A classic of Italian literature, this epic and unforgettable novel recounts one man's long and turbulent life in revolutionary Italy At the age of eighty-three and nearing death, Carlo Altoviti has decided to write down the confessions of his long life. He remembers everything, from his unhappy childhood in the kitchens of the Castle of Fratta to revolutionary fighting in Naples and romantic entanglements during the siege of Genoa. Throughout, Carlo lives only for his twin passions in life: his dream of a unified, free Italy and his undying love for the magnificent but inconstant Pisana. Peopled by a host of unforgettable characters - including drunken smugglers, saintly nuns, scheming priests, Napoleon and Lord Byron - this is an epic historical novel that tells the remarkable and inseparable stories of one man's life and the history of Italy's unification.