To start my anthology of Mauro Corona, I picked "La casa dei sette ponti" which translated literally means "The house of the seven bridges". There is no particular reason why I decided to start with this book, any book would have been fine. I admit that the length of the book (or Its shortness) may have persuaded my mind for a quick read, I felt like I just wanted to get closer to the author as soon as possible. I read it in two sessions, between the 16 and the 17 of May 2025, but It can be easily read in a couple of hours or less. I read It outside, to get some air.

The book is a fictional story, I knew this from Its description online, but the places are real and It feels real, even thou there are some "mysical" elements that are explained at the end. The story is ultimately about the relationship of the protagonist, a middle-age, entrepreneur with his family. He lived in Pavana, a small village somewhere in the middle between Bologna and Firenze, but decided to leave Its family to find fortune in the city. So he did, and he became a successful businessman, outsmarting (or buying) his opponents to stay afloat. Often, when traveling, he would notice an old, forgotten house, which seems abandoned and broken, but a fire was always on. He decides to investigate and tries to enter inside It, only to find an elderly couple kicking him off, saying that he needed to go through the "seven bridges" by foot before he could enter the house. Some time later, he did go through the bridges and, each time, he would experience mystical moments of emptiness and visions of people. Those were moments of his life, that he wanted to forget. He wakes up in an hospital, after begin in a a coma of a month, goes back to the house and understands that the elderly couple where actually his parents, whom he forgotten. He decides to spend the remaining life with them.

What sounds odd is that the author never goes too much into the details, It feels like the whole book was written in a sitting from an idea. It is simple, It does not try to be the new bestseller. In some way It is humble, much like the house and the elderly couple who accepted their poverty and lived in peace, with half a roof. Additionally, the story does not explain why the protagonist was attracted by the house, neither the reason why he decided to stay with his parents. The visions he had were about some moment in his life or in the life of his parents or real parents (turns out, he was adopted) but the author could have emphasize how living with this new family was nice and warm to explain the final decision. Instead, the protagonist feels attracted to his past and decides to stick with It and sell his business to his competitors, who where really happy of course. Inside the house, pride and money meant nothing, unlike the city; here the protagonist decided to stay, "a choice of his heart".

This story connects with me because I also left my home when I was young and I very rarely see my family, like the protagonist, so taken from his businesses and busy life. I sometimes have feelings that I should come back, but they are often overshadowed, maybe from the pride of being self-made or the chasing of success. Either way, our roots are part of our life and we should give value to them.

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Travel: Mauro Corona, Index