In 2009, a statue of Inspector Montalbano, commissioned by the then-mayor, was placed in the centrally located Via Roma in Porto Empedocle. It does not resemble the Montalbano depicted in the TV series, picturing him with his hand on a lamppost, wrinkles and a full head of hair, as described in Camilleri’s books. [1]
Prolific author of the Inspector Montalbano detective novels, Andrea Camilleri was born on 6 September 1925, in Porto Empedocle, Sicily. Growing up during the fascist era under Mussolini, he was deeply influenced by his early environment. Developing an early passion for literature, he was particularly interested in the works of fellow Sicilian Luigi Pirandello.
Camilleri did not complete his degree at the University of Palermo. Instead, he moved to Rome in the late 1940s to study stage direction at the Silvio d’Amico Academy of Dramatic Arts. There, he worked in theatre and television. Despite success in this field, he continued to write fiction privately.
His first novel, Il Corso Delle Cose (“The Way Things Go”), was published in 1978. This was followed by Un Filo di Fumo (“A Thread of Smoke”) in 1980. Neither of these works were popular.
It wasn’t until the 1990s that achieved success with La forma dell’acqua (The Shape of Water), the first novel in his Inspector Montalbano series. Published in 1994, it introduced readers to the iconic Sicilian detective, blending crime, political critique, and rich cultural detail. The Montalbano series would become a global success, cementing Camilleri as one of Italy’s most beloved authors.
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