Salvator Gotta’s Life and Rediscovery of His Literary Legacy

“Of the ‘beautiful’ places in Italy, Sirmione was the only one I didn’t know. I had often passed by it, traveling along the road from Brescia to Verona, along Lake Garda; I had glimpsed, in passing, the strip of land that extends into the lake between Desenzano and Peschiera; I knew of it by reputation and also from literary memories—the Peninsularum Sirmio… sung by Catullus…”. This is the beginning of a chapter—told by the protagonist—almost at the start of “Due donne a Sirmione,” a book published in two editions by Mondadori: in 1960 and 1961. On the author, the back cover reads: …perhaps the most renowned writer among living Italian writers… Perhaps. Not knowing him was almost impossible. Today, however, when people pronounce his name, they curl their lips and write a blushing “never heard of him.” Yet Salvator Gotta, who died twenty years ago, holds a place in 20th-century literature, and now, here’s the news, efforts are underway (by editors and “appropriate” salons) to dust off his reputation. It is noted that, after Giovanni Guareschi was rediscovered, it’s time to focus on Gotta, Fabio Tombari, Guelfo Civinini, Alfredo Panzini. Better late than never. Surely some remember them through their pages in school anthologies, and just as surely, Gotta was the most popular. His renowned “Saga dei Vela,” considered our “Gone with the Wind,” among young people, and “Il piccolo alpino,” published in 1926 and adapted into a film of the same name, starring Cesarino Barbetti who, in life, didn’t become an actor but a dubbing artist. Gotta also made it to the big screen with his comedy “La damigella di Bard” (1936), starring Emma Gramatica. That film is occasionally rebroadcast on TV. Listing all of Gotta’s works would take up too much space, but he wrote at least 300 novellas and countless journalistic essays. “Due donne,” we believe, was among his final works, which should be definitively considered “Vecchio Piemonte” (“Old Piedmont”). Born in that region, in Montalto Dora, in 1887, into a prosperous family. He graduated from Turin in law and literature, and before earning what was considered “the fateful piece of paper”—the university diploma—he began to gain entry into publishing houses. Overcoming obstacles on all fronts and maintaining his position despite political storms.

The life and works of Salvator Gotta

Some would read him gladly, and we would be pleased. Kudos to those who hope for his return to bookstores, from which he has been banished by certain ideological critics who wanted to favor their own idols (an accomplished operation). Gotta, at that time, was president of the Portofino Hotel and Resort Company; between 1950 and 1960, he moved to Sirmione every September. A vacation for him and his wife (small and quiet). A tourist who liked to stay in the shadows (a style now out of fashion, but how lasting is the notoriety of those who hold the spotlight?), he reached Desenzano by boat to attend—greeted by the mayor, a distinguished gentleman: lawyer Laini, and the tourism officials, Dr. Giorgio Foschini and secretary Aurora Perich—at the events announced at La Spiaggia d’Oro. The idea of the Catullus-inspired book, which is certainly not among his best, must have come to him during that period and allowed him to give prominence—within the lakeside scenery—to characters he knew (and we knew). One of all: the motorboat pilot Candido, mentioned multiple times and described with a detail: the “cigarette tucked into the long pipe,” which aids his memory in picturing him again. On these pages, because of his appearance, he looked like a Domenico of Elizabeth II, and we called him “the Commodore.” Now we think we remember him also as resembling an Austrian. Too late for him to receive from us the gratification of a conquering smile. Nevertheless, not to convey a fond memory of him—indeed, driven by the intentions of those who count in literature and wish to bring to Italians of the last generation the pleasure of reading the already idolized (sic transit…) Salvator Gotta.