The best-selling book of 2021 returns, enriched with vivid illustrations, for an immersion into the atmosphere and customs of that era.

The book contains nearly 400 black-and-white pictures of various sizes, from full page to an eighth of a page. Some are authentic images – places, events, historical characters – but most of them are suggestively evocative, like those in 20th-century illustrated novels. This option respects the format of the novel and allows the reader who has already read the book to re-imagine the events.

TV series cooming soon on Disney+!

THE BESTSELLING ITALIAN BOOK OF 2021

Full English translation available

The second and concluding part of the saga, which reveals in full the myth of the Florios, making us relive an era, a world and a destiny that has no equal.

The Florios, the Lions of Sicily, have won. Gone are the days of the modest putìa in central Palermo, the sacks of spices, of Paolo and Ignazio, who went there to escape poverty, with determination as their only wealth. Now, they own buildings and factories, ships and tonnaras, silks and jewels. Now, the entire city looks up to them, honours them and fears them. And young Ignazio fears no one. The destiny of Casa Florio has been his destiny since birth, it runs through his veins and drives him beyond Sicily, to Rome and political intrigues, to Europe and its courts, to the naval dominion of the Mediterranean, to buying the entire Aegadian Islands archipelago. Ignazio has a dazzling empire but a heart of ice, because, for the glory of Casa Florio, he had to give up the love that would have capsized his destiny. A love whose shadow never leaves him, even to the very end…

His son, Ignazziddu, on the other hand, is afraid when, at just over the age of twenty, he inherits all his father has built. He’s afraid because he doesn’t want to be enslaved to a name, to sacrifice himself on the family altar. He does his best, however, facing a world that’s changing too fast, shaken by new, violent and uncontrollable powers. He does his best but realises that having Florio blood isn’t enough to stand out. He needs something more, something his grandfather and his father had but which he lacks. But where, how has he gone wrong?

The Florios win everything, then lose everything. And yet this is only a part of their extraordinary story. Because this father and son, so different, so remote, have at their sides two women who are also very different and yet both exceptional: Giovanna, Ignazio’s wife, hard and fragile like crystal, filled with passion but starved of love, and Franca, Ignazziddu’s wife, the most beautiful woman in Europe, whose gilded life is shattered by the blows of a cruel fate.

It is these two women who trace the true trajectory – exciting and dreadful, glorious and tragic – of a family who, for a long instant, lit up the world. It is they who will make us understand why, after so many years, the Florios live on, unique and unforgettable, as the heartbeat of an island and of a city.

The book contains more than 300 black-and-white pictures of various sizes, from half a page to an eighth of a page. Some will be real images – places, events, historical characters – but most of them will be suggestively evocative, like those in 19th-century illustrated novels. This option respects the format of the novel and allows the reader who has already read the book to re-imagine the events. In addition to the illustrations there will be two maps: a large, colour one of Palermo and a full-page black-and-white one of the Via dei Materassai district.

From their homes, twenty-six of the most prominent writers in the Italian landscape have given a meaning to these days by choosing to tackle this emergency also with the weapons of literature.

R. Armeni, S. Auci, A. Basso, B. Bellomo, G. Biondillo, C. Bonvicini, F. Bosco, M. Buticchi, C. Caboni, D. Carrisi, A. Dalton, G. Festa, A. Frontani, E. Galiano, A. Gazzola, E. Gnone, M. Gramellini, J. Lahiri, F. Noiville, C. Sánchez, G. Sundas, S. Truzzi, I. Tuti, H. Tuzzi, M. Vichi, A. Vitali.

Nowadays, fear has a new name: Covid-19. The only way to defeat it is to stay at home.  Within the four walls that have always shielded us but which have now become impassable boundaries.

They have become almost an enemy.

And yet, day after day, those who always work with words have discovered that rooms, windows, and even the remotest corners of their homes are wings to carry them out into the world. Every one of them has therefore chosen a way to give life to this magic.

From their homes, twenty-six of the most prominent writers in the Italian landscape have given a meaning to these days by choosing to tackle this emergency also with the weapons of literature.

So as to take their daily lives to the readers who love them.

And they decided to do this together with the publishing house Garzanti by donating all the proceeds to the Papa Giovanni XXIII hospital in Bergamo.

Some decided to write about their days, their established routines, about novelties that make you smile. About the tears they cannot stop but also about the force of nature that dissolves the lump in your throat. About forced cohabitation, as well the distancing from people who are dear to you, that feels unbearable. Others write about neighbours who were once strangers but are no longer so, and work that has changed its tools but not its substance. Some admit their error in thinking that it could not all be true or else lend a voice to animals who, on the contrary, are glad this is all true. Others entrust their thoughts about these strange days to beloved characters they have created. Everyone is certain that we will emerge from this more aware of what is truly important, and we will meet, hug, and soon take walks all together. They are certain that solidarity will be the currency we will carry with us and no longer be able to do without.

They are all convinced that words, books and stories bring us together. They create invisible links that break all barriers. When we read we are never alone. And we are strong. And everything appears as it will be. Because all shall be well.

Over 1,500,000 copies sold

TV series available on Disney+!

THE BESTSELLING ITALIAN BOOK OF 2019

Among the 10 best selling first novels of 2021 in France !

The saga of a great Sicilian family who, in just over a century, experienced fame, wealth and power, but was also engulfed in love affairs and betrayals, dark secrets and cruel acts of revenge. A story both epic and intimate, bathed in the colors of the Mediterranean and sparked by overwhelming passions. An extraordinary story, told by an extraordinary writer.

Full English translation available

From the 1800s to the 1930s, the Florios are the «uncrowned kings of Sicily»: restless and ambitious, single-minded and determined to be richer and more powerful than anybody else. They start as grindingly poor spice sellers, but they quickly move on to tuna fishing, to foundries and finally to the Marsala wine that conquers the world. Shrewd businessmen and entrepreneurs, the Florio men are also stubborn, arrogant, philanderers and slaves to passions and they often find themselves forced to choose between ambition and sacrifice. Strong and resolute, the Florio women may be caring mothers, alluring mistresses or wounded wives, but they always strive to find their place in the world. From Vincenzo, the founder of the Florio empire, to Ignazio, his grandson, who squanders the family fortune on legendary parties; from Giovanna, iron-willed but love-starved, to the legendary Donna Franca, idolized by kings and poets, the author draws on history with both hands, dispels the mists of time and restores the Florios’ extraordinary, contradictory and fascinating vitality.