«Il fuoco del deserto». Reading Le monache cantano by Anna Banti

Abstract

In Anna Banti's forgotten literary production, Le monache cantano represents an unknown book. The article attempts 1) to read the stories in the light of Banti's previous experience as an art historian under her real name of Lucia Lopresti and 2) to show, through Manzoni's model of Promessi sposi, their centrality for subsequent developments of Banti's narrative revolving around the theme of identity.