
Set in a crumbling country house in the Valdichiana, the first act opens on a bright April morning as a motley group of locals gathers in the pensione Zonchi. The widowed Nàccheri, with her striking wig and sharp tongue, argues with her daughter Giuditta, while the pompous Don Camillo, a parish priest‑teacher, and the weary farmhand Roghi add their own brand of comic tension. Meanwhile the Gelli family—married couple Silvio and Fulvia and their daughter Livia—navigate family squabbles amid the dusty furnishings and the view of the valley below.
As the dialogue crackles with witty misunderstandings and social satire, the audience is drawn into a portrait of provincial life that feels both nostalgic and absurd. The play promises to follow the characters from this rural setting to a lakeside villa near Como, where new entanglements will unfold. With its vivid characters and lively banter, the comedy invites listeners to enjoy the humor of everyday pretensions and the charm of early‑twentieth‑century Italian society.
Language
it
Duration
~2 hours (138K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Barbara Magni and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images made available by The Internet Archive)
Release date
2021-01-14
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1867–1936
Known for stories and plays that blur the line between truth and performance, this Nobel Prize-winning writer changed modern drama with works that are witty, unsettling, and deeply human.
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