) and [[Oscar Chichoni]] from [[Argentina]] (1990s). Current cover artist is [[Franco Brambilla]].
[[Image:mme80.jpg|thumb|200px|A cover by [[Karel Thole]] for ''Millemondi'', a spin-off series of reprints or short stories collections.]]
[[Image:uc47.jpg|thumb|200px|A cover by Franco Brambilla for a recent issue of ''Urania Collezione'', a reprint of [[Philip J. Farmer]]'s ''[[The Maker of Universes]]''.]]
==Spin-offs==
The magazine sprung a great deal of spin-off series, mostly short-lived and ceased today:
* Notable exception of this rule is '''''Millemondi''''', which started in 1970s with 3/4 monthly periodicity. It reprints famous novels by greatest [[Science fiction|SF]] authors which have been already published in the main series. Sometimes it houses previously unpublished collections of short stories.
* '''''Urania Argento''''' ("Silver Urania") was a monthly series started in 1995 with impressive covers by [[Oscar Chichoni]] and more lengthy, previously unpublished novels: it lasted 14 numbers.
*'''''Urania Blu''''' of 1984 was intended to reprint major short-stories collections and other works (notably a collection of articles about [[science fiction]] by [[Isaac Asimov]]), but had an unlucky run of only 4 numbers.
*'''''Urania Biblioteca''''' was another series of reprints with irregular periodicity.
*'''''Classici Urania''''' (now ceased) was a monthly reprint of the best novels and anthologies of the main series.
*'''''Urania Fantasy''''' was a monthly series dedicated to fantasy titles (1988–1995): it was canceled after 79 numbers. It has been resumed discontinuously in 2001-2006 (9 issues, with numbering starting again from 1).<ref>{{cite web
| last =
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| title = Catalogo Sf, Fantasy e Horror, a cura di Ernesto VEGETTI, Pino COTTOGNI ed Ermes BERTONI (Elenco per Collana)
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| url = http://www.fantascienza.com/catalogo/F0134.htm#UFY
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| accessdate = 2008-04-23}}</ref> A new number 1 (featuring [[Robert E. Howard]]'s stories about [[Kull of Atlantis|Kull]]) has been published in April 2008.
*'''''Urania Collezione''''' started in 2003 and is still monthly outgoing: it is similar to ''Classici Urania'' but has revised translations (until 1980s novels were extensively abridged) and a different, better packaging.
For many years Urania included a comic strip section: main titles were ''[[B.C. (comic)|B.C.]]'' by [[Johnny Hart]], ''[[The Wizard of Id]]'', by the same Hart and [[Brant Parker]] and ''[[Catfish (comic)|Catfish]]'' by [[Bollen & Peterman]].
==Today==
''Urania'' is currently published every month, but with a slightly decreasing success; ''Urania Collezione'' sells a little more copies. ''Urania'' is by far the longest life [[science fiction]] series published in [[Italy]] (in July 2005 the issue number 1500 was released: it contained the translation of ''[[Stories for Men]]'', a short novel by [[John Kessel]]; ''Il ranch di Cranwell'', a short novel by Giorgio Monicelli; and short stories by [[Fruttero & Lucentini]], [[Gianni Montanari]], and [[Giuseppe Lippi]]). Both series share editor-in-chief Giuseppe Lippi and cover artist [[Franco Brambilla]].
==References==
{{reflist}}
==See also==
* [[Science fiction magazine]]
* [[Fantasy fiction magazine]]
* [[Horror fiction magazine]]
== External links ==
*[http://www.mondourania.com www.mondourania.com] Site with all the covers of Urania and sister series
*[http://www.uraniamania.com www.uraniamania.com] Site of Italian collectors of Urania
{{ScienceFictionMagazines}}
[[Category:Science fiction magazines]]
[[Category:Italian magazines]]
[[it:Urania (collana)]]