Saturday 1st July 2023 "La Spada di Manfredi" (Manfredi's Sword, (Marlin Editore) by Francesco Nobile, obtained second place in the Fiction section of the National and International Literary Award "L'iguana - Anna Maria Ortese" 2023.
The extraordinary story of Frederick II of Swabia's favourite son. Destined to be a falconer, Manfredi became the beacon of Sicily's Kingdom.
The book:
Parma,1248: Near the camp named Victory, Frederick II suffers the most bitter loss of his life: the Empire's defeat by means of the northern municipalities united by the skillfull plots of Pope Innocent IV, sworn enemy of the Swabian dynasty.
The plan of annexing Italy to the Kingdom of Sicily seems to fade, but something has been saved from among the ruins of the camp, a powerful secret that keeps the hopes of the Ghibellines alive. It will be up to Frederick's favorite son to collect the legacy of his fading cosmopolitan dynasty: Manfredi, a friend of Islam and a lover of poetry and science. A great challenge, which will lead him to abandon his falconier role and take up sword and shield against the enemies of his family.
For an unknown design of destiny it will be up to him, rather than to the throne's heir Conrad, to gird the crown of the most advanced Kingdom that the Middle Ages have known. Between Norman knights, Byzantine mosaics and Oriental dancers, this novel unfolds the threads of an unprecedented south, Mediterranean's crossroad and cornerstone of a nascent hope.
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