“Il Teschio Velato” (The Veiled Skull) was unveiled in Naples at the Church Museum of Santa Luciella ai Librai. It is the world’s first MAG novel, a unique and previously unseen literary project. The book is a novel “accompanied” by a magazine – available as a free download here – created specifically to explore the story’s themes in greater depth and to support the narrative. A project of this kind has never been done before.
The work is a tribute to the 2,500th anniversary of the city of Naples. Conceived by Michele Pilla and Eros Santoro and published by Edizioni MEA, the project creates a cultural bridge between Naples and North America.
Santa Luciella itself is one of the places that preserves the cult of the dead and of the anime pezzentelle, a central theme of the novel. In the church’s underground space, numerous capuzzelle are kept – skulls that Neapolitans still venerate today and to which they address prayers and requests for grace, as vividly described in the pages of “Il Teschio Velato.”
As a result, “Il Teschio Velato” is not just a novel or a magazine, but a true journey into a mysterious and shadowy Naples that is also maternal and welcoming – an ancient guardian of centuries-old secrets. It presents a version of the city that is almost unknown and rarely explored outside Naples itself and beyond Italy’s borders.
Naples is not the only setting, however. The starting point of this adventure is New York City, the global metropolis that over the years has welcomed – and continues to welcome – large numbers of Neapolitans. The story then moves to the town of Naples in upstate New York, where there is a church dedicated to Saint Gennaro. This extraordinary coincidence is unique in the world. For this reason, the authors are planning a cultural twinning between the two cities as part of the literary project.
The novel is available in bookstores throughout Italy and through online retailers. The preface was written by iconic Neapolitan artist Lello Arena, who also appears as a character in the novel.
Free magazine download: www.ilteschiovelato.it/magazine
Official website: www.ilteschiovelato.it
