Il 17 July three years ago he left us Andrea Camilleri, one of the greatest authors of contemporary Italian literature, as well as the father of Inspector Montalbano. Born in Porto Empedocle (Agrigento) in 1925, in his long life the maestro was also an actor, director and playwright, screenwriter and much more. Like Pirandello, Sciascia and other Sicilian writers, has always carried his island in his heart and, thanks also to the very successful series of novels (and later fiction) by Montalbano, has contributed to increasing its fame beyond national borders. Over the course of his career, Camilleri has sold more than 10 million copies and his works have been translated into more than 30 languages.
Camilleri: Inspector Montalbano and beyond
To speak of Andrea Camilleri only as "the creator of Inspector Montalbano" would be somewhat simplistic. The Sicilian writer was a prolific author of stories e stories, but not only. In the second post-war period, after attending theAcademy of Dramatic Art di Roma, worked as a director, author e screenwriter for TV and theater. He has been the director of many plays, including comradeship plays Pirandello. Furthermore, Camilleri is also responsible for having brought works by Beckett, Adamov, Maiakowsky e Ionesco. Regarding his career in RAI, in the 60s, he collaborated in the production of hugely successful screenplays, such as the "Lieutenant Sheridan"and "The inquiries of Commissioner Maigret". Also in the post-war period he begins to write his first short stories and poems, which will make him win the prize Saint Vincent. In 1978 publishes his first novel "The course of things”, Received lukewarmly by audiences and critics.
The city of Vigata, which will be the backdrop to the adventures of Inspector Montalbano, appears for the first time in the novel "A wisp of smoke"(1980). Although Camilleri writes other novels, such as "The hunting season"(1992), the great popularity comes in 1994 with"The shape of the water”, The first dedicated to Montalbano (played on the small screen by Luca Zingaretti). The Sicilian commissioner has been the protagonist of several novels and as many television transpositions. Andrea Camilleri, thanks to his strong imagination and an always pleasant style of writing, has managed to “make real” Vigata and the various characters of the saga. The creation of the "Vigatese”(Mix between Italian and Sicilian) was then an excellent intuition of the author, to make the most of certain concepts through the use of the dialect. Thanks to Camilleri's genius, Inspector Montalbano will remain a immortal character, forever imprinted in the Italian and international literary panorama.
The Andrea Camilleri Fund
Camilleri had a secret dream, that is to collect all the material created in its long life in a single large archive. In 2019, a few months before his death, with the help of his wife Rosetta and daughters Andreina, Elizabeth e Mariolina, Camilleri decided to create the "Andrea Camilleri Fund". It is an archive that collects all artistic production (literary and otherwise) by Camilleri, preserved between Porto Empedocle and Rome. Despite the various difficulties, the writer's dream saw the light of day June 7 last. The archive is located in the Prati district of Rome, a few steps from the artist's home. In addition to Montalbano's novels, poems and other short stories are present manuscripts, notes, private letters e television material, from the 50s to today. This archive comprising Camilleri's life's work, once digitized, can be consulted by anyone online.
Andrea Camilleri was a "storycuta”, Which has never stopped seeing with the mind and dream in color, even after losing sight. In the last period of his life, answering those who asked why he still wrote at the age of 93 years, She said: "If I could, I would like to finish my career sitting in a square telling stories and at the end of my date pass through the audience with a flat cap in hand ". Even if it was not possible to fulfill this last wish of the master, the public will never forget what Camilleri has given to the world: the art and inspiration of a brilliant artist, which with its stories has enchanted and thrilled entire generations of readers.
Featured photo: © Associazione Amici di Piero Chiara - Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).
