28/04/2022
Angela A wrote a review Apr 23
Albuquerque, New Mexico
A must for Montalbano book lovers
The Montalbano Tour did not dissapoint. My husband and I love the Montalbano books. We toured both "Montelusa" (Agrigento) and "Vigàta" (Porto Empedocle) and Michele even introduced us to the real life Enzo where we had lunch.
Michele Gallo has a unique way of weaving in the important social structure in Sicily and the Agrigento region to the tour and books of both Andrea Camilleri and Luigi Pirandello.
Pirandello literay works were important in shaping how Camilleri evolved in his writing career.
In "Montelusa" we saw where both writers went to school, the Comissioners Office, the head offices of the Carabinieri, and learned of an important and very unique story between Saint Calogero and Cameilleri.
In Vigàta, we saw the Pasture, the fish docks where Fazio gets into some trouble, we saw where Salvo Montalbano meets Ingrid for the first time. Honestly it was like having the place where Montalbano lived and worked come alive...and as the books were written on real places, it was easy to do.
For fans of the books, this is a must. The tour was so much more than seeing the actual places Camilleri based his books on, Michele Gallo's brilliance is setting the context for the books in the social fabric of life in this region and was very thought provoking and humbling.
This adventure was transformative in how I see the people of Sicily, it"s complex social structure, Sicily's triumphs and its massive power struggles that exist today. Economically depressed and historically stripped of its resources, Sicily and its people have a long road ahead to share in the wealth that was once theirs and will be again....
