Coordinates: 44°31′57″N 10°51′51″E / 44.532447°N 10.864137°E / 44.532447; 10.864137

Ferrari S.p.A.

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Type	Società per azioni
Industry	Automotive
Founded	1947 (historical 1929)
Founder(s)	Enzo Ferrari
Headquarters	Maranello, Italy
Key people	Luca di Montezemolo Chairman Piero Ferrari Vice Chairman Amedeo Felisa CEO
Products	Sports cars
Production output	6,573 units (2010)[1]
Revenue	€ 1,919 million (2010)[1]
Owner(s)	Fiat S.p.A. 90% Piero Lardi Ferrari 10%[1]
Employees	2,721 (2010)[1]
Parent	Fiat S.p.A.
Website	Ferrari.com

Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947. Throughout its history, the company has been noted for its continued participation in racing, especially in Formula One, where it has had great success. Ferrari road cars are generally seen as a symbol of luxury and wealth.

History[link]

Enzo Ferrari wasn't initially interested in the idea of producing road cars when he formed Scuderia Ferrari (literally "Ferrari Stable", and usually used to mean "Team Ferrari", it is correctly pronounced [skudeˈriːa]) in 1928 as a sponsor for amateur drivers headquartered in Modena. Ferrari prepared, and successfully raced, various drivers in Alfa Romeo cars until 1938, when he was hired by Alfa Romeo to head their motor racing department.

In 1941, Alfa Romeo was confiscated by the fascist government of Benito Mussolini as part of the Axis Powers' war effort. Enzo Ferrari's division was small enough to be unaffected by this. Because he was prohibited by contract from racing for four years, the Scuderia briefly became Auto Avio Costruzioni Ferrari, which ostensibly produced machine tools and aircraft accessories. Also known as SEFAC (Scuderia Enzo Ferrari Auto Corse), Ferrari did in fact produce one race car, the Tipo 815, in the non-competition period. It was the first actual Ferrari car (it debuted at the 1940 Mille Miglia), but due to World War II it saw little competition. In 1943 the Ferrari factory moved to Maranello, where it has remained ever since. The factory was bombed by the Allies in 1944 and rebuilt in 1946, after the war ended, and included a works for road car production.

166MM Barchetta 212/225

The first Ferrari road car was the 1947 125 S, powered by a 1.5 L V12 engine; Enzo Ferrari reluctantly built and sold his automobiles to fund Scuderia Ferrari.^[2]

In 1988, Enzo Ferrari oversaw the launch of the Ferrari F40, the last new Ferrari to be launched before his death later that year, and arguably one of the most famous supercars ever made. From 2002 to 2004, Ferrari introduced the Enzo. The Enzo was Ferrari's fastest model at the time, and was introduced and named in honor of the company's founder, Enzo Ferrari (Although it was to be called the F60, continuing on from the F40 and F50, but Ferrari was so pleased with it, they called it the Enzo instead). It was initially offered to loyal and reoccuring customers, each of the 399 made (minus the 400th which was donated to the Vatican for charity) had a price tag of $650,000 apiece.

Motorsport[link]

For a complete list of Ferrari racing cars, see List of Ferrari competition cars.

Ferrari 312T2 Formula One car driven by Niki Lauda

Since the company's beginnings, Ferrari has been involved in motorsport, competing in a range of categories including Formula One and sports car racing through its Scuderia Ferrari sporting division as well as supplying cars and engines to other teams and for one make series.

The 1940 AAC 815 was the first racing car to be designed by Enzo Ferrari, although it was not badged as a Ferrari model.

Scuderia Ferrari[link]

Scuderia Ferrari has participated in a number of classes of motorsport, though it is currently only officially involved in Formula One. It is the only team to have competed in the Formula One World Championship continuously since its inception in 1950. José Froilán González gave the team its first F1 victory at the 1951 British Grand Prix.

Scuderia Ferrari won a Formula One driver's title in 2007, with Kimi Räikkönen.

Alberto Ascari gave Ferrari its first Drivers Championship a year later. Ferrari is the oldest team in the championship, and the most successful: the team holds nearly every Formula One record. As of 2008^[update], the team's records include 15 World Drivers Championship titles (1952, 1953, 1956, 1958, 1961, 1964, 1975, 1977, 1979, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2007) 16 World Constructors Championship titles (1961, 1964, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007 and 2008), 209 Grand Prix victories, 4925.27 points, 622 podium finishes, 203 pole positions, and 218 fastest laps in 776 Grands Prix contested.

Notable Ferrari drivers include José Froilán González, Tazio Nuvolari, Juan Manuel Fangio, Luigi Chinetti, Alberto Ascari, Wolfgang von Trips, Phil Hill, Olivier Gendebien, Mike Hawthorn, Peter Collins, Giancarlo Baghetti, John Surtees, Lorenzo Bandini, Ludovico Scarfiotti, Jacky Ickx, Mario Andretti, Clay Regazzoni, Niki Lauda, Carlos Reutemann, Jody Scheckter, Gilles Villeneuve, Didier Pironi, Patrick Tambay, René Arnoux, Michele Alboreto, Gerhard Berger, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Jean Alesi, Eddie Irvine, Rubens Barrichello, Michael Schumacher, Kimi Räikkönen, Felipe Massa, and Fernando Alonso.

At the end of the 2006 season, the team courted controversy by continuing to allow Marlboro to sponsor them after they, along with the other F1 teams, made a promise to end sponsorship deals with tobacco manufacturers. A five year deal was agreed and although this is not due to end until 2011, in April 2008 Marlboro dropped their on-car branding on Ferrari.

The drivers competing for 2009 were Felipe Massa and defending champion Kimi Räikkönen. As of 2010 Fernando Alonso has started racing for Ferrari after racing for Renault, Minardi and Mclaren, filling Kimi Räikkönen's former seat.

A 312PB (driven by Jacky Ickx) during the team's final year in the World Sportscar Championship.

In addition to Formula One, Ferrari also entered cars in sportscar racing, the two programs existing in parallel for many years.

In 1949, Luigi Chinetti drove a 166 M to Ferrari's first win in motorsports, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Ferrari went on to dominate the early years of the World Sportscar Championship which was created in 1953, winning the title seven out of its first nine years.

When the championship format changed in 1962, Ferrari earned titles in at least one class each year through to 1965 and then again in 1967. Ferrari would win one final title, the 1972 World Championship of Makes before Enzo decided to leave sports car racing after 1973 and allow Scuderia Ferrari to concentrate solely on Formula One.

During Ferrari's seasons of the World Sportscars Championship, they also gained more wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with the factory team earning their first in 1954. Another win would come in 1958, followed by five consecutive wins from 1960 to 1964. Luigi Chinetti's North American Racing Team (NART) would take Ferrari's final victory at Le Mans in 1965.

Although Scuderia Ferrari no longer participated in sports cars after 1973, they have occasionally built various successful sports cars for privateers. These include the BB 512 LM in the 1970s, the 333 SP which won the IMSA GT Championship in the 1990s, and currently the F430 GT2 and GT3 which are currently winning championships in their respective classes.

Race cars for other teams[link]

Throughout its history, Ferrari has supplied racing cars to other entrants, aside from its own works Scuderia Ferrari team.

In the 1950s and 60s, Ferrari supplied Formula One cars to a number of private entrants and other teams. One famous example was Tony Vandervell's team, which raced the Thinwall Special modified Ferraris before building their own Vanwall cars. The North American Racing Team's entries in the final three rounds of the 1969 season were the last occasions on which a team other than Scuderia Ferrari entered a World Championship Grand Prix with a Ferrari car.^[3]

Ferrari supplied cars complete with V8 engines for the A1 Grand Prix series, from the 2008-09 season.^[4] The car was designed by Rory Byrne and is styled to resemble the 2004 Ferrari Formula one car.

The 599 GTB Fiorano and F430 GT are used in GT racing series. The Ferrari Challenge is a one make racing series for the Ferrari F430. Ferrari's latest supercar, the 2006 FXX is not road legal, and is therefore only used for track events.

Road cars[link]

For a complete list, including future and concept car models, see List of Ferrari road cars.

Ferrari 166 Inter Coupe Touring

Current models[link]

California	458 Italia	F12 Berlinetta	FF
Grand tourer V8 engine	Sports car Mid engine V8	Grand tourer V12 engine	Grand tourer 4WD V12 shooting-brake

Ferrari's first vehicle was the 125 S sports/racing model. In 1949, the Ferrari 166 Inter, the company's first move into the grand touring market, which continues to make up the bulk of Ferrari sales to the present day.

Several early cars featured bodywork customised by a number of coachbuilders such as Pininfarina, Zagato and Bertone.

The Dino was the first mid-engined Ferrari. This layout would go on to be used in most Ferraris of the 1980s and 1990s. V8 Ferrari models make up well over half of the marque's total production.

For a time, Ferrari built 2+2 versions of its mid-engined V8 cars. Although they looked quite different from their 2-seat counterparts, both the GT4 and Mondial were closely related to the 308 GTB.

The company has also produced front-engined 2+2 cars, culminating in the current 612 Scaglietti and California.

Ferrari entered the mid-engined 12-cylinder fray with the Berlinetta Boxer in 1973. The later Testarossa remains one of the most famous Ferraris.

Supercars[link]

Enzo

The company's loftiest efforts have been in the supercar market. The 1962 250 GTO may be considered the first in the line of Ferrari supercars, which extends to the recent Enzo and FXX models.

Concept cars and specials[link]

Ferrari P4/5

Ferrari has produced a number of concept cars, such as the Ferrari Mythos. While some of these were quite radical (such as the Ferrari Modulo) and never intended for production, others such as the Ferrari Mythos have shown styling elements which were later incorporated into production models.

The most recent concept car to be produced by Ferrari themselves was the 2010 Ferrari Millechili.

A number of one-off special versions of Ferrari road cars have also been produced, some of which have been commissioned by wealthy owners. One of the examples is the Ferrari P4/5.

The Special Projects program is a collaboration by Ferrari with Italian automobile coachbuilders such as Fioravanti, Pininfarina, and Zagato to build custom cars using selected Ferrari models as a structural base. The first car under this program is the SP1, commissioned by a Japanese business executive. The second is the P540 Superfast Aperta, commissioned by an American enthusiast.

Bio-fuel and hybrid cars[link]

Ferrari has considered making hybrids. A F430 Spider that runs on ethanol was displayed at the 2008 Detroit Auto Show. Ferrari has announced that a hybrid will be in production by 2015. At the 2010 Geneva Motor Show, Ferrari unveiled a hybrid version of their flagship 599. Called the "HY-KERS Concept", Ferrari's hybrid system adds more than 100 horsepower on top of the 599 Fiorano's 612 HP.^[5]

Naming conventions[link]

Until the early 1980s, Ferrari followed a three-number naming scheme based on engine displacement:

• V6 and V8 models used the total displacement (in decilitres) for the first two digits and the number of cylinders as the third. Thus, the 206 was a 2.0 L V6 powered vehicle, while the 348 used a 3.4 L V8, although, for the F355, the last digit refers to 5 valves per cylinder. Upon introduction of the 360 Modena, the digits for V8 models (which now carried a name as well as a number) refer only to total engine displacement. The numerical indication aspect of this name has carried on to the current V8 model, the F430. The F430's replacement, however, is the 458 Italia, which uses the same naming as the 206 and 348.
• V12 models used the displacement (in cubic centimetres) of one cylinder. Therefore, the famed 365 Daytona had a 4390 cc V12. However, some newer V12-engined Ferraris, such as the 599, have three-number designations that refer only to total engine displacement.
• Flat 12 (boxer) models used the displacement in litres. Therefore, the BB 512 was five litre flat 12 (a Berlinetta Boxer, in this case). However, the original Berlinetta Boxer was the 365 GT4 BB, which was named in a similar manner to the V12 models.
• Halo Car F followed by the anniversary in years, such as the F40 and F50. The Enzo skipped this rule, although the F60 name was applied to a Ferrari Formula One car and is sometimes attached to the Enzo, but it will return in the upcoming F70.
• Some models, such as the 1980 Mondial and the 1984 Testarossa did not follow a three-number naming scheme.

612 Scaglietti Sessanta Edition

Most Ferraris were also given designations referring to their body style. In general, the following conventions were used:

• M ("Modificata"), placed at the end of a model's number, denotes a modified version of its predecessor and not a complete evolution (see F512 M and 575 M Maranello).
• GTB ("Gran Turismo Berlinetta") models are closed Berlinettas, or coupes.
• GTS ("Gran Turismo Spyder") in older models, are open Spyders (spelt "y"), or convertibles (see 365 GTS/4); however, in more recent models, this suffix is used for targa top models (see Dino 246 GTS, and F355 GTS; the exception being the 348 TS, which is the only targa named differently). The convertible models now use the suffix "Spider" (spelt "i") (see F355 Spider, and 360 Spider).
• GTO ("Gran Turismo Omologata"), placed at the end of a model's number, denotes a modified version of its predecessor. Indeed, those three letters designate a model which has been designed and improved for racetrack use while still being a street-legal model. Only three models bear those three letters; the 250 GTO of 1962, the 288 GTO of 1984 and the 599 GTO of 2010.

This naming system can be confusing, as some entirely different vehicles used the same engine type and body style. Many Ferraris also had other names affixed (like Daytona) to identify them further. Many such names are actually not official factory names. The Daytona name commemorates Ferrari's triple success in the February 1967 24 Hours of Daytona with the 330 P4.^[6] Only in the 1973 Daytona 24 Hours, a 365 GTB/4 model run by NART (who raced Ferrari's in America) ran second, behind a Porsche 911.^[7]

The various Dino models were named for Enzo's son, Dino Ferrari, and were marketed as Dinos by Ferrari and sold at Ferrari dealers—for all intents and purposes they are Ferraris.

In the mid 1990s, Ferrari added the letter "F" to the beginning of all models (a practice abandoned after the F512 M and F355, but adopted again with the F430).

Identity[link]

Count Francesco Baracca

The famous symbol of the Ferrari race team is the Cavallino Rampante ("prancing horse") black prancing stallion on a yellow shield, usually with the letters S F (for Scuderia Ferrari), with three stripes of green, white and red (the Italian national colors) at the top. The road cars have a rectangular badge on the hood (see picture at top of page), and, optionally, the shield-shaped race logo on the sides of both front wings, close to the door.

On 17 June 1923, Enzo Ferrari won a race at the Savio track in Ravenna where he met the Countess Paolina, mother of Count Francesco Baracca, an ace of the Italian air force and national hero of World War I, who used to paint a horse on the side of his planes. The Countess asked Enzo to use this horse on his cars, suggesting that it would bring him good luck. The original "prancing horse" on Baracca's airplane was painted in red on a white cloud-like shape, but Ferrari chose to have the horse in black (as it had been painted as a sign of grief on Baracca's squadron planes after the pilot was killed in action) and he added a canary yellow background as this is the color of the city of Modena, his birthplace. The Ferrari horse was, from the very beginning, markedly different from the Baracca horse in most details, the most noticeable being the tail that in the original Baracca version was pointing downward.

Ferrari has used the cavallino rampante on official company stationery since 1929. Since the Spa 24 Hours of 9 July 1932, the cavallino rampante has been used on Alfa Romeos raced by Scuderia Ferrari.

The motif of a prancing horse is old, it can be found on ancient coins. A similar black horse on a yellow shield is the Coat of Arms of the German city of Stuttgart, home of Mercedes-Benz and the design bureau of Porsche, both being main competitors of Alfa and Ferrari in the 1930s. The city's name derives from Stutengarten, an ancient form of the German word Gestüt, which translates into English as stud farm and into Italian as scuderia. Porsche also includes the Stuttgart sign in its corporate logo, centred in the emblem of the state of Württemberg. Stuttgart's Rössle has both rear legs firmly planted on the soil, like Baracca's horse, but unlike Ferrari's cavallino.

Fabio Taglioni used the cavallino rampante on his Ducati motorbikes, as Taglioni was born at Lugo di Romagna like Baracca, and his father too was a military pilot during WWI (although not part of Baracca's squadron, as is sometimes mistakenly reported). As Ferrari's fame grew, Ducati abandoned the horse- perhaps the result of a private agreement between the two companies.

The cavallino rampante is the visual symbol of Ferrari. Cavallino Magazine uses the name, but not the logo. However, other companies use similar logos: Avanti, an Austrian company operating over 100 filling stations, uses a prancing horse logo which is nearly identical to Ferrari's, as did Iron Horse Bicycles.

Colour[link]

Since the 1920s, Italian race cars of Alfa Romeo, Maserati and later Ferrari and Abarth were (and often still are) painted in "race red" (Rosso Corsa). This was the customary national racing color of Italy, as recommended between the World Wars by the organizations that later would become the FIA. It refers to the nationality of the competing team, not that of the car manufacturer or driver. In that scheme, French-entered cars like Bugatti were blue, German like Benz and Mercedes white (since 1934 also bare sheet metal silver), and British green such as the mid-1960s Lotus and BRM, for instance.

Curiously, Ferrari won the 1964 World championship with John Surtees by competing the last two races in North America with cars painted in the US-American race colors white and blue, as these were not entered by the Italian factory themselves, but by the U.S.-based North American Racing Team (NART) team. This was done as a protest concerning arguments between Ferrari and the Italian Racing Authorities regarding the homologation of a new mid-engined Ferrari race car.

Corporate affairs[link]

In 1963, Enzo Ferrari was approached by the Ford Motor Company about a possible buy over. Ford audited Ferrari's assets but legal negotiations and talks were unilaterally cut off by Ferrari when he realized that the deal offered by Ford would not enable him to stay at the helm of the company racing program. Henry Ford II consequently directed his racing division to negotiate with Lotus, Lola, and Cooper to build a car capable of beating Ferrari on the world endurance circuit, eventually resulting in the production of the Ford GT40 in 1964.

As the Ford deal fell through, FIAT approached Ferrari with a more flexible proposal and purchased controlling interests in the company in 1969. Enzo Ferrari retained a 10% share, which is currently owned by his son Piero Lardi Ferrari.

Ferrari has an internally managed merchandising line that licenses many products bearing the Ferrari brand, including eyewear, pens, pencils, electronic goods, perfume, cologne, clothing, high-tech bicycles, watches, cell phones, and even laptop computers.

Ferrari also runs a museum, the Galleria Ferrari in Maranello, which displays road and race cars and other items from the company's history.

Technical partnerships[link]

Ferrari has had a long standing relationship with Shell Oil. It is a technical partnership with Ferrari and Ducati to test as well as supply fuel and oils to the Formula One, MotoGP and World Superbike racing teams. For example, the Shell V-Power premium gasoline fuel has been developed with the many years of technical expertise between Shell and Ferrari. ^[8]

Ferrari have had agreements to supply Formula One engines to a number of other teams over the years, and currently supply Scuderia Toro Rosso and Sauber F1 Team.

Sales history[link]

The estimated total of Ferrari built and sold cars in whole company history is about 130 000^[9].

See also[link]

Companies portal

• List of Ferrari road cars
• List of car brands
• List of companies of Italy
• List of Ferrari engines

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Eric Gustafson, "Cavallino Rampante", Sports Car International (Oct/Nov 2000): 94. 
• Adler, Dennis, Ferrari: The Road from Maranello. Random House, 2006. ISBN 978-1-4000-6463-2.

External links[link]

Find more about Ferrari on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Definitions and translations from Wiktionary
	Images and media from Commons
	Learning resources from Wikiversity
	News stories from Wikinews
	Source texts from Wikisource
	Textbooks from Wikibooks

• Ferrari World (official website)
• Ferrari.mobi (official mobile website)
• List of Ferrari-related websites at the Open Directory Project

Vanessa Ferrari
Vanessa Ferrari in 2008
Personal information
Nickname(s)	Tiny Dynamo; "The Cannibal"[1]
Country represented	Italy
Born	(1990-11-10) November 10, 1990 (age 21) Orzinuovi, Brescia
Hometown	Genivolta, Cremona
Height	143 centimetres (4 ft 8 in)
Weight	36 kilograms (79 lb 6 oz)
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Level	Senior International
Club	Brixia Brescia
Medal record World Championships Gold 2006 Aarhus All-Around Bronze 2006 Aarhus Uneven Bars Bronze 2006 Aarhus Floor Bronze 2007 Stuttgart All-Around European Championships Gold 2006 Volos Team Gold 2007 Amsterdam All-Around Gold 2007 Amsterdam Floor Silver 2006 Volos Floor Silver 2009 Milan Floor Bronze 2012 Brussels Team

Vanessa Ferrari (born November 10, 1990 in Orzinuovi, Brescia), is a World Champion Gymnast from Italy. Her mother, Galya, is Bulgarian and her father, Giovanni, is Italian.^[1]

Biography[link]

Ferrari first rose to prominence as a thirteen year old at the 2004 Junior European Championships where she won the silver medal in the All Around competition with a score of 36.525. She also won two bronze medals with the Italian Team and on the Balance Beam with a score of 9.175.

Still in the Junior ranks for 2005, Ferrari turned in more fine performances at the European Youth Olympics in Italy and the 2005 Mediterranean Games in Almería, Spain, winning the All Around Gold Medal at both competitions as well. She also won Vault, Beam and Floor at the latter as well as the Silver Medal on the Uneven Bars.

In 2006, Ferrari qualified as a Senior Gymnast. She anchored the Italian team a surprise Gold Medal at the Senior European Championships, edging out defending champions Romania by just one tenth of a point. Although no All Around competition was held, Ferrari's combined score was the highest of any gymnast at the competition. She also won a Silver Medal on the Floor, scoring 15.450 to finish ahead of Olympic Champion Cătălina Ponor. Falls from bars and beam prevented further success there.

Ferrari won the Gold Medal in the All Around competition at the 2006 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships with a combined score of 61.025. This win was highly controversial as Ferrari fell from the balance beam while attempting a difficult full twisting back somersault in the third of four rotations. This placed her out of the medals after the third rotation, but she fought back on the floor, sticking her tumbling passes and clinching the gold medal. She finished ahead of several athletes who, unlike her, did not fall, notably the rest of the top 5: Jana Bieger, Sandra Izbaşa, Steliana Nistor and Daria Joura.

Ferrari was the first woman ever to win a world championship with a fall under the 'new life' system (prior to 1989, scores from the team competition counted towards the all-around title, therefore gymnasts were assessed on twelve routines rather than four, making the deduction for a fall easier to absorb). Nicolae Forminte, the coach of the Romanian athletes in third and fourth, lashed out at the result, declaring Bieger the rightful winner and presumably his own athletes the silver and bronze medalists. Consequently, the new code came under fire from experts and fans alike. However, Grandi has said the new code needs no changes.^{[citation needed]}

Ferrari went on to win two more medals at the Championships - a bronze on the uneven bars and bronze on the floor exercise. Another beam fall lost her a chance to medal there too, and a disappointing showing from Italy in the qualification round meant they were unable to repeat their triumph at Europeans.

Ferrari has continued her dominance in 2007, winning golds in the all-around and on floor at the European Championships in Amsterdam. Once again, falls on bars and beam in finals prevented medals there, but Italy dominated the competition for the second year running, thanks to both Ferrari's success and Carlotta Giovannini winning vault.

In 2007 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships Vanessa helped Italian Team to place 4th in team finals. She also won the bronze medal, tied with Jade Barbosa, in All Around final. She placed 8th on bars and 6th on floor. She competed in 2008 Olympic Games. Her best results were the 11th position in All Around and the 10th position in Team Finals.

Ferrari stopped to compete after the Olympics, but she came back to important championships in 2010. She took part in 2010 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships and placed 11th in All Around. She scored 13.833 on vault, 13.866 on bars, 14.233 on beam and 14.233 on floor. Vanessa also was 6th on floor (14.6). In 2011 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships she helped Italian Team to place 9th in team competition. Ferrari placed 12th in the All Around. She also qualified for the floor final, but due to an injury she didn't compete. [1]

In January 2012, Vanessa took part in 2012 Olympic Test Event where she helped Italy win gold and qualify a full team to the 2012 Olympic Games. She also won the gold on floor exercise. Although there was no all-around competition, Vanessa had the highest score from the qualifying rounds. ^{[2] [3]}

References[link]

External links[link]

• Vanessa's home page
• Vanessa Ferrari at Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique

Gymnastics portal

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (December 2011)

Johann Paul Friedrich Richter
Born	(1763-03-21)21 March 1763 Wunsiedel, Holy Roman Empire
Died	14 November 1825(1825-11-14) (aged 62) Bayreuth, Germany
Pen name	Jean Paul
Occupation	novelist
Nationality	German
Period	1783-1825
Genres	Humour
Subjects	Education, politics

Jean Paul (21 March 1763 – 14 November 1825), born Johann Paul Friedrich Richter, was a German Romantic writer, best known for his humorous novels and stories.

Life and work[link]

Jean Paul was born at Wunsiedel, in the Fichtelgebirge mountains (Bavaria). His father was an organist at Wunsiedel. In 1765 his father became a pastor at Joditz near Hof, and in 1767 at Schwarzenbach, but he died on 25 April 1779, leaving the family in great poverty. After attending the Gymnasium at Hof, Jean Paul went in 1781 to the University of Leipzig. His original intention was to enter his father's profession, but theology did not interest him, and he soon devoted himself wholly to the study of literature. Unable to maintain himself at Leipzig he returned in 1784 to Hof, where he lived with his mother. From 1787 to 1789 he served as a tutor at Töpen, a village near Hof; and from 1790 to 1794 he taught the children of several families in a school he had founded in nearby Schwarzenbach.

Jean Paul began his career as a man of letters with Grönländische Prozesse ("Greenland Lawsuits", published anonymously in Berlin) and Auswahl aus des Teufels Papieren ("Selections from the Devil's Papers", signed J. P. F. Hasus), the former of which was issued in 1783-84, the latter in 1789. These works were not received with much favour, and in later life Richter himself had little sympathy for their satirical tone. A spiritual crisis he suffered on 15 November 1790, in which he had a vision of his own death, altered his outlook profoundly. His next book, Die unsichtbare Loge ("The Invisible Lodge"), a romance published in 1793 under the pen-name Jean Paul (in honour of Jean Jacques Rousseau), had all the qualities that were soon to make him famous, and its power was immediately recognized by some of the best critics of the day.

Encouraged by the reception of Die unsichtbare Loge, Richter composed a number of books in rapid succession: Leben des vergnügten Schulmeisterleins Maria Wutz in Auenthal ("Life of the Cheerful Schoolmaster Maria Wutz", 1793), the best-selling Hesperus (1795), which made him famous, Biographische Belustigungen unter der Gehirnschale einer Riesin ("Biographical Recreations under the Brainpan of a Giantess", 1796), Leben des Quintus Fixlein ("Life of Quintus Fixlein", 1796), Der Jubelsenior ("The Parson in Jubilee", 1797), and Das Kampaner Tal ("The Valley of Campan", 1797). Also among these was the novel Blumen- Frucht- und Dornenstücke, oder Ehestand, Tod und Hochzeit des Armenadvokaten Siebenkäs ("Flower, Fruit and Thorn Pieces; or, the Married Life, Death and Wedding of Siebenkäs, Poor Man's Lawyer") in 1796-97.

The book's slightly supernatural theme, involving a Doppelgänger and pseudocide, stirred some controversy over its interpretation of the Resurrection, but these criticisms served only to draw awareness to the author. This series of writings assured Richter a place in German literature, and during the rest of his life every work he produced was welcomed by a wide circle of admirers.

After his mother's death in 1797, Richter went to Leipzig, and in the following year to Weimar, where he started work on his most ambitious novel, Titan, published between 1801-02. Richter became friends with such Weimar notables as Herder, by whom he was warmly appreciated, but despite their close proximity, Richter never become close to Goethe and Schiller, both of whom found his literary methods repugnant; but in Weimar, as elsewhere, his remarkable conversational powers and his genial manners made him a favorite in general society. The English writers Thomas Carlyle and Thomas de Quincy took an interest in Jean Paul's work.

In 1801 he married Caroline Meyer, whom he had met in Berlin the year before. They lived first at Meiningen, then at Coburg; and finally, in 1804, they settled at Bayreuth. Here Richter spent a quiet, simple and happy life, constantly occupied with his work as a writer. In 1808 he was fortunately delivered from anxiety about outward necessities by Prince Primate Karl Theodor von Dalberg, who gave him an annual pension of 1,000 florins which was later continued by the king of Bavaria.

Jean Paul's Titan was followed by Flegeljahre ("The Awkward Age", 1804-5). His later imaginative works were Dr Katzenbergers Badereise ("Dr Katzenberger's Trip to the Medicinal Springs", 1809), Des Feldpredigers Schmelzle Reise nach Flätz ("Army Chaplain Schmelzle's Voyage to Flätz", 1809), Leben Fibels ("Life of Fibel", 1812), and Der Komet, oder Nikolaus Marggraf ("The Comet, or, Nikolaus Markgraf", 1820–22). In Vorschule der Aesthetik ("Introduction to Aesthetics", 1804) he expounded his ideas on art; he discussed the principles of education in Levana, oder Erziehungslehre ("Levana, or, Pedagogy", 1807); and the opinions suggested by current events he set forth in Friedenspredigt ("Peace Sermon", 1808), Dämmerungen für Deutschland ("Twilights for Germany", 1809), Mars und Phöbus Thronwechsel im Jahre 1814 ("Mars and Phoebus Exchange Thrones in the Year 1814", 1814), and Politische Fastenpredigten ("Political Lenten Sermons", 1817). In his last years he began Wahrheit aus Jean Pauls Leben ("The Truth from Jean Paul's Life"), to which additions from his papers and other sources were made after his death by C. Otto and E. Förster.

Also during this time he supported the younger writer E. T. A. Hoffmann, who long counted Richter among his influences. Richter wrote the preface to Fantasy Pieces, a collection of Hoffmann's short stories published in 1814.

In September 1821 Jean Paul lost his only son, Max, a youth of the highest promise; and he never quite recovered from this shock. He lost his sight in 1824, and died of dropsy at Bayreuth, on 14 November 1825.

Characteristics of his work[link]

Friedrich Schiller said of Jean Paul that he would have been worthy of admiration if he had made as good use of his riches as other men made of their poverty—the classic approach of "Weimar".

But in working out his conceptions, Jean Paul found it appropriate to express any powerful feeling by which he might happen to be moved. He made it his style to use seemingly out-of-the-way facts or psychological notions which occurred to him. Hence every one of his works is irregular in structure and his style lacks directness, though never grace. His imagination was one of extraordinary fertility, and he had a surprising power of suggesting great thoughts by means of the simplest incidents and relations.

The love of nature was one of Jean Paul's deepest pleasures; his expressions of religious feelings are also marked by a truly poetic spirit, for to him visible things were but the symbols of the invisible, and in the unseen realities alone he found elements which seemed to him to give significance and dignity to human life. His humour, the most distinctive of his qualities, cannot be dissociated from the other characteristics of his writings. It mingled with all his thoughts, and to some extent determined the form in which he embodied even his most serious reflections. That it is sometimes extravagant and grotesque cannot be disputed, but it is never harsh nor vulgar, and generally it springs naturally from the perception of the incongruity between ordinary facts and ideal laws.

Jean Paul's personality was deep and many-sided; with all his willfulness and eccentricity he was a man of a pure and sensitive spirit, with a passionate scorn for pretence and an ardent enthusiasm for truth and goodness.

The last scene of Jean Paul's Flegeljahre was the inspiration behind Robert Schumann's composition "Papillons" Op. 2, and Schumann´s Humoreske Op. 20 is inspired by Jean Paul.

19th century works on Jean Paul[link]

Richter's Sämtliche Werke (Complete Works) appeared in 1826-28 in 60 volumes, to which were added 5 volumes of Literarischer Nachlass (literary bequest) in 1836-38; a second edition was published in 1840-42 (33 volumes); a third in 1860-62 (24 volumes). The last complete edition is that edited by R. Gottschall (60 parts, 1879). Editions of selected works appeared in 16 volumes (1865), in Kürschner's Deutsche Nationalliteratur (edited by P. Nerrlich, 6 vols, pp. 388–487), &c. The chief collections of Richter's correspondence are:

• Jean Pauls Briefe an F. H. Jacobi (1828)
• Briefwechsel Jean Pauls mit seinem Freunde C. Otto (1829–33)
• Briefwechsel zwischen H. Voss und Jean Paul (1833)
• Briefe an eine Jugendfreundin (1858)
• P. Nerrlich, Jean Pauls Briefwechsel mit seiner Frau und seinem Freunde Otto (1902).

See further:

• The continuation of Richter's autobiography by C. Otto and E. Fürster (1826–33)
• H. Dring, J. P. F. Richters Leben und Charakteristik (1830–32)
• Richard Otto Spazier, JPF Richter: ein biographischer Commentar zu dessen Werken (5 vols, 1833)
• E. Förster, Denkwürdigkeiten aus dem Leben von J. P. F. Richter (1863)
• Paul Nerrlich, Jean Paul und seine Zeitgenossen (1876)
• J. Firmery, Étude sur la vie et les œuvres de J. P. F. Richter (1886)
• P. Nerrlich, Jean Paul, sein Leben und seine Werke (1889)
• Ferdinand Josef Schneider, Jean Pauls Altersdichtung (1901); and Jean Pauls Jugend und erstes Auftreten in der Literatur (1906).
• Thomas Carlyle's two essays on Richter.

Quotations[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Jean Paul

• Joy is inexhaustible, unlike seriousness.
• Music is the moonlight in the gloomy night of life.
• Many young people get worked up about opinions that they will share in 20 years.
• Too much trust is a foolishness, too much distrust a tragedy.
• The German language is the organ among the languages. (Die deutsche Sprache ist die Orgel unter den Sprachen.)
• A man never describes his own character so clearly as when he describes another.
• We learn our virtues from our friends who love us; our faults from the enemy who hates us. We cannot easily discover our real character from a friend. He is a mirror, on which the warmth of our breath impedes the clearness of the reflection.
• What a father says to his children is not heard by the world, but it will be heard by posterity.

Works[link]

• Grönländische Prozesse 1783-1784
• Auswahl aus des Teufels Papieren 1789
• Leben des vergnügten Schulmeisterlein Maria Wutz 1790
• Die unsichtbare Loge 1793
• Hesperus (book) 1795
• Biographische Belustigungen 1796
• Leben des Quintus Fixlein 1796
• Siebenkäs 1796
• Der Jubelsenior 1797
• Das Kampaner Tal 1797
• Des Luftschiffers Giannozzo Seebuch 1801
• Titan 1800-03
• Flegeljahre (unfinished) 1804
• Vorschule der Aesthetik 1804
• Levana oder Erziehlehre 1807
• Dr. Katzenbergers Badereise 1809
• Des Feldpredigers Schmelzle Reise nach Flätz 1809
• Leben Fibels 1812
• Bemerkungen über uns närrische Menschen
• Clavis Fichtiana (see also Johann Gottlieb Fichte)
• Das heimliche Klaglied der jetzigen Männer
• Der Komet 1820-1822
• Der Maschinenmann
• Die wunderbare Gesellschaft in der Neujahrsnacht
• Freiheits-Büchlein

English translations[link]

Richter's more important works have been translated into English, for example:

• Quintus Fixlein and Schmelzles Reise, by Carlyle
• Walt and Vult by Lee (1846)
• Titan by Brooks (1863)
• Flower, Fruit and Thorn Pieces by Ewing (1877)
• Levana by Wood (1887)

References[link]

• Fleming, Paul. The Pleasures of Abandonment: Jean Paul and the Life of Humor. Würzburg: Königshausen & Neumann, 2006.
•  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Richter, Johann Paul Friedrich". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 
•  "Richter, Johann Paul Friedrich". Encyclopedia Americana. 1920. 

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Jean Paul

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jean Paul

• Works by Jean Paul on Open Library at the Internet Archive
• Works by Jean Paul at Zeno.org (German)
• Jean Paul's works at Projekt Gutenberg-DE (in German)
• Famous Quotes by Jean Paul Richter
•  James Wood (1907). "Richter, Jean Paul Friedrich". The Nuttall Encyclopædia.