
In the sun‑baked square of San Pantaleone, whitewashed houses glow with a metallic sheen, and a nervous crowd gathers around the stone pillars of the church. Their fear mounts as rumors of a looming divine punishment swirl, and a gaunt, fever‑stricken man named Giacobbe steps forward, his scarred skin marked with strange indigo symbols. Speaking in a low, urgent tone, he hints at visions of a threatening hand, a black veil, and a distant trumpet, pulling the townspeople deeper into a vortex of curiosity and dread.
Above the town, a crimson cloud unfurls across the sky, casting an eerie, metallic light over the rooftops and riverbank. The air thickens with the scent of burnt hay and the frantic cries of women, while the church bells finally toll, echoing a warning that something terrible is approaching. Listeners are invited to follow Giacobbe’s prophetic murmurs and discover how the panic‑stricken community confronts the mysterious omen that has turned their world upside‑down.
Language
it
Duration
~7 hours (426K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Release date
2011-08-18
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects

1863–1938
A dazzling and controversial voice of Italian Decadence, this poet and novelist wrote with lush intensity and turned his own life into a kind of performance. His work moves between beauty, desire, patriotism, and spectacle, making him one of the most unforgettable figures in modern Italian literature.
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