Beauty is the enemy of war

Is it possible to keep the war in the background when you are sixteen and the desire to live, despite everything, is immense? That is what Falco and Rivo manage to do for a long time: they leave the war to the "grown-ups". Falco is more sensitive and introverted, Rivo is blunt and practical, affectionate in a rough way, they go mushroom hunting in the woods of the Apennines, they ride along the paths by bicycle, they attend the dances where Falco plays the accordion with his father. But it is difficult to remain on the fringes of the war and it takes little to catapult the two boys into reality: when a seriously wounded English paratrooper gives them a message for a certain Livio Boschi, the two young men are also captured by the conflict. Because that Livio Boschi, known by the battle name of Gordon, is an important partisan leader. So they must reach the partisan base, escape the Nazis, become couriers. Because there is a mission to accomplish, a Headquarters to conquer, and there is even a bagpipe, which Falco wants to learn to play. And then there is her, Stella. Brown eyes and long hair, small, drop-shaped earrings. Stella, like the flower in the song that is the soundtrack to their meeting. And whatever the cost, Falco must save her, from the bombings and from the war.

Between literary fiction and accurate historical reconstructions, Fabrizio Altieri with Il Falco e la Stella (equiLibri, 2025, pp. 224) tells us a story of Resistance, told with delicacy, exploring the complex dynamics of the struggle for Liberation, the nuances of friendship and courage, between dances, songs, music, ambushes, betrayals and gunshots.

We asked Fabrizio Altieri how the idea for this book was born:

«The book was born from an idea of my editors at EquiLibri, Gabriela Zucchini and Eros Miari, who asked me if I would be willing to write a novel set during a partisan battle that took place in 1945 in Albinea in the province of Reggio Emilia on the night between 26 and 27 March, when the British forces of the SAS, the Special Air Service, together with the partisans of the 'Gufo Nero' commanded by Glauco Monducci, known as Gordon, men from the Garibaldi Brigades and a detachment of Russian partisans, launched a surprise attack against the German Command Headquarters in Italy. I happily accepted because I know the seriousness of EquiLibri and the care they put into the books they publish and I found the idea of the partisan battle stimulating. So I obtained some historical sources, discovering some very original narrative ideas and I immediately understood that an intriguing story could be born from it».

How do Falco and Rivo deal with the reality of war?

"Falco and Rivo are touched by the war like everyone else, but while Rivo exploits its shadows to do business and has no intention of getting involved in the fight between the partisans and the fascists, Falco realizes that one cannot opt out of such a decisive fight for freedom, so he makes his choice of side and decides to help the partisans. Rivo does not follow him at first, even if he stays close to him because of the great friendship that binds the two, until reality hits him directly and pushes him to join Falco".

Music plays a fundamental role in the book. Why this choice?

"Music plays a fundamental role in my novel for two reasons. Falco works by playing the accordion at parties with his father and thanks to music he finds a point of contact with Stella that leads the two to fall in love. Stella is a city girl, different from the others, who has absolutely no intention of following the common mentality of the time according to which a woman must stay in her place and have children. This diversity also strikes Falco to the heart. The other aspect is historical. In my book there is the figure of a Scottish soldier who plays the bagpipes and teaches Falco to play them, becoming his friend. For this character I was inspired by a real person, a Scottish soldier who during the partisan battle that forms the backdrop to the novel played his bagpipes, instilling courage in the English and partisan fighters. Finally, and perhaps this is the most important aspect, music in the book represents beauty and my belief is that if beauty in the world increases, the unhealthy desire to wage wars decreases in proportion and consequently the probability that they will break out."

There is much talk about the importance of preserving memory, especially as direct witnesses disappear. However, we must not only preserve, but keep alive the memory. What can each of us do in this sense?

«Memory concerns the human and like all human things it can get lost, disappear. It is certainly necessary that the memory of what happened survives, passing through the story of those who lived through those times, as testimony. But it is not enough, a further step is needed. It is necessary that memory develops, grows thanks to the stories that even those who did not live through those times will write to remember them. What I wrote in the final notes of my novel is an exhortation to the kids who will read it: be memory, because memory must move through time and space to avoid getting lost. Be the legs on which it can continue to walk so as not to disappear into a distant past that is felt as alien».