Literature, cinema, radio and theatre. Andrea Camilleri, who passed away on 17 July 2019 at the age of 93, was remembered on a journey through his “multiform writings” – in view of the 100th anniversary of his birth, which took place on 6 September 1925, which will therefore be celebrated over the next year – on the closing day of the Roman small and medium publishing fair “More books, more free”.
The tribute, edited by Sellerio Editore, featured readings from the book of unpublished letters to the parents, «I will write to you again», published by the publishing house, and interventions by Carlo Degli Esposti, Marcello Fois, Loredana Lipperini and Lorenzo Pavolini.
«Camilleri has always been the protagonist of Montalbano’s great adventure on television, the captain of the team. He was a protagonist both on and off stage. In 24 years there have been 37 films from 26 novels, plus 12 from Giovane Montalbano, plus six films from historical novels and a theatrical staging from his Tiresia. They were broadcast in 60 countries for 460 prime time broadcasts and they all won” he recalled Of the Exposedthe producer who brought Camilleri’s pages to the screen, broadcast on Rai1. Degli Esposti also recounted their first meeting: «Work on TV began at the end of the century. I went to see Elvira Sellerio in Palermo and she told me: you have to buy the rights to Camilleri’s first two books. It all started from there. In Rai there were very talented people, like Sergio Silva, who was the inventor of fiction” recalls Degli Esposti.
Lipperini he underlined that «Camilleri believed in the common happiness to which politics should be used» and cited a poem that the writer had dedicated to Silvio Berlusconi. «We need authors like Camilleri, who use words like him» said the journalist and writer.
Pavolini it retraced the period of radio, with 1,300 radio directions created in a few years, the dramas, the 12 directions of impossible interviews and the first outdoor radio drama. «Camilleri also participated in the great technological renewal. The linguistic magma that had invaded him influenced the language that he reinvented in his novels”, he said.
Fois he chose the sentimental approach and explained: «Camilleri has imposed a koiné on the world. The wish I would make for myself is to resemble him as a person.”
Meanwhile, the Non-Catholic Cemetery in Rome, where Camilleri is buried, reopens its doors. In fact, safety operations have ended following the collapse of a monumental pine tree which occurred on the night of November 3rd. The tree, 28.5 meters high, which was located right between the tombs of Andrea Camilleri and that of Antonio Gramsci, fell on numerous burials, compromising the usability of a rather large area of the cemetery. “We are therefore pleased to welcome back the families of those who rest here, together with the visitors who love this corner of peace,” said director Yvonne A. Mazurek.