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Mondino de’ Liuzzi #4
Il segreto dell'alchimista
È il 10 settembre 1314, e Bologna freme per il passaggio di una cometa - a detta di alcuni preludio di un luminoso domani, secondo altri il presagio dell'imminente apocalisse. Mondino de' Liuzzi, medico anatomista e accademico, sta per tenere una delicata lezione alla scuola di medicina quando in aula irrompe Rambertuccio, il capitano del popolo: un uomo è stato ucciso, ma prima di morire ha pronunciato il nome del medico, e Rambertuccio è convinto che stesse indicando il suo assassino. Mondino nega ogni coinvolgimento - in passato ha aiutato a risolvere omicidi, non a commetterli - ma Rambertuccio è irremovibile, mosso da un accanimento feroce contro l'accademico, i cui studi sui cadaveri sono ai suoi occhi un abominio. Il mistero è invece molto più fitto, e a Mondino per scioglierlo non basterà l'acume leggendario: sarà indispensabile l'aiuto del figlio Gabardino ma soprattutto di Mina, la giovane moglie che non ci sta a essere solo un bel viso da mostrare ai ricevimenti. Ispirandosi alla figura realmente esistita di Mondino de' Liuzzi, coroner ante-litteram, Alfredo Colitto entra nel catalogo del Giallo Mondadori con un mistery storico teso e dai personaggi modernissimi.
424 pages, Paperback
Published April 12, 2022
About the author
Alfredo Colitto
135 books17 followersAt the age of thirty, after leaving any hope of adapting to a nine-to-five job, Alfredo Colitto decided to follow his passion for travelling and began journeying around the world. He spent some years in Mexico, and now lives in Bologna, Italy, with his wife Ana Luz and Agata, his cat.
He published the novels Aritmia Letale (Addictions, 2003, under the alias of Alfredo Sereni), Bodhi Tree (Crisalide, 2005) and Café Nopal (Alacrán, 2005). Together with Giancarlo Narciso he edited Un oceano di mezzo (Nuovi Equilibri/Stampa Alternativa) a collection of short stories by Italian and Mexican writers, also published in Mexico. His short stories are included in several collections, among which: EnoKiller (Morganti Editori, 2005), Killers & Co. (Sonzogno, 2003) and Fez, Struzzi e Manganelli (Sonzogno, 2005). Alfredo Colitto is a member of ASB (Writers of Bologna Association) and of AIEP (Asociación Internacional Escritores de Policiacos ). He teaches creative writing in Bologna.
He is also a translator from English and Spanish, working for some of the biggest Italian publishing houses: Einaudi, Piemme, Sperling & Kupfer, Frassinelli, Sonzogno.
He published the novels Aritmia Letale (Addictions, 2003, under the alias of Alfredo Sereni), Bodhi Tree (Crisalide, 2005) and Café Nopal (Alacrán, 2005). Together with Giancarlo Narciso he edited Un oceano di mezzo (Nuovi Equilibri/Stampa Alternativa) a collection of short stories by Italian and Mexican writers, also published in Mexico. His short stories are included in several collections, among which: EnoKiller (Morganti Editori, 2005), Killers & Co. (Sonzogno, 2003) and Fez, Struzzi e Manganelli (Sonzogno, 2005). Alfredo Colitto is a member of ASB (Writers of Bologna Association) and of AIEP (Asociación Internacional Escritores de Policiacos ). He teaches creative writing in Bologna.
He is also a translator from English and Spanish, working for some of the biggest Italian publishing houses: Einaudi, Piemme, Sperling & Kupfer, Frassinelli, Sonzogno.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 16, 2022
I started reading The Secret of the Alchemist with a bit of skepticism, since I didn't like other books of this type, and instead I quickly changed my mind. This book is indeed very well written and immediately intrigues the reader with its right mix of truth and fiction. The main protagonist, Mondino de’ Liuzzi, is an anatomist, an apothecary and an alchemist, as well as being a professor at the medical school, but his main characteristic is that of being an avant-garde doctor, that is, one who is based on the observation of facts and not on beliefs, something for which he carries out dissections of corpses and autopsies, operations still considered unlawful in the period in which the novel is set, namely 1314. We are in Bologna, a rich city and somehow more modern than others, but what Mondino does is not well seen by the Capitano del Popolo, Pellaio dei Pellai and by many other doctors colleagues of Mondino, who will have to guard against many accusations while carrying out the investigations that are the backbone of this book , which can be considered a historical noir. In fact Mondino (who was a person really existed) is what today could be defined as an anatomopathologist, who in the past had already helped the authorities in investigations on very particular and mysterious murders, where his intelligence and his scientific knowledge (especially autopsies on the corpses of the victims) had led to the identification of the culprits. I do not reveal anything about the plot, but I only say that the book is very well written, that the mix between fiction and reality is very well balanced, that the plot is very likely and that there are about fifteen killed. Doesn't that intrigue you at least a little?
June 20, 2022
E' sempre un piacere ritrovare Mondino de' Liuzzi e girare con lui per le strade di Bologna!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews