A
proud Caprese, Pietro loves his island home. Who wouldn’t? One of the most popular,
well-known, and desirable places in the world, the Isle of Capri, just off the
Amalfi Coast of Italy, has for centuries been the destination of the rich and
famous – and infamous. The reminders of the years the Roman Emperor Tiberius
lived on Capri are everywhere.
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| 1900 re-construction of Villa Jovis by Weichardt |
In the
1st century, Tiberius built twelve villas on Capri, the most famous
being Villa Jovis. It was a massive fortress, impregnable to warring attackers,
sitting atop Monte Tiberio on the edge of thousand-foot-high sheer cliffs.
Today, the vast ruins of the villa are a testament to the skill of Roman
architects and builders.
However,
the reason for Tiberius’s retreat from Rome to Capri has always been unclear.
In Rome at the time, rumors abounded as to
why he had become a recluse, and what exactly he was doing there. In 121 AD,
Suetonius wrote The Twelve Caesars,
and didn’t hold back on recording exactly what he thought Tiberius was up to at
Villa Jovis. He accused Tiberius of debauchery, sexual perversity, cruelty, and
wicked ways. The Roman people turned on their emperor, disgusted with him, and
after 23 years of rule, he was overthrown by Sejanus, and no longer held the
reigns of the Roman Empire.
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| Ruins of Villa Jovis. Photo from Wikipedia |
Nearly two thousand years later, Pietro
Lombardi grew up on the steep sides of Monte Tiberio in his family home, Villa
Rosamanti, a 400 year-old white stone cottage. From his bedroom window, he
would have looked up at the huge white ruins that had stood for two thousand
years. As a child, he would have explored every inch of the old palace.
Pietro lived with his grandmother – Nonna –
and his mother, the only male in the household. From his Nonna, he learned all
about loyalty, love, and belonging. Nonna was his rock in a sometimes difficult
childhood. She taught him about life, and nurtured him until he was a grown and
capable man.
Although life threw some curve balls at
Pietro, he grew to be a stoic and reliable man. He is happy working as a chef
in his Aunty Maria’s restaurant, turning out authentic Caprese fare to the
hordes of tourists and day-trippers to the island.
When Pietro happens to meet an Australian
woman who arrives on Capri, his whole world seems to turn upside down. He is
forced to face his future, seeing for the first time the opportunities to turn
his life in a different direction. But his loyalty to Nonna goes much deeper
than pursuing his own dreams. Stubbornly, he fights the notion of change, but
there is one thing he is helpless to fight, and that is the power of falling in
love.
Rosamanti --
out on December 6th from Etopia Press
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