"Are you tired?" "A little, yes." "I'd really love to stretch my legs." "Here." "What is that light over there?" "It's Tuscany." "We have arrived, right?" "Grandfather lives around here." "Well, not really." "First, we'll get to the hotel, and then we'll go visit him." "This way, Mr. Benedetti." "Mom, what about that coat of arms?" "Come on in." "Let's go." "No, I haven't seen my father yet." "I don't know how he is." "No, no, the phthisis is gone now." "He is not in the hospital anymore." "He's staying at home now." "We are staying at the hotel for the moment." "If you need me tomorrow, you can find me here." "Did you write down the phone number?" "As for the data-conversion project, you can find everything in my study." "Yes, in case the Swedish engineers asked for it." "Therese, the secretary, she knows everything about it." "Yes, tell me." "Go take a shower." "Simona, come." "I don't know." "I hope I'll be back in Paris by the weekend." "No, I couldn't do otherwise." "My father..." "Well, he is kind of a strange guy." "And I haven't seen him in 10 years." "Wait, there is someone there." "He got himself a French wife." "She's pretty." "But he doesn't look much like his father." "Are they really the last of the Benedetti, the blessed?" "The last of the Benedetti?" "They are the last of the "Maledetti," the cursed." "And let's hope they will be the last ones for real." "Why?" "What did they do to you?" "To me?" "Nothing." "But listen to what the old men say." "Yes, sure." "If you want to believe in those fairy tales..." "Yes, it's true." "Some people, instead of Benedetti, call us the "Maledetti."" " It's because of an old legend." " What legend?" "The legend of the gold." " Oh, you gull!" " Come on, tell us!" "Before they hear it from the mouths of other people." "Right around here, two centuries ago, the Italian Army of General Napoleon Bonaparte had arrived." "The French soldiers had taken more or less our same route." "On foot, though." "But they weren't tired." "They all were very young." "They'd go up and down the valleys." "They'd walk across these woods, where they'd often be attacked by groups of mounted Tuscan noblemen." "The regiment was carrying a chest, a very important chest, full of gold coins." "And this chest was entrusted to a young lieutenant, whose name was Jean." "Was he handsome, Jean?" "Yes, he was handsome." "And his mind was full of dreams, of high ideals, of the dreams of the French Revolution." "And of his young age, of love, friendship, and justice." "He'd think about the future world, but he didn't know that his own future would be very brief." "It'd be better if my daughter stayed at home today." "Come on, Father." "Nobody is going to eat me." "How's the weather?" "Bad." "It's a beautiful day, Mother." " Corrado?" " Corrado is not here." " Again?" " He's not back yet." "Giuseppe!" " Did you see the Frenchmen?" " Yes, yes." "The Frenchmen." " Let them sing, those Frenchmen." " Sing?" "The fact is, they cut the noblemen's queues off." "And if they try to say a word, they'll probably cut off something else." "Then they should cut off yours." "Did you go on a binge last night, too?" "Father, I meant the head." "You never sleep." "How can you do it?" "The day is for the masters, but the night is mine." "You should not overturn Christ's body." "Come." "Come on." "The Tuscan noblemen!" "Not you!" "You have the gold!" "Go hide it!" "Damn it!" "Go away!" " Did you put this here?" " What?" "It is nothing." "Mr. Everardo, what are you trying to do?" "Nina." "I am dying." "I don't fancy dying on my own." "He was going to kill us." " He was going to...!" " It's over." "God Almighty." "You must be the ghost of our mule that died last year." "Hold on." "I'll loosen this up." "What kind of knots do these Frenchmen make?" "Let's go." "Come." "Come on." "Let's go, let's go." "Like that." "Mother!" "Where did you get it?" "The Frenchmen!" "It's theirs!" "I didn't do it on purpose!" "I didn't know!" "Now you take that chest and that mule, and you bring them back where you found them!" "Not now in the daylight, you idiot!" "Tonight." "Good Lord." "Okay, I'll take it back tonight." "But who is going to search us anyway?" "If some of those were missing..." "We'd just need a few." "Five for Father." "Three for you." "Three for me, too." "And one for Elisabetta." "You can't even imagine all the things one could do." "Don't touch it!" "And this rag is the only one that he brought you?" "And now she will die poorer than when you were born!" "I can't go back home with this thing." " You have a fever." " I feel hot." "Fever." "I don't think it is a fever." "No!" "Where are you?" "Corrado!" "Go home!" "How do you know?" "Know what?" "Go!" "Who told you?" "Who?" "What are you talking about?" "Go!" "Go!" "Your father is coming!" "Elisabetta!" "What happened?" "If you and your mother married a farmer, no one said that I have to marry a farmer, too." " What?" " I will marry a soldier." "You have a fever." "Get up." "Do you have a better party for me?" "You have a dowry for your daughter?" "There, there." "Mother?" "You leave me alone?" "Listen to me." "Down at the lake, someone stole the regiment's chest." "The lieutenant was supposed to guard it, but he was distracted by one of your fair ladies." "The military law states that if by tomorrow morning at dawn the chest isn't returned, he will be shot." "Help him." "Help Lieutenant Jean!" "We'll leave him here." "To you." "In your square." "So that you can have him all night under your eyes." "This lieutenant is a good soldier." "He won't run away." "Let's go!" "Look at him." "He could be one of our kids." "Hold it." "Where are you all going?" "I have something to say." "I..." "I mean..." "That stuff, that gold will only bring misery to whoever stole it." "Where are you all going?" "Benedetti!" "I'll hold them for you." "You stay here." " Speak." " Me?" "What am I supposed to say?" "No, no." "I say that I love this town too much." "Since the times of my grandfathers and great-grandfathers, it has always been a place of honest people." "And here, right in this house..." "I won't forget it." "There slept our host, Father Dante, when they threw him out of Florence." "And now, did you hear him?" "Tomorrow morning something bad might happen." "I mean, certain stains that you cannot wash away even with a hundred waters." "Don't worry, my son." "Don't think we are cruel." "If you see doors and windows being shut, it's not to insult you." "This way, he who will have mended his ways and who will bring back the gold and the mule won't be recognized by anyone." "Will he come, mister?" "What?" "Will he come?" "He will come, won't he?" "You were great, Duilio." "Don't close now, Corinna." "Give me a drink." "My legs are still trembling." "I am not used to speeches." "Wine?" "Who are you?" "That wine..." "Two liters have really got me." "Nobody saw him." "Think about Elisabetta!" " Elisabetta has a fever." " What?" "Our daughter." "Go!" "What are you looking at?" "Don't you know that shit brings good luck?" "Who are you?" "I won't look at you." "I don't want to see your face." "I don't want to know who you are." "Come, come." "Thank you, mister." "No, no, no!" "Go away!" "Go away!" "What have they done to you?" "What have they done to you?" "Jean!" "Duilio." "I am washing away the hangover." "Then I'll go there, and I'll kill him." "You are a good man, Duilio." "But you can also be a fool." "If you kill that Frenchman, there will be shame for your daughter and jail for you." "And ruin for your family." "If it's right that the Frenchman dies..." "I might be a coward, but don't die." "Michel, my vest." "Elisabetta." "Thank you, my friend." "Jean, the mule, the mule!" "Hey, Frenchman." "Would you like some ricotta?" "Go away." "Go away!" "Ready!" "Set!" "Fire!" ""Dear Elisabetta..." "I am taking advantage of the light of the sunset to write you a letter." "Maybe later, in the dark of the night, it might happen that I will scream and cry, but I hope I won't." "But I can't understand death." "The first instant I saw you I loved you." "It happens sometimes, and it happened to us." "I would have liked to tell you about my sudden love for freedom, which took me as far as here, in your Tuscany." "I would have liked to tell you about my desire to live in the New World, where everything changes." "Rules that sound eternal get undone." "The estates of the various masters get undone." "Friends make new friends." "And lovers bind themselves together, like us." "Today, it is the seventh day of the month of Fiorile." "That is what my revolution is called, 'The Month of Springtime.'" "I hug you tenderly, my Elisabetta, my Fiorile."" "What have you two done to me?" "What are you doing?" "Stop it!" "Don't be like this!" "I can't see you like this!" "No!" "I swear I will make you happy!" " I swear I will make you happy!" " No!" "Swear that you will have no peace until the man who had him die is found." "Swear to me!" "You all have to swear to me!" "Elisabetta never managed to take revenge." "She died giving birth to a child in the faraway town where the family had taken refuge." "But it was after 100 years, the legend says..." "Remember that this is a legend." "...that one of Elisabetta's descendants took revenge on her behalf." " What was her name?" " Elisa, and it was she who..." "Wait, Dad, stop!" "Mom, I have to pee." "Of course now." "Don't go on, Dad!" "I want to hear how the story ends!" " I'll tell it to you!" " No!" "Mom, watch Dad!" "I'll watch these two." "So, Dad?" "What did they do with all those gold coins?" "They bought everything you see." "The sons of the sons of the Benedetti." "When they came back to this area." "Up until down there." " Simona, can you hear me?" " Yes!" "Oh, they also bought the hotel where we are staying." "It was the most beautiful villa in the area." " They used to live there." " Come on, wait for her." "Just wait." "Look what I've found, Mom!" "Come closer." "Like Fiorile." "Where was I, kids?" "Elisa, who made revenge." "Elisa had two brothers, Alessandro and Renzo." "For Alessandro, the elder brother, it wasn't enough to be rich." "That gold was cursed, remember this." "And wealth is a hunger you can't satisfy." "Alessandro also wanted to govern." "He wanted to be elected deputy." "He wanted to go to Rome." "Everything began on a summer night in 1903." "On the eve of his campaign, Alessandro gave a big dinner party, like they used to do during the Medici's times, for the most influential families of the area." "He had to amaze them, to astonish them." "He was sure he could do it." "But Elisa, his sister, hid a secret from him." "The villa was all lit." " An orchestra was playing." " At full volume?" "Well, more or less." "Like a rock concert?" "My dear Alessandro, how shall we go on without you in this wild village, when you will be in Rome?" "The problem is getting to Rome." "We must win the elections first." "You'll get there." "They need new people down there." "What's the matter, Elisa?" "You are pale." "Am I ugly?" "No." "You are..." "I know." "I am to be eaten tonight." "Yes, I feel in very good form, too." "However, I don't." "That's Francesco." "Treat him well, please." " Welcome, Francesco." " Thank you." " Did you read my letter?" " What letter?" "The last one." "You make me neglect the other guests." "You look beautiful." "Alessandro!" "To Rome, then, Benedetti." "But..." "Did she call us Benedetti or "Maledetti"?" "Again?" "Did you take your medicine tonight?" "Even tonight?" "I thought..." "No, it is exactly tonight that you have to take it." "Do it now!" "Oh, yes." "You came?" " Are you ill?" " Yes, yes." "I feel ill all over." "But I feel good all over since I started loving you." "And I can't stand to look at myself with these women's clothes on!" "It was the only way to have you here tonight." "And try to act well, my love." "The party has to be successful." "I don't give a damn about the party!" "No." "These people have come here for Alessandro." "They have to send him to Rome." "And when my brother will be in Rome, you and I will..." "Renzo?" "Elisa, I was looking for my medicine." "Here, here." " You are on my side, aren't you?" " Who, me?" "Yes." "You won't say anything." "You will keep the secret to yourself." "No." "I mean, yes." "I mean, I understood." "I mustn't tell Alessandro." "But with that guy?" "Idiot!" " Does he worry you?" " No, just a little." "Even if he tells Alessandro, who do you think is going to believe such an idiot?" "Don't you ever call him an idiot!" "Forgive me." "We must find Laura." "You go ahead." "Watch out!" "What?" "You forgot the wig." "Oh, God." "I look funny, don't I?" "You are pretty." "I am a male." "I am a male." " Renzo?" " Yes?" "How come the ladies are men?" "Because Elisa said that at the court of the Medici, the women's roles were played by men." "Excuse me." "Gina is upstairs in your study with her son." "She would like to salute you." "Alessandro, I have to tell you something." "Sorry, I have to meet guests upstairs in my study." "Have the guests move in the library." "Me?" " What am I supposed to tell them?" " Show them the antique books." "If you have any problems, ask Elisa to give you a hand." " It's exactly about Elisa that I..." " Go!" "You shouldn't have come here to the villa." "Mr. Alessandro, how could we leave for America without saying good-bye?" "The farmer gave us the rest of the papers and money today." "Damn it, it's tomorrow." "I know, I know." "Tomorrow morning." "Everyone?" "Everyone, I guarantee." "Everyone." " Good luck." " Thank you." "No, no." "The only way to thank me is to leave as soon as you can." "And don't let Elisa see you." "She hasn't seen us, right?" " Which one is Elio?" " The one with the black threads." "Shag her, my son." "Shag her, at least for this night." "Alessandro!" "What's the matter?" "How come you are here?" "What about you?" "Are you worried?" "Just relax." "Everything will be fine." "Yes." "I hope it will all be all right." "For everyone." "It will be fine." "The one of you Dressed in green" "May she set her little sparrow Free from the birdcage" "To let her freely sing" "Opening the small gate wide" "May she then let her meet The little bird" "That hops as lost in the snow" "So that she may tenderly warm him" "Leading him straight Toward the spring water" "Leading him straight Toward the spring water" "What a cheeky young man." " They are coming to arrest us." " What are you talking about?" "Shut up." "Just shut up." "We haven't done anything." "That's all humbug, the things they say." "Plus, it's all stories that go back 100 years." "Calm down, calm down." "I apologize." "My little brother was overcome by emotion, as you just saw." "We received a message from Rome." "It's from the Minister Grand Chevalier Morziani." "It's a well-wishing message." "I cut a sorry figure." ""I have learned with rejoicing spirit about your intention to run for the Parliament of the Kingdom." "Our beloved Tuscany needs to be represented by men like you, new, enterprising men, who intend to devote their energies in the service of the country." "I'll see you soon in Rome."" " To Rome!" " To Rome!" "To Rome!" "To Rome." "To Rome." "To Rome." "To Rome." "To Rome." "To Rome." "I promised you a Medicean dinner." "Now, as Lorenzo, as the Medici did, tonight I will eat without cutlery." "With my hands." "And I invite you all to do the same." "Wait!" "Come on, there's no time, Elisa!" "Easy now." " How long before your family leaves?" " Less than three hours left." "Give me a hand." " I liked the Medici's verse." " Nice, wasn't it?" "But it wasn't Lorenzo's verse." "I made it up." " As soon as I saw you walk in." " Really?" "How did your verse go?" "May she set her little sparrow Free from the birdcage" "To let her freely sing" "The little sparrow wants to freely sing." "May she then let her meet the little bird so that she may warm him tenderly." "You see?" "He's trying to remind me." "I have to go, Elisa." "You don't want me to become cruel because of love, do you?" "No, no." "But come back early tomorrow morning, Elio." "I am like your dog." "I can't live away from you." " Come on, hurry up!" "Come on!" " Is this the time to show up?" "Don't you know that tomorrow we have to be in Genova?" "There was the party." "It's not my fault." "Be ready in a minute." "There's no time." "Get ready?" "For what?" " You are coming with us." " Me?" " It's Master Alessandro's decision." " Aren't you happy?" "We'll be hugging our father in Buenos Aires within a month." "What is it that Alessandro decided?" "Everyone or no one." "This is the deal." "He is paying for our trip." "And you are part of the family, too." "And please, Elio, don't tell anyone, okay?" "No one has to know about it until we get there." "I can't." "Go to your mother." "Go, go." "Take this for the trip." "But I can't." "You know it, because..." "I know." "And Alessandro knows it, too." "He is a good man." "At first, he said it was okay." "And then he said it was enough." "It's the right thing." "Go away, or I'll strangle you!" "Help me!" "And me?" "Who is going to help me?" "Look up at me." "You are my son." "But you are also a man." "Look at me." "Look at me like your father will when he'll see us arrive." "Ten years is a long time." "I was young then." "No, you must look at me!" "You will write her from there." "You will explain it." "You'll see that one day..." "I don't want to get old like you." "I won't wait." "I am staying here with Elisa." "Lido!" "Renato!" "At least let me speak to her." "Mother, we are ready." "The furnishing for the study, shall we ship it next week to Rome?" "Yes, yes." "Next week." "There's no hurry." "Aren't you a little grown-up to still be playing marbles?" "I am bored." "Deputy." "Idiot." " Massimo!" " Yes, sir." "Pack for my brothers, too." "I can't stand to see you like this." "I am taking you both to Rome with me." " To Rome?" "Really?" " Get ready." "You look good dressed like this, Alessandro." "You are very elegant." "Come away from these windows." " I won't leave you here on your own." " You're not abandoning anyone." "Elisa, you have to forget him." "Do you think it is possible to forget whom you hate?" "Anyway, even if you wanted to, Elisa, you couldn't have possibly followed him." "You are afraid of the sea." "It's true!" "You can't even swim!" "But it's easy, you know?" "Look, Elisa." "That's how you do it." "You can always practice in your room, like I do." "But I am pregnant." "Tell me what I am supposed to do." "I don't know." "Deputy?" "Out!" " I just wanted to show you..." " Later, later." "Later." " Who knows about this?" " No one." "Listen." "You can't keep it." "It wouldn't be right." " Neither for you, nor for him." " And for you neither, Alessandro." "Exactly." "We'll go to Rome in a few days." "What do you think, Renzo, if all three of us, like we used to when we were kids, went on a trip in a calash?" " Where to?" " To Volterra!" "In Volterra, there is a woman who will fix everything." "The air sizzles wherever you go" "A flower blossoms at your every step" "The air sizzles wherever you go" "A flower blossoms at your every step" "But if we all don't sing, it's no fun." "What was in the flower you gave me?" "Maybe a potion, an arcane power?" "When I touched it, my heart..." "Would you like some fresh milk?" "The air sizzles wherever you go" "Look, there are mushrooms!" "Why don't we eat here?" "Throw it away." "It's poisonous." "You and I will go looking for the good ones, Elisa, while Alessandro gathers some wood." "Is that okay?" "Is that okay, Alessandro?" "As long as you smile a little, I am fine." "What?" "What's the matter?" "He moved." "Touch it." "Would you like to keep it?" "He would betray me like his father." "Don't cry, Elisa." "Don't cry." "He..." "Elio, he didn't betray you." "It was us." "What do you mean "us"?" "What was in the flower you gave me?" "Maybe a potion, an arcane power?" "We..." "We knew everything." "Alessandro forced the family to leave and gave him no choice." "If they hadn't taken him with them, he wouldn't have paid for their trip." "Really, you didn't get that?" "No, I did not." "But you are afraid of the sea!" "And you can't even swim!" "Here he comes." "Please, don't tell him that I told you, or he'll kill me." "Come, help me carry the wood." "You see, you remember that song." "You guys eat." "I'll go get the milk from those farmers." " We'll stop by them with the calash." " No." "I need to take a walk." "Renzo!" "Escort me." "Let me eat first." "I am hungry." "I will." "No!" "Not you." "Don't leave him alone." "Down in the woods, by the lake, you'll find my dying brothers." "Elisa wanted to overcome her fear of water so as to be able to cross the ocean and join Elio." "But she never joined him." "Elisa Benedetti." "Alessandro." "Let's leave." "I don't like this." "Dad!" "And the baby she kept in her belly?" "The baby became the only heir of a great fortune." "But the people of those lands, instead of calling them lands of the Benedetti, called them lands of the "Maledetti."" "Stupid idiots." "But Elisa's son didn't really care." "He was only interested in horses, pretty women, and the casino." "Come on, get in the car." " I wouldn't call him a fool." " He must have been an odious person." " I'll drive." " Okay." "Anyway, the story of the gold coins made no difference to him." "But it was his son Massimo, who ever since his childhood was really troubled by it." "They say that one time, when he was only nine years old, one day he had come here to the graveyard on his bike." "Massimo!" "Massimo!" "Massimo!" "Massimo Benedetti!" "Little Massimo!" "Come and see!" "Come!" "Come!" " Come!" " Where?" "This way, come." "Over there, where your family name is." "Something happened." "Something bad." "Cursed." "The cursed ones!" " Little Massimo!" " Little cursed one!" "Little cursed one!" "Don't you know, you half-wit, that Mom and Dad have left?" "You don't remember that?" "You went for a bike ride again." "Where have you been?" "You can't speak?" "It's no use." "This time it's my fault." "I scared you." "Was it those brats again?" "Let's go wash your hands." "Come on." "You don't have to listen to them." "The stories they tell are made up." "They are fairy tales." "The gold coins, Fiorile, Grandma Elisa's madness, the poisonous mushrooms, nothing is true." "And even if it was, you are what you are." "You are Massimo Benedetti." "And you are a good boy." "Actually, you are like Jean, the French soldier." "Good and innocent." "That's where you come from, from the good part of your blood." "And when you're grown-up, I am sure you'll be just like him." "Handsome like him." "Brave." "And honest like him." "Understood?" "Hey!" "Even if you lost your tongue, you still have your ears." "Did you hear what I told you or not?" "Help me." "Help me, Jean." "I am here, Massimo." "Play." "UNIVERSITY OF FLORENCE" "DEPARTMENT OF LITERATURE AND PHILOSOPHY" "ACADEMIC YEAR 1943 - 44" "The French Army in the Tuscan countryside during the years 1797-1799" "Degree thesis by:" "Massimo Benedetti" "The meaning of the words "freedom, equality, brotherhood,"" "written on the French flags, and here the sources agree, was well-understood by the "queue" part of the nobility, that were worried about their lands." "A reaction different from those of the peasant population, that the Army would meet around the countryside." "Reactions of astonishment, of interest, but of wariness, too." "What do you mean by "the 'queue' part of the nobility"?" "I mean that it was not a large and widespread phenomenon." "How is he doing?" "Great." "You are crazy to show up here." "He told me that he forbade you." "I felt like seeing him." "And I am only staying for a second." "But don't tell him that I came here." "I have no time to worry about Massimo." "Did you forget that I also have my examination right after?" "He is really good." "He is handsome." "The opposition to Napoleon's army was just an isolated incident." "Massimo Benedetti." "Did you know that my grandfather happened to be one of the great electors of an ancestor of yours?" "I think that this ancestor ended up a victim of misfortune." "I think he was called..." "Alessandro Benedetti." "My grandmother's brother." "An interesting work." "Well-written, very well-documented." "But, if I may say so, a little..." "How could I say this?" "Partisan." "Yes, right." "Partisan." "Why partisan?" "It's a bit too pro-French." "Come on, Benedetti." "This French Army, to our poor Tuscan peasants..." "What did they bring them?" "Just chattering, nice words?" "Or..." "Have you found that any family got rich while the Army was passing by?" "We..." "Speak." "Speak." "Please, Massimo, speak!" "Relax, Benedetti." "Your work, in many ways, is quite remarkable." "Why the fuss?" "You are not feeling well?" "No, I..." "If I..." "The alarm!" "The session is adjourned!" "Everyone rush to the shelters!" "You too, Benedetti." "Come, Massimo!" "There's a shelter here!" "Come!" "You must not cry for me!" "Why did you come here?" "I am not crying for you." "You are speaking again." "What do you mean, "I am not crying for you"?" "Whom are you crying for?" "I will die of fear if you force me to stay here under the bombs." "Where is this shelter?" "Over there." "It's difficult to love someone like me." " Wait!" " What?" "Many of us love you." "They told me to give you this book." "Is it for me?" "They said it's okay." "That you are okay." "Thank you." "And do I have to read it soon, this book?" "Tomorrow." "If they had seen me in the lecture hall, they wouldn't trust me that much." "Do I really have to kill him?" "He has no influence." "I'll say if he has." "Last week, in Sant'Angelo, he turned in two Jewish families." "Plus, if this house and your name give you so many troubles, at least this time it will be of some use, right?" "That tattletale always takes the same route." "Always at the same hour and always alone." "You just ask him for a lift, then you get in the car and take out your revolver." "But you just have to take him to the hills." "The others will take care of the rest." "He'll be put on trial." "I'd like to come with you, but tomorrow I have to take a message to town." "Actually, I have to leave now." "Come on, you can do it on your own." "That guy trusts you." "He'll never think that a Benedetti..." "Are you listening to me?" "No." "So what are you thinking about?" "I was thinking that I'd like to make love to you." "And sleep with you all night long." "Tonight." "He is Jean." "I told you about him." "The young French soldier loved by Fiorile." "Jean is the good part of my blood." "Like Alfredina said." "When I was a kid, he'd often come visit me." "He comforted me when I was sad or when I was afraid." "Basically, nearly all the time." " Now he doesn't show up anymore." " Maybe he is mad at you." "No, maybe it is because now there is you." "And I don't need him anymore." "What are you waiting for?" "Why?" "Don't you know that it's been three months since the last bus stopped here?" "Yes, I know, I know." "My bike broke." "I need a ride." "Give me a hand." "Give it to me." " Hey, young boy!" " What?" "Thank you." "Have a nice day." ""Chiara, my love, my Fiorile." "I haven't heard from you for many days." "I don't even know whether you are alive or dead." "I am alive." "Just for a short while, maybe." "I'm writing you like many years ago Jean wrote his Fiorile." "If they were to decide to shoot me, I will die for the same ideals for which he came down here from his Provence." "I am thinking about you." "Yet I am not able to think about your courage." "But I think with tenderness about your fear of the bombs." "About my own fear now as someone is maybe getting ready to make me die." "Jean was afraid, too." "And what happened that day was unfair, too." "His sacrifice, Fiorile's grief, and the gold." "The cursed gold you have been mocking me about so many times." "I leave these few lines upon my body if this is to be the last place of my life." "The women and men who are waiting around here will have mercy." "A woman promised me." "They will have mercy on me, too, even if they do not know me, and even if I was not one of them." "But now I am one of them. "" "Try now." "What shall we do?" "Shoot them." "Captain, the letter says we must spare one." "You know it." "There is a Benedetti, an important family..." "Which one is it?" "These guys refused to give their names." "Even beating them up won't do." "Too bad for them." "Let's go." "Lieutenant, if we can save one, I would give it a try." "I know a way to recognize amid those scoundrels who Benedetti is." "And how?" "Get up!" "Come on, get up!" "Are they really going to kill us?" "Turn around!" "Come on, turn!" "This is outrageous." "It is outrageous." "They are really killing us." "It is outrageous." "Your hands." "Show me your hands." "Yes, your hands." "Like that." "Your hands." "Your hands." "Your hands." "Your hands." "The fifth on the right!" "Out!" "Hey, Massimo Benedetti, come here!" " Out of the way!" " No!" "Hey, my name is Gino Gabrielli." "When the war is over, don't forget about me, all right?" "Come on!" "Aren't you happy?" "I am." "Go, Benedetti." " Come on!" "Let's go!" "Let's go!" " And be thankful for your name." "You are Massimo Benedetti." "You are Massimo Benedetti." "I know you, young man." "I know you." "But you, they didn't kill you, Benedetti!" "They didn't kill you!" "Benedetti, they didn't kill you!" "They didn't kill you!" "For many days, Massimo wandered about the countryside." "When he appeared again, the war was over." "But he had changed." "He decided to get rid of his lands, leaving them in the hands of some incompetent administrators or rascals, I don't know." "He shut himself up in a clinic." "He thought he had gone insane." "But was he insane?" "No." "He was just filled with sorrow." "And your mom?" "Our grandma?" "Your grandmother went from prison to prison." "She was brought to Nantes and died under the bombs just a few days after having given birth to your dad." "But your grandfather was fixated on the gold's curse." "And he decided that Luigi was to live away from him." "That's why I grew up and studied in France." "And your grandpa, since he came out of the madhouse, has been living there, in the house of Corrado and Fiorile." "But what does he do for a living?" "He lives off the last gold coins left." "The people believe that he keeps them hidden somewhere." "Really?" "No." "He lives off what the field gives him, what he grows." "But look at your grandfather." "Isn't he beautiful?" "Dad, we came to see you." "Why did you bring them here?" "You ought not to." "Say hello to Grandpa." "Dad, I hope you don't still believe in that curse nonsense." "They are eight and nine years old." "You don't even know them." "Corrado." "Elisabetta." "Go on, introduce yourselves." "Tell him your names." "Emilio." "I recognize you." "Simona." "Yes, it's you." "You shouldn't have brought them here." "My friend, you have been sick." "And you need us." "My friend." "Your accent is so sweet." "You are not capable of fooling me." "How is your heart, Dad?" "The ants have been leaving me alone for a few days now." "What do you mean, "the ants"?" "Yes." "At every attack, when I open my hand, there are ants crawling up my arm, until they reach my heart." "Go in and use the rooms at the very back." "I want to find a table that has been set." "I am going to the woods." "I'll be back in a short while." "This cutlery is not matching." "This is nice." "Is it gold?" "No." "It must be brass." ""Yellow, glittering, precious gold." "This yellow slave will sew and tear every faith." "It will bless the cursed one." "And it will make one worship the livid leprosy. "" " Up there!" "There's Jean!" " Stupid, what are you talking about?" "I saw him!" "It's Jean!" "Emilio!" "No." "It's not Jean." "Can't you see?" "It is Jean's puppet." "It's cloth." "Don't be scared." "I'm not scared." "So here you two are." "Come on, let's go eat." " Wait." "Behave yourself." " But I'm hungry." "To apologize for my rude welcoming, I prepared these." "I picked them up in the woods, just for you." "I can't eat them." "The doctor prohibited it." "Oh, God, the mushrooms." "Oh, my God." "Dad, they are beautiful." "So, what are you waiting for?" "Come on, eat." " Honestly, I'm not hungry." " Me neither." "All right." "We'll eat them all, then." "Better for us." "Mom, I'm sleepy." "Can you take me to bed?" "Later." "Let's eat now." "Mom, no!" "Don't eat them." "I can see that you know everything." "Legends spread all over the world." "And you, you poor kids, you pay for it." "Look, would you be more comfortable if I ate some, too?" "Anyway, you are right." "Legends are not legends." "Legends are true." "It's my fault, Dad." "I told them all those old stories, and I scared them." "I was wrong." "Yes." "That's too bad." "I should have told them that in this legend, the gold has won." "But we also told them about Jean." "Jean?" "He ended up in the attic." "Dead and buried." "Listen, Dad." "You can't stay in this house on your own anymore." "You have been sick." "We..." "We were thinking that you could come live with us in Paris." "And we can come here in the summer." "What do you think?" "Maybe we could renovate everything." "We could put a swimming pool outside for the kids." "Tomorrow morning I want you to leave." "I don't want to see those two in this house anymore." "You can't sleep, either?" "I don't know." "The countryside." "And the kids in this house." "And your dad up there." "Actually, I feel good here." "I wonder." "Maybe it's because this is home." "Little ant, little ant" "In the evening and in the morning" "I can't remember it." "How did it go?" "Only you are close to me." "We can go now." "Poor Jean." "The hat, look under the hat." "Maybe he's got an empty head." "Inside." "No, he hasn't got an empty head." "It's you." "It's made of wood inside." "Then the last gold coins must be in here, of course." "Inside here." "Take that!" "The hat!" "I must be really sick, then." "Hold it." "Don't move." "He's crazy." "You are making me fall down." "If he finds us, he'll kill us." "No." "I am not raving." "You said something." "I know what you want to tell me." "You don't say it because you are a good guy." "But you want to blame me for the things that I said tonight at dinner." "I had buried you." "But you came back." "How could I doubt it?" "Forgive me." "How could I forget the words that you, gentle warrior, were able to find for the woman you loved and that you called Fiorile?" "No, I haven't forgotten them." "It's just that I had no one to tell them to." "I feel sad for you, too, Jean." "You had come from so far away to throw the seeds of a big plant." "But you threw it away in a poor earthenware vase." "Small." "Like I am." "The roots have grown, they got entangled and the vase has shattered." "Oh, Jean!" "Jean!" "Oh, Jean!" "Enough!" "Enough!" "Let's go away!" "Let's go away!" "If it's painful for you, let's not sell the house." "Let's just leave it there, empty." "I don't want to ever go back there." "If they want to when they are adults, they will sell it." "They're quiet."