A musician would be called a one-hit wonder: “The Leopard” is the only novel by the Italian Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa and a global success. A documentation traces the genesis of the book.
Palermo – “The Leopard” is considered a classic of Italian modern literature. It was written by the nobleman Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa (1896–1957). The author never lived to see the success of his book. “The Leopard” was published posthumously in 1958.
The 1963 film adaptation of Luchino Visconti, starring Burt Lancaster, Claudia Cardinale and Alain Delon, made the novel even more popular. The documentary “Secrets of a bestseller” tells the story of Lampedusa and his only novel with great melancholy – to be seen on Wednesday at 10:15 pm at Arte.
Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, born in Palermo, offspring of a Sicilian princely house, describes the decline of an Italian noble family – and delves deeply into his own biography. Companions of the writer and his biographer David Gilmour tell episodes from the life of Lampedusa in the German-Italian documentary by director Luigi Falorni.
Gioacchino Lanza Tomasi, who was adopted in 1956 by the childless Lampedusa, still manages his legacy to this day. He sharpened the life of his adoptive father in one sentence: “Someone who has achieved nothing in his entire life writes a single novel and becomes immortal.”
Lampedusa’s childhood is not easy. Shortly after his birth, his sister, three years older than him, dies. The mother finds it difficult to get over the girl’s death, treating the son almost as if he were the daughter. The father is dominant and wants to make a strong guy out of little Giuseppe. The child grows up in splendid palazzi and in elegant company – and doesn’t really feel at home there.
Lampedusa’s marriage to the psychoanalyst Alexandra “Licy” von Wolff fails because of Lampedusa’s close bond with his mother. After his father’s death in 1934, Giuseppe becomes Prince of Lampedusa. He competes in reading books with his cousin Lucio Piccolo. During the Second World War, the prince learns what it means to have nothing to eat. The once wealthy and respected family of Lampedusa became impoverished and their palazzo in Palermo was bombed.
When his cousin wins a poetry award years later, Lampedusa is encouraged to start writing too. Following the example of French poets, he sat down in a café in 1954 and wrote “The Leopard”. Lampedusa has found its destination. He is not granted much time as a writer. The author died in 1957 after suffering from cancer. His relatives do everything in their power to publish his only novel – a world success. dpa
