Renato Floris (1946–2023) was an accomplished translator, editor, and independent publisher whose work played a central role in the modern preservation of Rudolph Valentino history. Fluent in multiple languages, he translated several cornerstone Valentino-era texts, including the serialized fan-magazine memoir, “My Private Diary” into Italian; Baltasar Cue’s, 1927 Spanish biography, “El Verdadero Rudolph Valentino” (which he brought into English as “The True Rudolph Valentino”); and Jeanne de Recqueville’s seminal French study, “Rudolph Valentino.”
Across two decades, Renato translated countless archival articles, legal documents, and rare period sources, making primary material accessible to English-language readers for the first time. As CEO of his publishing company, Viale Industria Pubblicazioni, he shepherded numerous Valentino-related works into print with his meticulous editorial force, design integrity and historical fidelity. His contribution to Valentino scholarship remains immeasurable.
