Matteo Nucci

The Italian essayist, novelist, short story writer and reporter Matteo Nucci has been speaking out against the genocide in Gaza since 2023, condemning the insidious ways in which power manipulates language to refer to the horrific events taking place in the Middle East. Born in Rome in 1970, Nucci studied ancient philosophy, went on to edit and translate Plato’s Symposium and wrote a series of essays on Empedocles, Socrates, Plato and the Homeric world that earned him widespread acclaim. His 2013 book Le lacrime degli eroi [Tears of the heroes] is a distillation of his literary passions, a narrative essay on the Iliad and the Odyssey that deftly sits at the intersection of study, novel and travelogue. His immensely popular 2025 book, Platone. Una storia d’ amore [Plato. A love story], is a fictionalized account of Plato’s life that chronicles his life-altering encounters with Alcibiades, Socrates and Aristotle, his relationship with politics, but also his great loves. Two of his novels, Sono comuni le cose degli amici [Between friends all is common] and E giusto obbedire alla notte [Obeying the night is only right], were nominated for the Strega Prize, the most important Italian literary award. His most recent book, Sognava i leoni. L’eroismo fragile di Ernest Hemingway [He dreamed of lions: the fragile heroism of Ernest Hemingway], is a fresh and definitive portrait of Ernest Hemingway through his life and work. Nucci is a regular contributor to various publications, including La Stampa, L’ Espresso and il manifesto.