Col Fuoco Non Si Scherza

Two old friends reunite at the lakeside docks of Tremezzo after decades of separation. Beniamino Cresti has spent his years as a reclusive gardener, tending his plants far from the world's noise, while Massimo Bagliani has navigated the demanding corridors of diplomatic life. Now in their reunion, the novel quietly examines what each man has gained and lost through his chosen path. De Marchi writes with delicate precision about the awkward tenderness of rediscovering someone who knew you before you became who you are. The men's contrasting choices one withdrawn, one engaged create a subtle meditation on solitude and connection, on what we sacrifice when we embrace life and what we sacrifice when we turn away from it. This is a novel that understands how much courage it takes both to leave the world and to stay in it.