
A meticulous mathematician, the professor spends his mornings lost in elegant proofs, his mind ever‑occupied by the delicate geometry of cones and curves. His routine is interrupted one May morning in 1861 when a modest housekeeper delivers a sealed letter from an unfamiliar captain in Genoa, demanding his immediate presence for a matter of “extrema importanza.” The cryptic request, written in formal naval script and signed by the enigmatic Antonio Rodomiti, hints at a secret that cannot be entrusted to ordinary channels.
Compelled by curiosity and a sense of duty that belies his otherwise solitary habits, the professor must decide whether to abandon his lecture hall and laboratory for a hurried journey north. As the train whistle sounds and the cityscape blurs past, he is drawn into a web of intrigue that links his scholarly world to the bustling ports and shadowy dealings of maritime Italy. The stage is set for a collision between precise logic and unforeseen adventure.
Language
it
Duration
~5 hours (299K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Carlo Traverso, Claudio Paganelli, Barbara Magni and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
Release date
2015-04-03
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects

1839–1915
A novelist, teacher, and patriot of Italy’s Risorgimento, his stories often paired lively storytelling with serious social questions. Best known for writing for young readers, he helped shape modern Italian children’s literature while staying closely engaged with the public life of his time.
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