Aperitivo d'Autore con Daniele Mencarelli

We are happy to welcome back to Aperitivo d’Autore one of the greatest Italian writers, author of novels such as Tutto chiede salvezza and La casa degli sguardi: Daniele Mencarelli. This is his only event in Puglia where he will present his new book (the first published by Sellerio), Quattro presunti familiari.

Join us on April 23 in Massafra, at Masseria Ciura, a charming place that we return to with great pleasure, just over a year since our last visit. Participants in the evening will have the opportunity to enjoy a delicious aperitif prepared by Le Vetrine del Gusto and excellent wines from Giustini. It starts at 7:30 PM.

In this crime novel, Mencarelli does something new and perhaps unexpected. Around a mystery that awakens unresolved pains in the characters, he reveals a dark world, steeped in desire and a nostalgia for power, strength, and violence. In these shadows move the souls that the Roman writer knows how to narrate like few others, figures stained by guilt, intoxicated by mistakes and dreams. Within them lies the most precious treasure, the light of redemption and salvation, the striking moment when evil becomes truth. He will discuss this at Aperitivo d’Autore with Vincenzo Parabita.

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Entry by ticket exclusively in advance through the Postoriservato network at the following link https://bit.ly/4v88CHx and at authorized PostoRiservato sales points
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For information: 380.4385348 - aperitivodautore@gmail.com

• THE AUTHOR •
Daniele Mencarelli was born in Rome in 1974. His poetic production, beginning with his debut in the magazine clanDestino, has been particularly recognized thanks to the collection “Bambino Gesù” (Edizioni Nottetempo). He is the author of five novels, all published by Mondadori: “La casa degli sguardi” (2018, Premio Volponi, Premio Severino Cesari Opera Prima, Premio John Fante Opera Prima), “Tutto chiede salvezza” (2020, Premio Strega Giovani, from which the Netflix series of the same name is adapted), “Sempre tornare” (2021, Premio Flaiano for narrative), “Fame d’aria” (2023, Premio Clara Sereni), and “Brucia l’origine” (2024, Premio Ugo Riccarelli). In 2024, “Degli amanti non degli eroi” marks his return to poetry. In January of this year, “Quattro presunti familiari” (Sellerio) was released. He collaborates with various newspapers and magazines for which he writes about culture and society.

• THE BOOK •
In the woods surrounding the town of Norma, in the province of Latina, a skeleton with some scraps of skin is found. These poor remains ended up in the underbrush many years prior, and only fate and the particular environmental conditions have preserved them. The case is handled by the Carabinieri of Latina, represented by Marshal Damasi and the Apprentice Circosta, a young man without many pretensions or qualities but with an insatiable hunger for experience. A name must be given to those bones, which is why four people, four presumed relatives, are summoned. In total, there are three families that reported the disappearance of a loved one during a period compatible with the state of the remains. Whoever has the same DNA recovered from the skeleton will win a lottery lasting years of hope and vain searches. They will finally be able to mourn their relative who vanished into thin air. In this novel, Daniele Mencarelli does something new and perhaps unexpected. Surrounding an enigma that stirs secret words in the characters, awakening specters of unresolved pains, he shows us a very dark world, steeped in desire and nostalgia for power, strength, and violence. Cementing its foundations, there is an energy that comes from afar, one that has never disappeared and always transforms, crystallized in the streets, in the architecture, in the history of a city, Latina, which some still refer to as Littoria. An energy that enters bodies and minds, becoming a hateful impulse, an explosion of frustrated virility, a fierce gesture, and unyielding authority, symbolized by an official uniform and a habit of oppression, a delineation of order and hierarchy. In these shadows move the souls that Mencarelli knows how to narrate better than most, figures stained by guilt, addicted to despair, intoxicated by mistakes and dreams. Within them lies the most precious treasure, the light of redemption and salvation, the striking moment when evil becomes truth, unbound and without coercion.

• THE LOCATION •
Masseria Ciura was built in the early 1600s in Massafra at the behest of the Ciura barons. It is one of the best examples of noble residence and is located on a 60-hectare estate. A piece of land the Ciura family chose to create a plantation that tells the story of life: extraordinary olive oil, oranges, mandarins, and lemons that, like an incarnated dream, grew under the blue sky overlooking the Ionian Sea. Masseria Ciura was a community hub, an extended family where children from the surrounding lands were educated in the village school, an act that shaped a hope: education as the key to redemption. And, like any story rooted in the past, the history of the masseria has seen the passage of time, and with it new faces, new hands that have continued to chart the path of a tradition never forsaken. Over the centuries, the site has undergone various transformations, especially during the Baroque period, when many Apulian masserie, including Ciura, were expanded and embellished, becoming country residences for nobles and wealthy landowners. The buildings were enriched with valuable architectural elements, such as sculpted stone portals, barrel and star vaults, and inner courtyards. In the 19th century, the masseria continued to thrive thanks to agricultural production, particularly of olive oil and wine. Today, the figure of the current owner, Stefano Montanaro, and his family represents those who have inherited a dream, not only ensuring the continuity of the agricultural production that the Ciura family began but also realizing the dream of Thomas Ciura: transforming the masseria into a place of genuine hospitality. Every event held at the masseria is an unforgettable journey, an explosion of colors, scents, and sensations that tell the story of peasant life with a modern heart, capable of merging the past and the future.

• WINES •
In a land between the sea of Taranto and the heights of the Valle d’Itria, in San Giorgio Ionico, at the heart of the DOC Primitivo di Manduria, the Papadopoli family has been passing down traditions, experience, and a passion for wine for four generations. Giustini is led by Giuseppe Papadopoli along with his sons Salvatore and Federico. Giuseppe is the heart of the company: he began the story in 2005 and applies all his knowledge in vineyard management to grow the highest quality grapes; Salvatore is a young and passionate winemaker eager to experiment and extract the best wine possible from his father's work. Federico, on the other hand, is the head cellar worker, with watchful eyes and hands ensuring all daily operations. Minimal interventions in the vineyard and focused aging in the cellar give Giustini's wines the fragrances of the grapes from which they arise. Just a short distance from the Mar Piccolo, where the sirocco and mistral winds blow firmly, they have found their little corner of paradise. Here, the vines grow vigorously in unique soil made of clay, sand, and fossilized shells, imparting to the wines that will be made all the emotion, strength, and depth of the sea. Currently, Giustini produces three lines: Avoglia (wines of pleasure and affirmation, synonymous with abundance and never denial, typical and sincere, Avoglia is Giustini's answer to all questions), Design (wines that fully express the authenticity and greatness of Giustini's grapes, the result of continuous research and constant work, with an inevitable touch of style), and Acinorè (best company interpretation of Primitivo di Manduria, these labels arise from an ancient training system called ad alberello and a special vineyard where the plants are on average 50 years old).
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