“Rome knew. It didn’t know where, how, or who, but it knew.”
We heed the author’s warning at the beginning of the text: this is a book that, while drawing inspiration from true events, tells a fictional story. The connection to true history concerns the March 1944 attack on Via Rasella and the subsequent massacre at the Fosse Ardeatine; while the fictional stories are those of the various characters who, following parallel paths, will vicariously experience the days before and after the historical events.
This is one of the most debated periods of the Resistance: what was the need for such a demonstrative action? Was it political recognition from the Allies about to enter the city? Was it the need to undertake any military action? Was it the need to do one’s part against the Germans in one way or another?
Romeo incorporates this debate into the story, embracing various theories (actually leaning more toward some than others), and perhaps this is where the initial warning we mentioned above comes from. Judging historical facts with hindsight is always a mistake, and this book helps us reflect on certain issues, which, however, should be explored through historical research.
The story unfolds between the lives of a group of children torn between the dreams of their age and the cruelty of war, a group of partisans, a suburban priest, and Nazi-Fascist leaders. Each with their own daily lives under the Roman sky.
Very well written, it flows easily. A wise and mature style, an aspect that is increasingly rare in contemporary literature. For our personal taste, given the themes addressed, we would have preferred a writing style with the syntax and vocabulary of the period, making it a historical novel with just the right amount of dust in the words of the various protagonists.
A final thought goes to Piero Zuccheretti, the thirteen-year-old boy who was the victim of the Via Rasella attack simply because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. We believe this is one of the real motivations that drove the author to tell this story. In its own way it is a book of memory, and for this reason we recommend reading it.
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Carlo Romeo, Il muro e il silenzio, Arcadia, Roma, 2025