“Pizza is poverty experienced as wealth.”
After the death of his father, Pietro, a middle-aged Milanese man, finds himself rewinding the history of his family, and goes to San Francisco to settle some pending matters of a home of his ancestors. There he finds a writing by one of his ancestors destined for future memory, in which he recounts the events that led him to flee Milan after taking part in the revolts against the Austrians in 1853 and finding shelter in the new continent. A daring adventure in which Ernesto Giudici (this is the name of the great-great-grandfather), will meet the unexpected friendship of the Neapolitan Francesco Esposito and the love for the Genoese Maria Celeste Sommariva (known as Cielo). A historical-romantic novel that blossoms page after page, never withering.
Like the two protagonists of the story, we too fell in love with Heaven, and how could it have been possible not to? A strong woman, with a traumatic past, able to live with the ghosts of her life, which have influenced her existence, without ever feeling sorry for herself. Cielo is a woman of our day, and we are not surprised that the author of the book confessed to us that this is the character in which she sees herself the most.
We are happy to be able to recommend reading it with conviction. A far-reaching writing, which can be appreciated by a large and heterogeneous audience (both for age groups and for literary tastes). The historical nature of the novel is not invasive, even the anecdotes and some specific references to names and people do not discourage those who are not fond of the genre from reading.
Similarly, the most romantic part is intense in feelings but not invasive; and although set in the mid-nineteenth century, it could very well be a love story of our days.
At the end of the reading one is invaded by the desire to leave, to dare, to overcome one’s fears, to let oneself be guided by destiny, even when the high tide rises and we seem to drown in the difficulties of life, to find in everyday life, without knowing it, beauty of that blue of Genoa.
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Michele Mozzati, That blue of Genoa, La nave di Teseo, Milano, 2020
