Si è svolto presso l’Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Belgrave Square la presentazione del libro di Marella Caracciolo Chia “Una Parentesi Luminosa”, tradotto in inglese da Howard Curtis, persona colta e preparata, con il titolo di “The Light in Between”.

   Simonetta Agnello Hornby, in conversazione con l’autrice dell’opera, alla presenza di un numerosissimo pubblico, ha discusso il lavoro di ricerca svolto da Marella Caracciolo Chia per illustrare la storia della tumultuosa relazione della Principessa Vittoria Colonna con il pittore Umberto Boccioni. L’Ambasciatore Italiano nel Regno Unito, Alain Giorgio Maria Economides, ha voluto personalmente salutare la scrittrice augurandole tanto successo in terra di Albione.

   Qui di seguito pubblichiamo l’introduzione del libro, che in Inghilterra sta riscuotendo un forte interesse tra le fascie aristocratiche dell’Isola.

   “It was in June 1916 that Princess Vittoria Colonna met the Futurist painter Umberto Boccioni. The love affair between them was short but intense: on August 17th Boccioni died following a fall from his horse. The last letter he received from Vittoria was found in his wallet. This is the story of a Roman princess, a major twentieth-century artist, unbridled passion, the First World War and a tragic accident. A collection of letters hidden for almost a century is all that remains of the relationship between a restless noblewoman and a tormented painter. Their letters provide the basis for the story Marella Caracciolo Chia tells, not only the story of a great love, but also the portrait of a remote and fascinating world.

   Marella Caracciolo Chia was born in Montreal, studied at Oxford and London universities and now lives in Rome. A journalist and writer, in 1995 she co-authored a book on the gardens of the Caetani family, Giardino di Ninfa, with photos by Marella Agnelli. Among her recent publications are a memoir of the artist Niki de St Phalle and ‘For the Love of Italy’, a journey through rural Italy. She is married to the painter Sandro Chia and has two daughters.

   Simonetta Agnello Hornby, writer and solicitor, was born in Palermo and lives in London. Her novels ‘The Almond Picker’ and ‘The Marchesa’ have been translated in 23 languages. Her last books are ‘Vento scomposto’ (2009, Feltrinelli), ‘Camera oscura’ (2010, Skira) and ‘La Monaca’ (2010, Feltrinelli)”.

di Giovanni Greco