Like many of those who belong there by origin or by heart l’ve been wondering why Camilleri chose Boccadasse as Livia’s home place. Why choosing that place for the police commissioner Montalbano’s fiancé of a lifetime? In Camilleri’s novels Boccadasse is merely a name, a pretty evocative name though. The place is never depicted but nonetheless its name -as a reflection of the character who lives there- conveys the idea of a cozy home, a sweet nest, a faraway safe shelter.
In June 2016 upon receiving the honoris causa degree in Literature and Drama from the University of Genova Camilleri reveals the mystery: ‘I had never been in Genova before and it was love at first sight. I felt amazing, I felt at home as if I had known her and had been ‘dating’ her for so long, for ages. Even though the smell of that sea was not the same as my homeland sea there was something there which made me fall in love with that city. That feeling stuck deeply inside me for ever. It was Raffaella who took me to Boccadasse for the first time. And there I was struck by a second wave of love. If I had to move and live somewhere else I’d love no doubt to move to Boccadasse.”.
This is how the author recalls the first time he travelled to Genova in December 1950, when he was 25, to be awarded the first prize ex aequo of a poetry contest. He remembers how that exact moment of the past was engraved in his soul and mind, the moment in which he started feeling an intimate connection with the city in general and Boccadasse in particular.
Camilleri fell for Boccadasse at first sight and this is the reason why in his novels Boccadasse is a place of the heart much more than a geographical location, the place where the imagination of both the reader and the writer can meet. At Boccadasse you will not find Livia’s house simply because Livia is a fictional character. However, in any of the houses of Boccadasse you will find the special atmosphere evoked by that name.
Leave a Reply