Il cortile delle sette fate

“Some stories begin like this, with two characters who, instead of meeting, run in two different directions.” Arte is a cat in her third life. She didn’t choose to be reborn in the Palermo of 1586, which until the Caracciolo reform was home to the Tribunal of the Holy Inquisition, but now she’s there. And there runs Carmen too, a wild little girl who grew up in the woods. But Palermo holds a secret. In a square, sheltered by the water tower, six women, six fairies, dance to bewitching songs. So Carmen needs only come near the tower to be overcome by the dance of those beautiful women, fall into a deep sleep and attract the attention of the inquisitors who will arrest her. The fairies, however, will be ready to help all the stray cats and wandering girls running towards freedom. A mesmerising, dark fairy tale takes shape accompanied by Simona Mulazzi’s illustrations. A powerful story of freedom and encouragement not to give up your essence to fit in with the crowd. But it’s also a metaphor for the power of female union throughout history. The choral dance of the gathered fairies becomes a symbol of dissent and resistance to evil, a resistance that often also comes from wavering, twirling and whispering and not, necessarily, aiming at the target.  

Il cortile delle sette fate
by Nadia Terranova
Guanda Editore