Imprimatur (novel)

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Imprimatur
Monaldi & Sorti Schriftzug.JPG
Writing of the hardback version of the book Imprimatur by Monaldi & Sorti
Author Rita Monaldi and Francesco Sorti
Original titleImprimatur
CountryItaly
Language Italian
Genre Historical novel, Mystery
Publisher Mondadori (Italy)
Publication date
2002
Published in English
2002
Media typePrint (Paperback)
Pages644
ISBN 2702874215 (IT, Mondadori, paperback edition)

Imprimatur is the title of an Italian historical novel, written by Rita Monaldi and Francesco Sorti. It was originally published in Italy in 2002; since when it has been translated into twenty languages, and sold a million copies worldwide. [1] It is the first in a series of books based around the principal character of the 17th century diplomat and spy, Atto Melani.

Contents

Plot summary

The story is set in a Roman inn in the year 1683. Ten guests of varying origin are resident, including a French guitar player, a Tuscan doctor, a Venetian glass artisan, an English refugee, a Neapolitan astrologer posing as an artist, and an enigmatic Jansenist. Everyone is hiding their own secret. When the French nobleman De Mourai dies suddenly, the inn is placed under quarantine because the authorities believe the plague has broken out. One guest, the mysterious abbot Atto Melani, suspects instead that the Frenchman has been poisoned. Together with a young servant (as narrator), he starts to investigate. Together Melani and the servant discover a network of ancient tunnels, once used by early Christians to avoid persecution. They also discover that the other guests of the inn are using the tunnels for their own mysterious reasons. While the scenario unfolds, outside the whole Christian world anxiously awaits the outcome of the Turkish siege at the Battle of Vienna. The Christian military coalition has been assembled under the direction of Pope Innocent XI. If the Christian reinforcements arrive too late, Vienna will fall and Europe will be at the mercy of the Ottomans.

Critical reception

The novel was first published in Italian in March 2002 after the rights were bought by the publishing house, Mondadori (owned by Fininvest). It was reported as the fourth bestselling book at the time, and led to a second edition. The novel received a number of positive critical reviews in the international literary press. Solander, the American magazine of the Historical Novel Society, and El Pais of Spain compared it with classic 20th century historical novels like Umberto Eco´s The Name of the Rose and The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa. [2] [1]

The Times Literary Supplement , a British literary magazine, said, "Imprimatur starts well and gets better." [3] The Independent called it "an exuberant and discursive historical novel, crammed with fascinating detail." [1] Scotland on Sunday said, "The authors inject every scene with life, colour, lies and wit." [1] The Herald described it as "a literary page-turner which delivered what Eco could not: a genuinely new discovery which was guaranteed to set the cat among the Vatican pigeons." [1]

In Australia, The Australian reviewer wrote, "A massive, elegant, baroque edifice, superbly written and researched. Imprimatur is as genuine as The Da Vinci Code is phony. High-minded satire gives way to broad comedy and finally slapstick. Imprimatur is many things: anti-clerical tract, Chaucerian comedy, whodunit, history thesis and Dickensian dose of urban underbelly." [4] In France, Le Monde asked, "What should be more admired: the keenness, great narrative talent, and knowledge of philologist Rita Monaldi and musicologist Francesco Sorti, or the masterful style and superior quality of language of a captivating literary creation?" Le Figaro praised the "breathless search for a truth that tears away all the veils of deception." L'Express called the authors "the successors to Umberto Eco." [1]

Style and literary models

Some literary critics have suggested that the book recalls many elements of the traditional detective novel, such as those featuring Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson; or a murder-mystery by Agatha Christie. Or furthermore a “swashbuckler” set in the baroque age reminiscent of “The Three Musketeers” by Alexander Dumas or Jules Verne. [5] Elsewhere, comparisons with the group of characters inhabiting the inn have been drawn with the model used successfully by authors such as Geoffrey Chaucer and Charles Dickens. [4] The authors themselves have stressed the influence of the Italian philosophical novel of the 19th century, Alessandro Manzoni´s “The Betrothed”. [6] Noting that Boccaccio divides his narrative up into days in ‘’The Decameron”, as well as in the Germanic ‘Bildungsroman’. [7]

Background and controversy

Although the story itself is fiction, many of the persona and events are not. The book is based on research by Monaldi and Sorti, who researched information from 17th-century manuscripts and published works concerning the siege of Vienna, the plague and Atto Melani. In an appendix to the book are listed and examined a number of new historical sources discovered by the authors in the Vatican Archive and the Public Record Office of Rome – previously unknown to modern historians, and confirming the theory of a secret agreement between William III and Innocent XI. They called upon scholars and professional historians to deepen this research based on the unearthed material. [8]

Historical context

The reign of Pope Innocent XI was indeed marked by conflict between the papacy and the French monarchy, in the person of Louis XIV, over matters such as the French claim to what it called the Gallican Liberties. [9] [10] For fear of Louis XIV's dominance, not only Innocent but also Catholic leaders such as the king of Spain and the elector of Bavaria supported William of Orange. [11] The conflict between the papacy and Louis XIV continued under Pope Innocent's immediate successors, Pope Alexander VIII, an ally of William, [12] and Pope Innocent XII. [13] [14]

When news of William's decisive victory over James at the Battle of the Boyne reached Rome, the papal court, still allied with him against Louis XIV, but by then headed by Pope Alexander VIII, is reported to have ordered the singing of a Te Deum of thanksgiving, while similar celebrations were held in Catholic churches in Madrid, Brussels, and Vienna. [15] [16] [17] [18]

Lord Melfort, a strong supporter of King James, reported that the pope "seemed horribly scandalised" that any cathedral had sung a Te Deum for William's victory; but, as historians observed in 1841, "the plain truth is, that William all along had a strong party among the cardinals ... the great principle of the papal court was to check in Italy the progress of the French, who more than once flattered themselves with the hope of becoming masters of the entire Peninsula. There are reasons for believing that, when the Prince of Orange came over to expel his most Catholic father-in-law, he brought some of the pope's money with him to help him in that undertaking." [19]

Professor Eamonn Duffy, a historian at the University of Cambridge has written, "It is widely accepted, because of James's indebtedness to France, that the Pope was actually relieved when James fell." [20]

Follow-up

It has been suggested that the controversial claim damaged the reputation of Pope Innocent and halted canonisation proceedings. The Roman Catholic Church had been keen to promote Innocent's cause as an active opponent of the Ottomans in the light of the terrorist attack by Islamic fundamentalists on 9/11. [21] It was subsequently reported that the authors had been effectively "blackballed by Italian journalism and publishing" because of the embarrassment caused to the church. A spokesman for the Vatican has denied this. [22]

Subsequent novels in the series have been published in English - Secretum in 2009, and Veritas in 2013. [23]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy See</span> Jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome

The Holy See, also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the pope in his role as the Bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome, which has ecclesiastical jurisdiction over the worldwide Catholic Church and sovereignty over the city-state known as the Vatican City. As the supreme body of government of the Catholic Church and Vatican City, the Holy See enjoys the status of a sovereign juridical entity under international law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pope Alexander VIII</span> Head of the Catholic Church from 1689 to 1691

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pope Clement XIV</span> Head of the Catholic Church from 1769 to 1774

Pope Clement XIV, born Giovanni Vincenzo Antonio Ganganelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 May 1769 to his death in September 1774. At the time of his election, he was the only Franciscan friar in the College of Cardinals, having been a member of OFM Conventual. He is the most recent pope to take the pontifical name of "Clement" upon his election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pope Gregory XIII</span> Head of the Catholic Church from 1572 to 1585

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pope Innocent IX</span> Head of the Catholic Church in 1591

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pope Innocent X</span> Head of the Catholic Church from 1644 to 1655

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pope Innocent XI</span> Head of the Catholic Church from 1676 to 1689

Pope Innocent XI, born Benedetto Odescalchi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 21 September 1676 until his death.

An imprimatur is a declaration authorizing publication of a book. The term is also applied loosely to any mark of approval or endorsement. The imprimatur rule in the Catholic Church effectively dates from the dawn of printing, and is first seen in the printing and publishing centres of Germany and Venice; many secular states or cities began to require registration or approval of published works around the same time, and in some countries such restrictions still continue, though the collapse of the Soviet bloc has reduced their number.

Papal coats of arms are the personal coat of arms of popes of the Catholic Church. These have been a tradition since the Late Middle Ages, and has displayed his own, initially that of his family, and thus not unique to himself alone, but in some cases composed by him with symbols referring to his past or his aspirations. This personal coat of arms coexists with that of the Holy See.

<i>Annuario Pontificio</i> Catholic Holy See annual directory

The Annuario Pontificio is the annual directory of the Holy See of the Catholic Church. It lists the popes in chronological order and all officials of the Holy See's departments. It also provides names and contact information for all cardinals and bishops, the dioceses, the departments of the Roman Curia, the Holy See's diplomatic missions abroad, the embassies accredited to the Holy See, the headquarters of religious institutes, certain academic institutions, and other similar information. The index includes, along with all the names in the body of the book, those of all priests who have been granted the title of "Monsignor".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roman question</span> Former political dispute between Italy and the Papacy

The Roman question was a dispute regarding the temporal power of the popes as rulers of a civil territory in the context of the Italian Risorgimento. It ended with the Lateran Pacts between King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and Pope Pius XI in 1929.

Neo-ultramontanism is the belief of certain Roman Catholics, primarily during the period immediately prior to the First Vatican Council, that papal infallibility was not restricted to a small number of papal statements but applied ipso facto to all papal teachings and statements.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">1724 papal conclave</span> Election of Pope Benedict XIII

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monaldi & Sorti</span>

Monaldi & Sorti is the pen name of the Italian married couple writer duo Rita Monaldi and Francesco Sorti. Rita Monaldi is an Italian journalist and writer. She majored in classical philology and specialized in the history of religions. Francesco Sorti is an Italian journalist and author. He majored in musicology and specialized in the 17th century. They both live with their two young children in Vienna.

Camillo Caetani (Gaetano) was an Italian aristocrat and Papal diplomat in several European capitals during the early Counterreformation.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Imprimatur". birlinn.co.uk.
  2. ↑ "More than a Matter of Words". historicalnovelsociety.org. 7 May 2009.
  3. ↑ Jake Jakeman.Echoes of Echo The Times Retrieved 1 January 2023
  4. 1 2 The Australian [ dead link ]
  5. ↑ "Les hritiers d'Umberto Eco". L'EXPRESS.fr. 12 December 2002.
  6. ↑ ’’Imprimatur’’, p.xiii
  7. ↑ Imprimatur, p.512
  8. ↑ ’’Imprimatur’’, p.532
  9. ↑ Kelly, John Norman Davidson; Walsh, Michael J. (2010). A Dictionary of Popes. ISBN   978-0-19-929581-4.
  10. ↑ Durant, Will; Durant, Ariel (7 June 2011). The Age of Louis XIV. Simon and Schuster. ISBN   9781451647655.
  11. ↑ Pollard, Tony; Banks, Iain (2008). Scorched Earth. BRILL. ISBN   978-9004164482.
  12. ↑ "The Australian nation". Transaction Publishers. January 1, 1997 – via Internet Archive.
  13. ↑ The History of the Popes, Leopold von Ranke, (Lea and Blanchard, 1844), p. 377
  14. ↑ Belsham, William (January 1, 1802). "History of Great Britain from the revolution to the accession of the House of Hanover". Dublin, Marchbank – via Internet Archive.
  15. ↑ "Orange Myths". worldsocialism.org.
  16. ↑ The Re-Conquest of Ireland, James Connolly, (NuVision Publications, LLC, 2004, ISBN   978-1-59547156-7), p. 18, originally written in 1913
  17. ↑ "BBC NEWS - UK - Northern Ireland - King Billy painting a 'mixed blessing'". bbc.co.uk. 18 August 2006.
  18. ↑ "History Ireland". 25 February 2013.
  19. ↑ Craik, George Lillie; MacFarlane, Charles (1841). The pictorial history of England during the reign of George the Third.
  20. ↑ John Follain, "William of Orange - Funded by the Pope" in the Sunday Times, September 23, 2001
  21. ↑ "A papal mystery" (PDF). The Independent . 2008-05-08.
  22. ↑ Malcolm Moore (2008-03-10). "Vatican "bans" book revealing "secret" of pope". The Daily Telegraph.
  23. ↑ MacInnes, Allan I.; Williamson, Arthur H. (2006). Shaping the Stuart World, 1603 - 1714. BRILL. ISBN   9789004147119.
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