Ignazio Florio. The Lion of Palermo

It was 1799 when the Florio family settled in Sicily, building, piece by piece, an immense empire. Ignazio comes into possession of this inheritance early, perhaps too soon. A man capable of living his time to the full, overwhelmed by the cult of beauty and luxury, he leads a lifestyle worthy of a king, he throws himself into risky businesses, invests in chimeras, does not save on gifts and jewels for his wife Franca as for its transitory flames without ever forgetting youthful loves. Misunderstandings, mutual selfishness and family tragedies mark the rhythm of a story that founders among infinite betrayals, passions, successes and entrepreneurial accidents. But the two spouses still remain the undisputed protagonists of social parties, hosting the main European crowned heads, as well as musicians and writers, in their golden residences. They will always be on everyone's lips. For better or for worse. The Palermo of the Belle Époque shines like Paris, it is the capital of Art Nouveau, but in the background there remains a poverty that entrusts its redemption to social revolts or the mafia. A splendid and contradictory city like the protagonists of the novel. "People exaggerate in telling what they saw. Especially if they have never seen it." "Yes, but talking about you couldn't be exaggerated..."

Author: Salvatore Requirez

Publisher: Nuova IPSA

Series: Mnemosyne