“A novel full of secrets, mysteries and twists. Irony is the loaded gun in Veltroni’s hands.” La Stampa
“A swift, sharp novel.” Corriere della Sera
“Veltroni leads the story with a light hand and an amused spirit, and he moves between cinema and literature with gusto.” Il Messaggero
An ironic and compelling novel that’s also a love letter to Rome and its most beautiful park.
Villa Borghese – a huge park in the center of Rome, bigger than Vatican City – is one of the most enchanting places in the world. It also has another feature that makes it unique: it’s the largest cultural park on the planet. There are charming restaurants like Casina Valadier and delightful bars like Giardino del Lago. And then the thousands of plants, the waterways and the many animal species. A whole universe. Fascinating and mysterious.
Suddenly the authorities decide to open a police station in the park. “To do what,” the police chief says, “arrest the blackbirds?”
For the new office they summon a team of not too brilliant policemen. Like the magnificent seven, only magnificently inept. To guide them, a disgraced, police officer.
One day, however, the tranquility of the park is interrupted by a shout. And nothing will ever be the same at Villa Borghese.
Walter Veltroni
Walter Veltroni has been editor-in-chief of l’Unità, deputy Prime Minister, mayor of Rome, secretary of the Democratic Party and he ran for president in 2008. He is the author of Noi (2009), Quando cade l’acrobata, entrano i clown (2010), L’inizio del buio (2011), L’isola e le rose (2012), E se noi domani (2013), Quando c’era Berlinguer (2014), which also became a movie he directed, Ciao (2015), Quando (2017), Il sogno spezzato (1993; 2018), La sfida interrotta (1994; 2019), Roma. Storie per ritrovare la mia città (2019), Assassinio a Villa Borghese (2019), Odiare l’odio (2020), Buonvino e il caso del bambino scomparso (2020), Labirinto italiano (2020), Tana libera tutti (2021), Il caso Moro e la Prima Repubblica (2021), C’è un cadavere al Bioparco (2021). His most recent book is La scelta (2022). He also directed I bambini sanno (2015), Gli occhi cambiano (2016), Indizi di felicità (2017), Tutto davanti a questi occhi (2018), C’è tempo (2019), Fabrizio De André e PFM. Il concerto ritrovato (2020).
- Buonvino tra amore e morte (Buonvino between Love and Death)
- C’è un cadavere al Bioparco (There is a corpse at the Bioparco)
- Buonvino e il caso del bambino scomparso (Buonvino and the Case of the Missing Child)
- Odiare l’odio (Hating Hatred)
- Assassinio a Villa Borghese (Murder at Villa Borghese)
Assassinio a Villa Borghese, a selected press review (PDF)
Video
Walter Veltroni on Che tempo che fa
“A novel full of secrets, mysteries and twists. Irony is the loaded gun in Veltroni’s hands.” La Stampa
“A swift, sharp novel.” Corriere della Sera
“Veltroni leads the story with a light hand and an amused spirit, and he moves between cinema and literature with gusto.” Il Messaggero