Showing posts with label Fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fiction. Show all posts

27 January 2024

Marco Malvaldi – crime writer and chemist

Author has mastered the science of detective fiction

Marco Malvadi began his writing career with La briscola in cinque
Marco Malvadi began his writing
career with La briscola in cinque
Novelist Marco Malvaldi, who has written a prize-winning mystery featuring the real-life 19th century Italian culinary expert Pellegrino Artuso as his fictional sleuth, was born on this day in 1974 in Pisa.

Malvaldi, who is a graduate in chemistry from Pisa University, has also written a travel guide about his home town with the title Scacco alle Torre (Checkmate to the Tower), which has been presented at the Pisa Book Festival. In the book, he writes a story about a nocturnal walk through the city entitled Finalmente soli (Finally Alone), which was inspired by an image taken by a professional photographer, Nicola Ughi, a fellow Pisan, who has become his official portraitist. 

He began his writing career in 2007 with a mystery novel, La briscola in cinque (Game for Five), published by Sellerio Editore. The novel’s protagonist, Massimo, a barista, and the owner of a bar named BarLume, which is a play on the Italian word barlume, which means 'flicker of light', is forced into the role of investigator in the fictional seaside resort town of Pineta on the Tuscan coast.  

Other books in the series followed and three have been translated into English: Il gioco delle tre carte (Three-card Monte), Il re dei giochi (The King of Games) and La carta più alta (The Highest Card).

In 2011, Malvaldi’s novel, Odore di chiuso (The Scent of Must) was published by Sellerio Editore and later published in English under the title, The Art of Killing Well. It featured Pellegrino Artusi, a renowned 19th century gastronomist from the Romagna region, as his fictional detective. The novel was awarded the Isola d’Elba Award and the Castiglioncello Prize. 

Malvadi's novel The Art of Killing Well
Malvadi's novel The
Art of Killing Well
Malvaldi published a thriller in 2012, Milioni di milioni (Millions of Millions), which is set in the fictional Tuscan town of Montesodi Marittimo, and features a university geneticist and an archivist, who form an unusual team of amateur investigators. In 2013, Malvaldi was awarded the literary prize, Premio Letterario La Tore Isola d’Elba - two of five literary honours his books have won.

After graduating, Malvaldi also did research in the department of pharmacy at Pisa University and he has written several books about science. His book, Le due teste del tiranno: metodi matematici per la Libertà (The Two Heads of the Tyrant: Mathematic Methods for Freedom), published in 2017, won a 2018 Asimov award, for the best book in scientific dissemination published in Italy.

Malvaldi, whose birthday today is his 50th, has also co-authored books with Roberto Vacca, Dino Leporini, journalist and poet Ernesto Ragazzoni among many others. 

Malvaldi’s partner is Samantha Bruzzone, who is also a chemist and passionate about detective fiction. Together, they have written two children’s books and in 2022 the novel, Chi si ferma e perduto (Who Stops is Lost).


Pisa's leaning tower began to  tilt soon after it was built
Pisa's leaning tower began to 
tilt soon after it was built
Travel tip:

Pisa is world famous for its leaning tower, which Malvaldi writes about in his book Scacco alle Torre (Checkmate to the Tower). Work began on the construction of a freestanding bell tower for the Cathedral in Pisa in 1173. The tower’s famous tilt began during the building process and is believed to have been caused by the laying of inadequate foundations on ground that was too soft on one side to support the weight of the structure. The tilt got worse over the years until work had to be carried out to correct it in the 20th century. At its most extreme, the tower leaned at an angle of 5.5 degrees but since the restoration work carried out between 1990 and 2001 the tower leans at about 3.99 degrees. The tower was reopened to the public in 2001, when it was declared that it would be stable for another 300 years.

The picturesque harbour at the port of Portoferraio on the island of Elba off the Tuscan coast
The picturesque harbour at the port of Portoferraio
on the island of Elba off the Tuscan coast
Travel tip:

The Tuscan coast, which Malvaldi fictionalises in some of his books, has a long stretch of sandy beaches that include holiday destinations such as Viareggio, Forte dei Marmi, Catiglioncello, Follonica, Castiglione della Pescaia, Porto Ercole, Talamone, and many others. Off the coast is the island of Elba, a popular destination for holidaymakers who arrive by ferry at Portoferraio, where there is an old port and a modern seafront with hotels. The west coast of the island has sandy beaches, but the east coast is more rugged with high cliffs. Inland there are olive groves and vineyards producing the wine, Elba DOC. You can visit Napoleon’s two residences while he was in exile on the island, Palazzina Naopleonica, a modest house built around two windmills in Portoferraio, and Villa San Martino, his country house, further inland at San Martino and decorated inside with Egyptian-style frescoes.

Also on this day:

98: Trajan becomes Emperor of Rome 

1861: Italy elects its first parliament

1881: The birth of mobster Frank Nitti

1901: The death of composer Giuseppe Verdi

1927: The birth of writer and novelist Giovanni Arpino

1962: The birth of musician Roberto Paci Dalò


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28 June 2022

Augusto De Angelis - crime writer

One of the first Italians to write detective novels

Augusto De Angelis had many years working as a journalist
Augusto De Angelis had many
years working as a journalist

Regarded by many as the father of Italian crime fiction, the novelist Augusto De Angelis was born on this day in 1888 in Rome.

His first detective novel,  Il banchiere assassinato (The Murdered Banker), was published in 1935, six years after Italian publishers Mondadori launched their crime series in yellow covers that would later result in the word gialli being used to refer to mystery novels and films.

However, until Alessandro Varaldo's Il sette bello in 1931 there were no Italian authors on the Mondadori list to begin with, as the publishers did not see Italy as the right setting for the crime genre at that time. De Angelis did not agree with this, as he thought crime fiction was a natural product resulting from the fraught and violent times he was living in and writing about as a journalist.

De Angelis gave up studying jurisprudence to embark on a career in journalism and worked for some of the most important daily newspapers during the first half of the 20th century, such as La Stampa and La Gazzetta del Popolo in Turin, Il Resto di Carlino in Bologna and L’Ambrosiano in Milan.

He began his literary career by writing plays and non-fiction and then wrote a spy novel in 1930. But his most successful novels were his detective stories featuring Commissario Carlo De Vincenzi. To begin with, Italy's Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini approved of the crime fiction genre because it celebrated the achievements of the forces of order over evil and chaos by bringing about just solutions and restoring tranquillity. However, Mussolini and his associates eventually became wary of Italy being seen to be anything less than idyllic by the outside world.

De Angelis was among the first Italian
authors in Mondadori's gialli series
Il banchiere assassinato was the first of 20 novels by De Angelis to feature Commissario De Vincenzi of the squadra mobile of Milan, which the novelist produced over the next eight years. De Angelis had a unique style and created a detective who could not have been more different from famous characters already popular with readers, such as the eccentric and clever Sherlock Holmes and the methodical, fussy little Belgian, Hercule Poirot.

It is interesting to see how many of the traits of Commissario De Vincenzi have appeared in fictional Italian detectives since. De Vincenzi’s loyalty to his friends and care for his subordinates is a quality shown by Donna Leon’s detective, Brunetti, and his disregard for the rules, unorthodox  behaviour and moments of inspiration are characteristics of both Michael Dibdin’s Zen and Andrea Camilleri’s Montalbano.

The cultured and often emotional detective, De Vincenzi, was to become very popular with the Italian public, but the Fascist government eventually came to regard his creator, De Angelis, as their enemy.

De Angelis was arrested and imprisoned by the authorities in 1943, accused of being anti-Fascist. He was released from prison after three months, but was soon tracked down by a Fascist activist to where he was staying in Bellagio. De Angelis was beaten up so badly by the thug that he died of his wounds in hospital in Como in 1944.

Pushkin Vertigo's English translation
of The Murdered Banker 
The Murdered Banker is now regarded as a highly significant novel in the history of Italian crime fiction. The story starts on a foggy night in Milan, when police officer De Vincenzi is on the night shift. He is visited at his police station by an old schoolfriend, Giannetto Aurigi. While he is talking to his friend, who is clearly worried about something, De Vincenzi receives a call about a body being discovered in a house nearby and when he is given the address, he is horrified to discover the body has been found in his friend’s apartment.

He goes on to discover that Aurigi owes a lot of money , which was due to be paid that night, and that the dead body is that of the banker who lent it to him. De Vincenzi doesn’t just have to solve the crime, he has to prove his old friend is innocent of it and he has to do it quickly before the investigating magistrate becomes involved. He tells his friend that he has to tell him everything, or he could soon be facing the firing squad, but Aurigi just keeps repeating that he doesn’t know anything.

Fortunately, there are plenty of other suspects, such as Aurigi’s beautiful fiancée, his future father-in-law, Count Marchionni, and the mysterious tenant living in the apartment above. De Vincenzi is determined to get to the truth and he lays a clever trap for the murderer.

Some of the De Vincenzi novels were adapted for television by RAI in the 1970s with Paolo Stoppa playing the role of the detective. An English translation of The Murdered Banker was published by Pushkin Vertigo in 2016.

A vintage postcard showing how Milan looked in the 1930s at the time De Angelis was writing
A vintage postcard showing how Milan looked
in the 1930s at the time De Angelis was writing
Travel tip:

The Murdered Banker is set in Milan during the 1930s, where gentlemen wore evening dress when they were out at night. De Angelis would have known the city well from his time working for L’Ambrosiano. The opera house, Teatro alla Scala, which features in The Murdered Banker, was treated almost like a club and people in society visited each other in their boxes during the opera.  Milan’s world- famous opera house was officially inaugurated in 1778. It replaced the Teatro Regio Ducale which had been destroyed by fire. The new theatre was built on the site of the former Church of Santa Maria alla Scala, which is how it got its name. It is situated right in the centre of Milan opposite the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. La Scala, as it is popularly known, has hosted premieres of operas by Rossini, Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini and the world’s finest singers have appeared on its stage.

A steep stone staircase typical of Bellagio
A steep stone staircase
typical of Bellagio
Travel tip

Bellagio in Lombardy, where De Angelis was living just before his death, is a village on a promontory jutting out into Lake Como, at the point at which the lake divides into two legs, the more easterly of which is called Lago di Lecco. It is known for its cobbled lanes, elegant buildings, steep stone staircases, red-roofed and green-shuttered houses. The Villa Serbelloni Park, an 18th century terraced garden, offers spectacular views of the lake. The villa itself was once popular with European royalty, numbering Maximilian I of Austria and Queen Victoria of England among its guests.

Also on this day:

1503: The birth of Giovanni della Casa, 16th century author and advocate of good manners

1909: The birth of partisan Walter Audisio, who claimed to be the man who executed Mussolini

1952: The birth of Olympic sprint champion Pietro Mennea

1971: The birth of footballer Lorenzo Amoruso 


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20 June 2019

Valerio Evangelisti - novelist

Writer's stories of the Inquisition are bestsellers


Valerio Evangelisti is best known for his science fiction,
fantasy and historical novels, popular across Europe
The bestselling novelist Valerio Evangelisti, best known for his science fiction, fantasy, historical novels and horror stories, was born in Bologna on this day in 1952.

He is famous in Italy for his series of novels featuring the inquisitor Nicolas Eymerich and for the Magus trilogy, all of which have been translated into many languages.

Eymerich is a real historical character, a member of the order of the Dominicans and of the Spanish Inquisition who was born in 1320 in Girona, Catalonia.  Evangelisti portrays him as a cruel and ruthless man who acts without mercy to protect the Catholic Church against threats of both natural and supernatural origin.

Evangelisti uses the Eymerich novels to investigate the mysterious phenomena in medieval Europe that strategically influenced the great historical events of the time, creating a dark and nightmarish picture of the epoch.

The Magus trilogy is a romanticized biography of the famous Middle Ages writer of prophecies, Nostradamus. The three novels, Il presagio (The Omen), L’inganno (The Deceit) and L'abisso (The Abyss) were also bestsellers in Italy.

Evangelisti had a job at the
Treasury Department 
Evangelisti graduated with a degree in Political Science from the University of Bologna in 1976 with a historical-political thesis. He began a career in the Ministero delle Finanze (Treasury Department), but wrote in his spare time, mainly historical essays, books and articles.

In 1993, his first novel, entitled Nicolas Eymerich, inquisitore won the Urania Award, established by a magazine with the aim of discovering new talent in the field. He wrote more novels in the series, at a rate of approximately one a year until 2002, after which they became less frequent. He returned to the character from time to time, however. The most recent, Il fantasma di Eymerich - Eymerich’s phantom - was published only last year.

Evangelisti's novels are popular in France (where he won several literary awards), Spain, Germany and Portugal as well as in his home country. Some recent works reflect his enthusiasm for heavy metal music, namely the short stories collection Metallo urlante (referring to the French magazine Metal Hurlant).

He has written other novels set during the American Civil War, while one of his latest novels, Noi saremo tutto - We Shall Be All - spans several decades of the last century, exploring the life of Eddie Florio, an Italian-American gangster, against the background of the history of the trade unions and the workers' battles for civil rights, including many real-life characters from the New York underworld.

Evangelisti, who has a home in Mexico as well as in his native Bologna, sets two novels - Il collare di fuoco (The Fire Collar) and Il collare spezzato (The Broken Collar) - in the Central American country, as well as another - Tortuga, a story about pirates - in the Caribbean.

A lifelong Communist, Evangelisti stood as an independent candidate in the 2009 European elections in the Anticapitalist List (formed by the union between the Communist Refoundation and the Italian Communist Party in the so-called Federation of the Left) and in 2011 in the administrative elections for the municipality of Bologna for the Federation of the Left.

He is now a vocal backer of the extreme left-wing list of Power to the People.

Piazza Maggiore is the hub of the historic city of Bologna
Piazza Maggiore is the hub of the historic city of Bologna
Travel tip:

The history of Bologna, one of Italy's oldest cities, can be traced back to 1,000BC or possibly earlier, with a settlement that was developed into an urban area by the Etruscans, the Celts and the Romans.  The University of Bologna, the oldest in the world, was founded in 1088.  Bologna's city centre, which has undergone substantial restoration since the 1970s, is one of the largest and best preserved historical centres in Italy, characterised by 38km (24 miles) of walkways protected by porticoes.  At the heart of the city is the beautiful Piazza Maggiore, dominated by the Gothic Basilica of San Petronio, which at 132m long, 66m wide and with a facade that touches 51m at its tallest, is the 10th largest church in the world and the largest built in brick.

The Archiginnasio at the  University of Bologna
The Archiginnasio at the
University of Bologna
Travel tip:

Bologna University, where Evangelisti studied, was founded in 1088 and is the oldest university in the world. The oldest surviving building, the Archiginnasio, is now a library and is open Monday to Friday from 9 am to 7 pm, and on Saturdays from 9 am to 2 pm. It is a short walk away from Piazza Maggiore and the Basilica di San Petronio in the centre of the city.

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30 June 2018

Gianrico Carofiglio - novelist

Ex anti-Mafia judge now bestselling author


Gianrico Carofiglio was a prominent figure in the fight against the Mafia in Bari
Gianrico Carofiglio was a prominent figure
in the fight against the Mafia in Bari
The novelist Gianrico Carofiglio, whose books have sold more than five million copies, was born on this day in 1961 in Bari.

Carofiglio is best known for a series of thrillers featuring the character of lawyer Guido Guerrieri but he has also written a number of novels featuring other characters, still mainly in the crime thriller genre.

One of them, his 2004 novel Il passato è una terra straniera (The Past is a Foreign Country), was made into an acclaimed film, directed by Daniele Vicari and starring Elio Germano, who appeared in the multi award-winning TV series Romanzo Criminale, and Michele Riondino, who played Andrea Camilleri’s most famous detective in the TV series The Young Montalbano.

Carofiglio drew inspiration and much technical knowledge from his career as a magistrate, which culminated in him becoming deputy prosecutor in the Anti-Mafia Directorate of his home town, Bari.

He was an advisor to the anti-Mafia committee in the Italian parliament in 2007 and served as senator between 2008 and 2013. For many years, he was provided with a police bodyguard.

Carofiglio’s interest in writing was passed on by his mother, Enza Buono, a novelist from Sicily, but he chose a career in law, becoming a magistrate in Prato, in Tuscany, at the age of 25. From there he moved to Foggia, a little to the north of Bari, where he was public prosecutor.

Carofiglio's Guido Guerrieri novels have been  bestsellers in Italy and abroad
Carofiglio's Guido Guerrieri novels have been
bestsellers in Italy and abroad
He made his debut as a published writer in 2002 with Testimone inconsapevole (Involuntary Witness), the novel that introduces the character of lawyer Guido Guerrieri, who also featured in Ad occhi chiusi (A Walk in the Dark, 2003), Ragionevoli dubbi (Reasonable Doubts, 2006), Le perfezioni provvisorie (Temporary Perfections, 2010) and La regola dell’equilibro (A Fine Line, 2014), all of which have been published in English.

The Guerrieri novels also formed the basis for a TV series in Italy.

Carofiglio enjoyed success immediately, winning several awards for best debut novel. The Past is a Foreign Country won the prestigious Premio Bancarella in 2005.

However, he did not devote himself to writing full time until he had completed his term in the Senate, after which he also resigned from the judiciary.

Other novels by Carofiglio translated into English include Il silenzio dell’onda (The Silence of the Wave, 2011) and L’estate fredda (The Cold Summer, 2016), the latter featuring a new character, the Carabinieri marshall Pietro Fenoglio.

For several years president of the Petruzzelli Theatre in Bari, he is also honorary president of The Edinburgh Gadda Prize which celebrates the work of writer and poet Carlo Emilio Gadda.

Carofiglio still lives in Bari with his wife and two children.

The Teatro Petruzzelli was once one of Italy's leading theatres and opera houses
The Teatro Petruzzelli was once one of Italy's leading
theatres and opera houses 
Travel tip:

The Teatro Petruzzelli is the largest theatre in Bari and the fourth biggest in Italy by size. Built between 1898 and 1903, it became a major venue for opera and ballet and for concerts. A long list of stars who performed there included Italian operatic greats from Tito Schipa to Luciano Pavarotti, Austrian conductor Herbert von Karajan, Russian dancer Rudolf Nureyev and international singing stars such as Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and Liza Minnelli. The theatre was completely destroyed by fire in 1991 as a result of a suspected arson attack and rebuilt, but did not reopen until 2009 following protracted legal battles over ownership.

The cathedral of Santa Maria de Fovea in Foggia
The cathedral of Santa Maria de Fovea in Foggia
Travel tip:

The city of Foggia was once known as the ‘granary of Italy’, thanks to its proximity to a large plain, known as the Tavoliere delle Puglie, which enabled the growing of wheat and other grain plants on a large scale. There are many pasta factories, although productivity in the area is not limited to grains, being a significant producer of olives, grapes and cheeses too.  The old centre of the city is a network of narrow streets, at the heart of which is the part-Romanic, part-Baroque cathedral of Santa Maria de Fovea.

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25 November 2017

Giorgio Faletti – writer and entertainer

Comedian who became best-selling novelist


Giorgio Faletti had a varied career before becoming a best-selling novelist
Giorgio Faletti had a varied career before
becoming a best-selling novelist
Giorgio Faletti, who became a best-selling thriller writer, was born on this day in 1950 in Asti in Piedmont.

He was a successful actor, comedian, and singer-songwriter before he turned his hand to writing fiction. His first thriller, I Kill (Io uccido), sold more than four million copies.

Faletti’s books have now been published in 25 languages throughout Europe, South America, China, Japan, Russia and the US.

Faletti graduated from law school but then began a career as a comedian at the Milanese Club ‘Derby’.

In 1983 he made his debut on local television before appearing alongside the popular hostess and former actress, Raffaella Carrà, on RAI’s daytime game show, Pronto, Raffaella? He was cast as a comedian in the popular variety show, Drive In, which was followed by other television successes.

He wrote the soundtrack for a TV series in which he was one of the main actors and then released an album of his songs.

In 1992 he took part in the San Remo Music Festival with Orietta Berti with the song Rumba di tango.

The cover of Giorgio Faletti's  debut thriller, I Kill
The cover of Giorgio Faletti's
debut thriller, I Kill
In 1994, performing his own song, Signor tenente, he came second at San Remo.  In all, he recorded six albums. His last, entitled Nonsense, was released in 2000.

A motor racing enthusiast, Falleti began his writing career by penning a column for the Italian weekly magazine, Autosprint.

His first book was the humorous book, Porco il mondo che cio sotto I piedi! in 1994. His second book came as a surprise, the thriller, I Kill (Io uccido).

The book sold four million copies and the follow-up, The Killer In My Eyes (Niente di vero tranne gli occhi), three million and a half copies.

The writer Jeffery Deaver said of Faletti: ‘In my neck of the woods, people like Faletti are called larger than life, living legends.’

In November 2005 Faletti received the De Sica Prize for literature from the President of the Italian Republic.

The following year, in which he released his novel Outside Of An Evident Destiny (Fuori da un evidente destino) he starred in the film Notte prima degli esami (First Night of the Exams), in which he was nominated for the David di Donatello Award for best supporting actor.  It was the first of several acting roles.

In recognition of his literary achievements, Faletti was appointed president of the Astense Library, the civic library of Asti, in 2012.  The library subsequently became home to the Fondazione Biblioteca Astense Giorgio Faletti.

Faletti was asked to sign his name on the Muretto di Alassio
Faletti was asked to sign his name on the Muretto di Alassio
After his successes in music and literature, he was invited to sign his name on the Muretto di Alassio, a wall in the Ligurian resort of Alassio embedded with ceramic tiles, each bearing the signature of a celebrity.

Married to Roberta Bellesini, with whom he shared a house on the island of Elba, he died of lung cancer in Turin in 2014, aged 63.

Travel tip:

Asti, where Faletti was born, is a city in the Piedmont region of Turin, famous for its high-quality wines, Moscato d’Asti, a sparkling white wine and Barbera, a prestigious red wine.

Piazza Castello is at the heart of royal Turin
Piazza Castello is at the heart of royal Turin
Travel tip:

Turin, where Faletti died, was once the capital of Italy and its shopping streets reflect its former prestige, with 18km (11 miles) of arcades featuring the top names in fashion and jewellery. It is an important business centre and has architecture demonstrating its rich history, which is linked with the Savoy Kings of Italy. Piazza Castello, with the royal palace, royal library and Palazzo Madama, which used to house the Italian senate, is at the heart of ‘royal’ Turin.





8 January 2017

Leonardo Sciascia – writer

Books mercilessly expose Italian politics and role of the Mafia



The writer and politician Leonardo Sciascia, pictured in 1980
The writer and politician Leonardo Sciascia,
pictured in 1980
Leonardo Sciascia, novelist, playwright and politician, was born on this day in 1921 in Racalmuto in Sicily.

Many of his novels looked at Sicilian life and how the Mafia operates as part of society, and some have since been made into films.

He also wrote a book analysing the kidnapping and assassination of Aldo Moro, the prominent Christian Democrat politician and former prime minister.

Sciascia was part of an investigation into Moro’s kidnapping and criticised Giulio Andreotti, the prime minister at the time, for his lack of action and for failing to deal with Brigate Rosse, the Red Brigades.

When Sciascia was a teenager his family moved to Caltanissetta in Sicily, where he studied writing and literature.

He married Maria Andronico, a local school teacher, in 1944 and he himself held teaching positions for the early part of his career, retiring to write full time in 1968.  In 1954 he published an autobiographical novel inspired by his experiences as an elementary school teacher.

A statue of Leonardo Sciascia, cast in bronze,  on Via Garibaldi in his home town, Racalmuto
A statue of Leonardo Sciascia, cast in bronze,
 on Via Garibaldi in his home town, Racalmuto
In 1948 his brother committed suicide, which was to have a profound effect on Sciascia’s life.

His first work was a collection of poems satirising fascism, which was published in 1950. A few years later he was awarded the Premio Pirandello for his essay, Pirandello e il pirandellismo.  In 1957, his book Gli zii di Sicilia - The Uncles of Sicily - included his views about the influence of the United States and communism in the world, and about the 19th century unification of Italy.

In 1961 he published one of his most famous novels, a mystery, Il giorno della civetta - The Day of the Owl - which demonstrated how the Mafia manage to sustain themselves in a society where there is little or no moral guidance. Two years later he published the historical novel, Il consiglio d’egitto - The Council of Egypt - set in 18th century Palermo.

In 1965 he wrote the play, L’onorevole - The Honourable - denouncing the complicity between the Government and the Mafia.

In 1971 Sciascia wrote a mystery, Il Contesto - The Challenge - a merciless portrayal of Italian politics, which inspired Francesco Rosi’s film, Cadaveri eccellenti, which was also shown under the title Illustrious Corpses.

Leonardo Sciascia's dedication to Racalmuto on a stone overlooking the town, to which he was deeply attached
Leonardo Sciascia's dedication to Racalmuto on a stone
overlooking the town, to which he was deeply attached
Sciascia’s books are based on his own experience of Sicily and show how families are linked with political parties and call in favours that benefit individuals rather than society as a whole.

Nonetheless, throughout his life he remained profoundly attached to the area around his native village.

In 1975 Sciascia was elected to the city council in Palermo as an independent with the Italian Communist Party (PCI) but in 1977 he resigned from the party because of his opposition to dealing with the Christian Democrats.

He was later elected to the Italian and European parliaments with the Radical party.

Sciascia died in 1989 in Palermo at the age of 68.

Travel tip:

Racalmuto, where Leonardo Sciascia was born, is in the province of Agrigento about 90km (56 miles) south-east of Palermo and about 15km (9 miles) north-east of Agrigento. Sciascia wrote a dedication to his home town which is engraved on a stone displayed there, saying he had tried, with his writing, to portray life in the village he loved. There is a lifelike bronze statue of him by the roadside in Via Garibaldi in the centre of the town, which is also home to the Leonardo Sciascia Foundation.

The impressive Teatro Massimo in Palermo
The impressive Teatro Massimo in Palermo
Travel tip:

Palermo, where Sciascia died, is the capital of Sicily and has varied architecture bearing testimony to its rich history. There are Norman, Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque churches and palaces and a magnificent opera house, the largest in Italy, called Teatro Massimo, which was built in Renaissance style and opened in 1897.

More reading:


How prolific playwright Dario Fo sought to expose corruption

Writer Alberto Moravia likened Fascism to a childhood illness

Sicily brought to life in Andrea Camilleri's Montalbano novels

Also on this day:


1337: Death of the brilliant Renaissance artist Giotto




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