THE ITALIAN VERSION WAS A FINALIST IN THE EIGHTH EDITION OF THE NATIONAL LITERARY PRIZE "EQUILIBRI", "NOVEL" SECTION, 2026

In the Kingdom of Naples, between 1300 and 1400, Raimondello is the youngest son of count Orsini. His father has planned a clerical career for him, but the boy is madly in love with a girl destined to become a countess and refuses to accept a fate he does not want. He is helped by Raimondo del Balzo, his grandmother's brother and grand chamberlain of the kingdom. The great-uncle, who has no children, solves all his problems by naming him as his successor. The only condition to inherit his fortune is that Raimondello adds his benefactor's surname to his own. But things do not go according to plan, and the boy is forced to leave as a squire for the northern crusades, without even a final farewell to his beloved.
Inspired by the life of Raimondello Orsini Del Balzo, it is a story of love, friendship, betrayal, family conflicts, and adventurous battles. There is also room for incursions into the world of the teutonic knighthood and the mysteries of the Holy Grail. All this, against the historical backdrop of the dispute between two kings claiming the throne of Naples and the western Schism, with a Catholic Church governed simultaneously by two popes in conflict with each other. An ancient story but with many curious analogies with contemporary times.

"«Boy, is your name Orsini or not? It's still a bit unclear, but if that's your name, there's nothing better for you than a bear's skin to protect you from the elements», he had said as he handed him his gift. The captain was joking, but without knowing it, he had come very close to the truth, since Orsini meant «little bears» and, in heraldry, the family symbol was precisely a she-bear".

"He felt defenseless in the face of such beauty and, above all, he struggled to understand how it was possible that just the girl who instilled so much fear in him also seemed to him the only one who could give meaning to his life".

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• Literature & FictionDrama & PlaysTypeHistorical
• Literature & FictionDrama & PlaysHistorical

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