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Volterra, 1872. The wedding of Count Lodovico to Adele marks a revolution within the Ruggieri Buzzaglia family: the bride, once a servant in their household and lacking formal education, now enters the palazzo as a countess. With her candid, determined nature, Adele embraces the role society expects of her, devoting herself to her gentle, progressive husband and bearing him the lineage he longs for. Her days pass in a haze of pregnancies and duties, her figure often hidden beneath a swollen belly. To Livia, the fourth of their eight children, her mother is a distant, enigmatic figure, worn down by sacrifice. Still a child herself, Livia soon decides that “women’s matters” are not for her. It is her older sister, Babà, who dares to defy tradition, asking their father for permission to earn a diploma and pursue her dream of becoming a teacher. Willing to trade the comforts of nobility for a solitary life in a remote mountain village, Babà’s bold act becomes the first crack in the family’s tightly held legacy.
Told through Livia’s quiet, reflective voice, the Ruggieri Buzzaglia saga unfolds across decades of passion, hardship, and social change, spanning from the late 19th century to the postwar era. At its heart is the story of four generations of women (based on the author’s own ancestry) who found the courage to forge their own paths, drawing strength from knowledge and resilience.
A luminous, enveloping novel. A tribute to women who refuse to surrender to the roles imposed upon them, and to the enduring power of education to transform lives.