From Vienna to Gorizia, what will be Nicoletta’s secret?
“Nicoletta’s secret” from Pier Luca Settomini for Espressioni Marca Aperta (pages 328, 15 euros) is the novel by the author from Gorizia recently released in bookstores. In the author’s curriculum, a storytelling production of role play, prose and poetry. Previously he had published the trilogy “Vinland“Of 2014.
Today we talk with him to enter his new novel set in distant historical periods with plausible protagonists.
What is the spring to tackle such a demanding and complex narrative?
“I would say two: the first is the sense of challenge. Writing a novel requires more attention than writing a short story; the body is larger, the balances more delicate. The second, the most rooted one, is the search for a stronger voice to speak about the wealth of our lands, a plurality treasure enclosed in the small treasure chest of our territory “.
How much have previous experiences influenced the choice to try out a novel with a historical setting?
“It was a first in creative terms. Previously I wrote poems and short stories of a fantastic nature. It must be said, however, that I have always had a weakness for history ”.
Locations and narrative strands in different eras, distant but intertwined by what feelings of passion and charm?
“They are two distant eras, apparently linked only by the Central European scenario that brings them together. But what holds them together is a legend that is reflected in both. The passion will be that of the two protagonists, when they assume their responsibilities in this regard “.
The story starts in 1913 and goes back to 1683, the year of the great siege of Vienna by the Turks. Wars, invasions, clashes of civilizations: how much is the story told linked to the present of war in the heart of Europe?
“In all honesty, when I started writing in 2014, I never thought of this novel in such a geopolitical context. Nor have I ever looked for references to contemporary reality, if not in the always languid and nostalgic look at that peaceful plurality of peoples that we imagine for theAustria happy. I must admit that there are more references to current events than I would have liked, despite myself ”.
The imprint of the narrative is forged and built on diaries and letters; a narrative technique that has given extra strength to the creation of characters and plausible facts?
“You have hit the mark. Even knowing and touching the further difficulty in developing an epistolary and diary novel, I have not let go. Reading a diary or a letter we necessarily enter into the perspective of the writer, we are forced. Furthermore, I have always hoped that such a technique would more easily uproot the reader from the time and make him spin in his own time ”.
The world of Central Europe, traveled from Gorizia to Vienna, from Ljubljana to Koper: which humor of life in the places and in the two central epochs in the narrative?
“Since these are two completely different historical moments, even the humor it’s different. On the one hand we have a threatened Europe, reminiscent of the terror of the Ottoman invasions, which lives in anguish that the very Catholic Austria may fall and so does the whole Western world then known. On the other hand we have a slow, indolent, decadent Habsburg reality, yet in art and in life, almost unaware of the triggers being prepared in the Balkans. The parallelism I wanted for this novel also works on this diversity ”.
Nicoletta Coronini: what struck you about the noblewoman from Gorizia (1896-1984)? Did you meet her in person or through the narration of historians and scholars?
“I was too young to have known her in person when she disappeared. I discovered it through texts, mainly from the Coronini Foundation, excerpts from essays and on the net. I was looking for an important character who would give weight to the narrative and add truthfulness. I immediately liked her because she was a woman very attached to the traditions of her lands, to the point of even writing fairy tales and stories for children: she is the right person for a new legend “.
How much did you work on the documentation, the backbone of the story?
“The research work lasted at least two years and continued even during the drafting. As for the facts set in 1683, the sources were varied. From the scholar Carlo Tavano to “The Turk in Vienna”By Franco Cardini, from the mass of Marco d’Aviano on the Kahlenber to the charge of the winged hussars of Ian Sobieski III. As for 1913, I based myself on essays and novels set in the period, finding characters who were right for me ”.
Next literary challenge?
“I’m working on a narrative text set in the world of role playing with a certain degree of thriller and a lot of introspection. I am at the beginning and, given how long it took me for this novel, I am already asking for an appointment with you in a decade ”.
Pier Luca Settomini, “Nicoletta’s secret”, Open Brand Expressions, pp. 328, € 15.00