UN grandfather open and outside the box, an authoritative teacher of dramatic art, an affectionate and grateful colleague. There are many unpublished sides of the long life of Andrea Camilleri, whose memory continues to inspire those who had the privilege of knowing him, as a man and artist. A multifaceted figure of Italian culture with bursting sympathy, polished intellectual until the last day, Camilleri was not only the author of the Commissioner Montalbano or a successful writer.
It was above all a curious man, deeply loving and immersed in the contemporaneity that packed avidly, with the sole purpose of creating stories capable of tiving and speaking to the heart of readers and listeners.
Today, in the memory of those who knew him, he continues to live like a friend, a master, a accomplice grandfather who wrote to give concreteness to an immense desire to understand the world and the people who live it.
Arianna Mortelliti: a accomplice grandfather who understood women
A modern, curious grandfather, equipped with a marked female mentality. The memory of the great writer is filled with affection and gratitude in the words of Arianna Mortelliti, his nephew, who shared the last phase of life and work with him. Born in 1987, Arianna graduated in Biology, teaches sciences in schools and is the only one of the very feminine Camilleri family to have inherited the passion for writing.
Andrea Camilleri in the 1940s. Photo Courtesy Punto and Media Farm
“Conversing with him was extremely pleasant, like talking to a friend with great intuition. He was a man in step with the times, deeply immersed in the time he lived. He deeply understood female psychology, perhaps because he had three daughters and grew up in the midst of women. “Arianna says.
The collaboration of the last times
In the last months of his life, when Camilleri was now blind, Arianna was next to him every day while writing “Self -defense of Cain” (Sellerio), The monologue that should have recited on July 15, 2019 at the Terme di Caracalla: «He wrote with a great joy, even on weekends and Easter. He got up early, beat himself and put himself at the desk. A complicity was born between us that went beyond the blood bond. ” Arianna reveals.
Despite the loss of vision, Andrea Camilleri never renounced his autonomy. “He knew where things were, he didn’t want to ask anyone for help. He worked with an impressive lucidity, he listened to the notes read by me and dictated precisely. “
Another image as a young man by Andrea Camilleri. Photo Courtesy Punto and Media Farm
Francesco Bruni: he has always been affectionate and grateful
Francesco Bruni, director and among the historical screenwriters of Commissioner Montalbano, recalls with emotion the sense of respect and awe that he felt towards Camilleri: «He was affectionate, kind, but also detached in the right way by the television product. He always said that books are one thing, the fiction another and that we screenwriters had to feel free to express ourselves. He had a formidable sense of the narrative that he made use of in every field. “
The author also underlines how Camilleri has never stopped thanking the screenwriters, Sometimes uncomfortable figures, because everyone would like to write on their own and take the merits of what they do: «It has always recognized our role with gratitude. The day of his ninetieth birthday set up a stage under his house. When he recognized my voice he pulled me by the sleeve and kissed me on the cheek. A simple but unforgettable gesture. “
Marco Presta: a teacher who spoke from equal to par
Marco Presta, actor, writer and conductor of the Ruggito del Rabbit together with Antonello Dose, was his pupil. He knew him at the Academy of Dramatic Art Silvio D’Amico, where Camilleri taught direction and acting. «It was never paternalistic, he turned to us as a bigger friend. Above everything wanted us to be credible, not academic, and that we had very fun while we worked. It was he who gave me the first opportunity on the radio, a radio Pinocchio where I played the cat and Daniela Giordano La Volpe. I was disoriented, but he accompanied me with irony and lightness. “
He remembers him as a witty man, with an unmistakable voice and a cigarette often in his hand, accompanied by a glass of good whiskey: “He was an elegant narrator I have always admired him for his all Sicilian way to tell, who made him want to listen to him for hours.”
The young Camilleri on stage at Argentina, with the tribute of the former pupils
Poster of “The young Camilleri”. Photo Courtesy Punto and Media Farm
Marco Presta is among his twelve former students who will remember him through the letters, collected in the volume “I’ll write you again” published by Sellerio, That a young Camilleri student at the Academy, long before becoming a famous writer all over the world, wrote to his family. The tribute is part of the centenary celebrations of the birth of the great writer (1925-2025) and is in collaboration with Andrea Camilleri Fund and the Camilleri National Committee 100. Born from a project by Felice Laudadio with the direction of Ennio Coltorti, The event evening will take place on May 19 at the Argentina Theater in Rome and will see the participation of a large group of actors including Margherita Buy, Sergio Rubini, Donatella Finocchiaro, Lorenza Ovovina and Giuseppe Dipasquale.
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