A national “first”, as they say in the artistic field, last night to signal an important publication by Paolo Jorio with his “The mermaid of Posillipo”, published by Rizzoli. Fresh off the press it was released in Italian bookshops just yesterday and it was also the opportunity to open the series of events of this fifth edition of “Stories, Books and Cooking in Piazza Marina”; an exhibition organized by the cultural association “Marina Square”, sponsored by Municipality of Barlettain the historic city square of the same name.
The publishing agent will talk to the author Marco Garavagliaencouraging curiosity and reconstructions that the 560-page text has aroused, creating further questions in the audience present, completed by the interventions of the co-author Claudia Carrescia. In short, the appointment seemed ideal to open this summer event, introduced by the journalist Luca Guerra.
It is an exciting historical novel which focuses on the story of a woman, an extraordinary opera singer in the Seventeenth-century Naples. The historical research was explained by the author, former radio journalist, founder of the San Gennaro Treasure Museum and director of the Filangieri museum in Naples. Particular attention is also paid to the music of the time and the religious-cultural traditions of those years in which extreme poverty coexisted with the high-sounding habits of the aristocracy. Mixture with the very powerful Carafa family and the Gonzagas of Mantua, a walk in the Neapolitan social and cultural environments and in the libertine habits of the protagonists which lead to a mature, concrete and intriguing story.
The detailed and captivating historical reconstruction aroused great interest from the large audience present in the square, which also aims to arouse healthy curiosity on the part of the public for the 2024 edition. The evening was interspersed with some readings of the text by the actress from Barletta Mariella Spoken. The next appointment is for Friday 28 June with Pamela Perlini with “In questo notte afgana”
