Rocco Femia, editor and journalist, is the founder and editor of the bimonthly magazine "Roots" (Editions and editions). Published in Toulouse since 2002, the magazine was born with the ambition to cultivate the memory of Italian emigration to France and to offer itself as a vehicle for knowledge of English Language and Italian culture beyond the Alps.
“Radici”, a bilingual magazine for learning Italian
Of great visual impact, in his 68 color pages, the magazine is enriched with interesting columns, sections and dossiers. Each issue opens with "Brev'Italia", a quick roundup of news of national interest, e "Itineraries", section dedicated to the rediscovery of the Italian regions. There is no shortage of pages on emigration (column directed by Laure Teulières), history, art, literature. Successful magazine (sold by subscription) has a particularity that makes it original and extremely interesting: it is bilingual. Most of the articles are written in French, but a significant presence of Italian is safeguarded, especially in the pages dedicated to language learning. Born to create a space for cultural exchanges between France and Italy, French and Italians, Italian-French, Franco-Italians and the curious, "Radici" allows a large audience to learn Italian and get to know our culture.
Rocco Femia, a successful Calabrian
The creator, Rocco Femia, 59, has Calabrian origins. Born in Aprigliano (Cosenza), he graduated in Bari in Law and continued his studies in France, where he obtained a master's degree in international communication. With "Roots", Femia has achieved great popularity, which sees him also involved in the theater, with the musical show "Italiens quand les émigrés c'était nous". Married, father of two children, he is also the author of several books. To his great passion for writing he unites - he confides - that for good Italian cuisine. In this interview, he tells us and tells us about his successful publishing project. And, with pleasure, it returns to its "roots".
Femia Director, when was your passion for writing born?
«I would say that writing is a passion that has always accompanied me. But there is a less evident aspect, at first glance, in this profession that has attracted my curiosity and aroused a great passion: that of being able to tell people's lives and to extend information and keys to the widest possible audience. of reading on the way of being in the world. Telling, here. No particular claim, of course, but in any case the awareness that a journalism, capable of informing with responsibility, must also bring out the best of a people or a territory, and therefore share it with everyone. This is a bit like what we try to do at “Radici” ».
How long have you lived in France?
“I have been in France for more than 25 years. No cardboard suitcase or brain drain. Simply an interesting job within the Council of Europe, and to continue my post-graduate education with a master's degree in communication. I graduated in Law from the “Aldo Moro” faculty in Bari. In France I worked for some years as deputy director of the Higher Research Institute for Europe. Then the decision to start my own business thanks to the decisive help of my wife (quadrilingual translator), which is the real reason why we decided to take root in France where, in 2002, we founded the magazine and all the rest. which followed: the publishing house for books and the company of musical and theatrical productions. All activities, of course, dedicated to Italian culture ».
What does it mean, today, to spread culture?
«I think that spreading culture today means first of all focusing on the way of being. It takes a lot of fidelity to certain values. It is not an easy recipe. For our part, the bar is firmly held in the direction of a humanism of values and rights that has always represented a true compass in our personal history and in that of “Radici” (www.radici-press.net). In short, another Italy: open, free, courageous, anti-racist and anti-fascist, anti-sexist, secular and supportive. Here is the program that constitutes our editorial line ».
What determines the success of “Radici”?
“When they ask me this question, I tell the truth: it's simple, you just need to be surrounded by people smarter than you, who not only prevent you from doing nonsense, but stimulate you to make the right decisions. Here, the secret lies in this collective "we" which, continuously, tries to get involved and nourishes itself with the balance of the history, current events and culture of one of the most beautiful countries in the world, ours ».
Who are the journalists who support you in this ambitious editorial project?
“We are 6 on a permanent basis in the editorial office. But about twenty freelancers are scattered throughout Italy, France, Belgium. Some write in various Italian and television newspapers, from Focus Storia to Fatto Quotidiano, passing through Vanity Fair, Tip, La7 and L'Espresso. Intelligent and really smart people, whom we have chosen for their ability to share Italy with French friends. Who knows if a collaboration with Italiani.it will not be born in a while ».
“Radici” has well-finished graphics, entirely in color, enriched by many beautiful photos. What are the other strengths?
“I can never speak clearly enough about the magazine. Because, after all, it should be the readers, whether faithful or occasional, who say whether it is interesting or not. What I can tell you is that in these 20 years we have never sat down to develop a development strategy. We lived day after day, working like the damned and relentlessly, perhaps with only one idea in mind, yes: to make a magazine that knows how to talk about Italy first of all to the French. There. In this, perhaps, "Radici" has proposed a novelty in the panorama of Italian newspapers in the world. Not so much addressing Italians abroad or just Italian natives, so numerous in France, but knowing how to speak above all to Madame Dupont and Monsieur Dumas. Culture, let's not forget, is not just identity, but also sharing.
Being able to do it with those who are not of Italian origin is even more gratifying and I think that, in the long run, it bears more fruit as well as rendering a service to the culture of the Belpaese. Obviously, we have never forgotten the Italian diaspora, quite the contrary. In 2011, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy, our publishing house dedicated one of the most important historical works written in recent years on Italian emigration to the world to Italian emigration: “Italiens 150 ans d'émigration en France et ailleurs ". Book that is by far the best-selling book by our publishing house with more than 4 editions. Without forgetting that, for some years now, we have been carrying around everywhere the musical and theatrical show "Italiens quand les émigrés c'était nous", for which the "Foundation Queen Christine Europe" of Stockholm has awarded the magazine and the troupe the prestigious “QC Europe” cultural label, for work against intolerance and xenophobia ».
How important are the roots in the life of every man?
“They are that natural element that reminds us of who we are and where we come from. And which allow us to understand, if lived with respect for memory, which path to take. Above all to give "meaning and direction" to what we do. That said, never fall into an arid and not very fertile pessimism, into that strange belief that "it was better when it was worse". No. You are better now or you may even be worse off now. It just depends on our way of life which is the only thing that can make the roots fertile or dry. It is only in the choices we make, moment by moment, in the present in which we live, that we can be faithful to the roots. And then we should agree on what we mean by "roots". You know well that there are healthy, strong, historically important roots, but also roots, which although belonging to each one and to our people collectively, are not always a reason for pride. In this sense, loving the roots means remembering that history of customs, culture, ideas and testimonies that have truly enriched our personal existential journey. There, the roots are the healthy place of collective memory, that bottomless pit where good water can be drawn. God knows how much it is needed, especially today ».
What is your relationship with your homeland?
«It is an ancestral, primal, atavistic relationship. I don't think I'm any different from the others who probably asked this same question. We are all from a specific place and not from another. In this regard, I'll tell you an interesting anecdote that I don't always share. Many years ago, I had the opportunity to speak with Pope John Paul II, aka Pope Wojtyla. He asked me where I was from. I replied that I was from Calabria. Then he insisted asking me which city exactly. In order not to waste his time, and to give too many explanations, I replied that I was from a village in the province of Cosenza. And he, almost annoyed by my evasiveness, gently scolded me because he really wanted to know the village where I was born. I told him that it was called Aprigliano and that it was a beautiful village on the slopes of the Sila mountains. And he replied with a smile: “Well, you see, there is always a little unknown Bethlehem that gives us birth and that we must never forget”. To tell the truth, it was not at that moment that I became aware of being proud of my country, but this pontifical insistence confirmed for me a truth that has always accompanied me: we are truly from a particular place and nowhere else. We belong to that place. Always and forever, even if life takes us elsewhere».
What news do you foresee for the future of “Radici”?
«We are working on the creation of a web platform to produce reports and journalistic and artistic contents for the network ourselves. A physical space because we are looking for a loft-like structure to accommodate the study of programs, but virtual because only on the web, where fans of Italy in France or elsewhere, can find information and daily contents at 360 degrees about Italy. The information will always be in both languages. A choice to convey the ties between the two countries. Without forgetting that we have 5 shows produced by “Roots” that tour France. Or perhaps it is more correct to say, they were running, given that the pandemic did not spare anyone. Now we are resuming the path of the theaters, hoping that there are no other stops ».
