To get to know the true face of the land we must read books. Literature can help a great deal to understand a complex landscape and multifaceted culture.
We started reading “The Leopard” and shortly after crossed Palma di Montechiaro, which corresponds to Donnafugata, fictional place where many scenes of the book occur.
– You cannot understand the novel deeply without coming here first, – reminds us Alfonso, welcoming committee representative of the Via Francigena Fabaria, a new pilgrimage route whose first stage ends in this town.
Kindly and enthusiastically he showed us two of the venues mentioned in the book: main church and duke’s palace.
The novel, written by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa in the mid-20th century, tells the story of the prince Fabrizio Salina and his family at the time of the newly forming Kingdom of Italy.
The author talks about the present through the lens of the past and chooses a resigned and pessimistic character on purpose. Fabrizio and his reflections help us to understand what the “leopardesque” spirit really is about.
What is it?
According to the prince, changing rulers and dominations brought Sicilians (all Italians?) to adapt to the new, even to welcome it, while at the same time staying unchanged, avoiding to hold onto hope too much.
Fabrizio looks at the world dubiously; he thinks that movements for the unification of Italy won’t change a thing. And yet, accommodating conflict instead of fighting allows him to live better and longer. As quote goes:
“If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change.”
In the background there’s a fertile yet ostile nature, like the hot and interminable summer that represents an obstacle to free action.
“Every lump of earth evoked a sensation of longing for beauty soon weakened by apathy.”
Which other books would you recommend to understand the Sicilian land and culture? Let us know in the comments.