Pope Francis on Wednesday
urged young Italians to read the classic 19th-century historical
and romantic novel 'I Promessi Sposi' (The Betrothed), by
Alessandro Manzoni, a cornerstone of modern Italian literature.
He said the troubled love story of the two fiancés, Renzo
and Lucia, held lessons the youth of today would do well to
heed.
"You Italians in your literature have a masterpiece on
engagement and youngsters should be familiar with it, read it;
it is a masterpiece that tells the story of fiancés who have
undergone difficulties and walked a road to marriage. Don't
overlook this masterpiece on engagement in Italian literature,
go on and read it and you will see the beauty," the pope said.
I Promessi Sposi is considered the greatest Italian novel
of the 19th century and a landmark in European literature.
Though written with an undercurrent of religious belief -
Manzoni was a devout Catholic - its seminal style, sharp
psychological insights and vivid characterisations have been
seen as anticipating modernist works.
It deals with a variety of themes, from the cowardly,
hypocritical nature of one prelate, Don Abbondio, and the heroic
sainthood of other priests - Fra' Cristoforo, Archbishop
Federico Borromeo - to the unwavering strength of love in the
long-separated protagonists.
Its pioneering use of a combination of Lombard and Tuscan
language set the paradigm for all future works, both fiction and
non-fiction.
Generations of Italian school children have it drummed into
them piecemeal, with little discussion of its innovative design
and far-reaching themes - and many youngsters later anecdotally
cite their studies as involving more labour than love.
But it is a fundamental work on Italian literature
curricula the world over.
Bestselling novelist Susanna Tamaro told ANSA after the
pope's call that I Promessi Sposi is "a European masterpiece
that shouldn't be served up in slices.
"You do it a disservice teaching it like that. That's why
people end up hating it at school".
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