Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Le maschere

Rate this book
Roma, 1521. L'improvvisa morte di Papa Leone X getta la Curia nello scompiglio. Rinchiusi nei loro pallazzi, i Principi della Chiesa nutrono sogni ambiziosi tramano oscuri disegni di morte. Il magnifico e ironico affresco di un'epoca raffinata e crudele.

Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

42 people want to read

About the author

Luigi Malerba

99 books30 followers
Co-founder of the Gruppo 63. Luigi Malerba (born Luigi Bonardi; November 11, 1927 – May 8, 2008) was an Italian author who wrote short stories (often written with Tonino Guerra), historical novels, and screenplays, and who co-founded the Gruppo 63, based on Marxism and Structuralism. Umberto Eco said that Malerba was defined post-modern, but that's not all true, because he is maliciously ironic, unpredictable, and ambiguous. He was one of the most important exponents of the Italian literary moviment called Neoavanguardia, along with Balestrini, Sanguineti, and Manganelli.
He was the first writer to win the Prix Médicis étranger in 1970. He also won the Brancati Prize in 1979, the Grinzane Cavour Prize in 1989 (with Stefano Jacomuzzi and Raffaele La Capria), the Viareggio Prize and the Feronia Prize in 1992.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
6 (10%)
4 stars
25 (44%)
3 stars
16 (28%)
2 stars
8 (14%)
1 star
1 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
Profile Image for Güero Mendoza.
4 reviews
April 7, 2013
one of my favorite books. A very funny story about the life in the Vatican during the REnaissance. Malerba is extremely funny
Profile Image for Herman De Wulf.
218 reviews10 followers
May 31, 2022
De historische rode draad is flinterdun. Misschien is het dat wat mij ontgoochelde in het boek. Ik miste ook wat detail van het decor voor het verhaal van de tweestrijd tussen de kardinalen met daartussenin de rol van de diaken. Wat bijna helemaal de mist inging was dan de rol van de nieuwe Vlaamse paus. Ja hij liet zich inhuldigen op een ezel.
167 reviews
September 10, 2025
Gut geschrieben, lebendige Dialoge, ohne Längen.
Die schlechte Bewertung wundert mich sehr,
vielleicht ist es den Menschen zu albern-satirisch,
vielleicht kommt ihnen die Papstgeschichte samt Kritik überholt vor.

Doch 1. ist die Konstellation beliebig übertragbar auf andere (korrupte) Machtstrukturen, und 2. ist die Sache mE nicht besonders ernst gemeint. Es geht um den literarischen Spaß, den sich Malerba erlaubte.

Der große Wert des Buches liegt für mich im Humor.
Er ist besonders, so albern-satirisch-spöttisch und
fein formuliert findet man ihn selten.
Manchmal noch subtil dazu, wenn was passiert,
und sich eine fast vergessene Äußerung
in einen Gag verwandelt.

Gekonnt ist gekonnt. Schöne Sache!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.