Il mondo nordico sulla scena italiana. La ricezione di Selma Lagerlöf ne I cavalieri di Ekebù

This article explores the cultural and literary reception of Northern European culture in Italy between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, focusing on the operatic adaptation of Selma Lagerlöf’s masterpiece, The Saga of Gösta Berling. The study is divided into two main sections: the first provides a historical overview of how Scandinavian literature was perceived and disseminated in the Italian intellectual landscape; the second offers a detailed textual analysis of the opera I Cavalieri di Ekebù (1925), composed by Riccardo Zandonai with a libretto by Arturo Rossato. By comparing the original novel with the operatic libretto, the author highlights the shifts in narrative focus, specifically the emphasis on sentimental components and the exotic portrayal of the North