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A Cure for Serpents
The autobiography of the Duke of Pirajno, who worked for eighteen years as a doctor in Libya, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somaliland.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1955
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
August 27, 2021
I found a nice Reprint Society edition of this book at a National Trust shop, and have very much enjoyed reading it before I go to sleep.
It's tempting to regard this kind of European assessment of colonial experience as either laughable or morally offensive, but as an account of the experience of an Italian doctor-military officer-civil servant in Libya ('Tripolitania') and Eritrea and 'Abyssinia', I found it very engaging. Denti di Piranjo seemed to me to be a man peculiarly adept at negotiating the relationship between colonial power and the colonised with respectful interest and reflective curiosity. His profession as a doctor, which seemed to be called on in whatever role he was fulfilling, clearly led him into intimate situations resulting in a more informed understanding of the people he was governing. Not infrequently, of course, those situations could be embarrassing, in particular when they involved women who both openly offered themselves to him or turned up at the behest of their menfolk as an expression of gratitude for services rendered. He reports finding ways of excusing himself from involvement without causing offence, thus rendering himself immune to personal criticism and maintaining friendly relations. Of course, we only have his version of events, but his literary style suggests modesty and truthfulness - though, again of course - that could all be a front.
For a cheerful armchair traveller like myself, books like this are full of incident - the story of the pet lioness, the complex manifestations of gratitude and eternal friendship demonstrated by an Eritrean prince, the surrender of Tripoli to General Montgomery, relations with his faithful servant Jemberie Igzaou, dealing with a Tuareg warrior who had been bitten by a camel, running sexual health clinics for prostitutes, a Cadi's misunderstanding of the function of a French lingerie mail-order catalogue, his friendship with the scholarly and popular Catholic Bishop of Tripoli, tracking a mad elephant, the history of Bughesha the great liar, and so on and so forth. Di Piranjo is not a man who assumes that his greater modern medical knowledge makes him any more important a human being than those he comes across in their native country, and he is especially fond of men of learning and women who have worked out how to manage their men and earn their respect and loving regard while apparently accepting their lower status.
I liked the author's lack of jingoism. He is part of a colonial power, but he gives the impression that he accepts that as a fact of life, and looks for ways to promote good health and to administer in a way that maintains the peace. His world seems to be remarkably unoppressive. I know this flies in the face of the violent Abyssinian campaign that Mussolini promulgated, but it's this campaign that prompts Di Piranjo to seek repatriation as it seems to be conducted by men with no knowledge of or regard for the country they are trying to subdue.
I found this reminded me that it's wise to know other peoples well before judging them. No mean lesson.
It's tempting to regard this kind of European assessment of colonial experience as either laughable or morally offensive, but as an account of the experience of an Italian doctor-military officer-civil servant in Libya ('Tripolitania') and Eritrea and 'Abyssinia', I found it very engaging. Denti di Piranjo seemed to me to be a man peculiarly adept at negotiating the relationship between colonial power and the colonised with respectful interest and reflective curiosity. His profession as a doctor, which seemed to be called on in whatever role he was fulfilling, clearly led him into intimate situations resulting in a more informed understanding of the people he was governing. Not infrequently, of course, those situations could be embarrassing, in particular when they involved women who both openly offered themselves to him or turned up at the behest of their menfolk as an expression of gratitude for services rendered. He reports finding ways of excusing himself from involvement without causing offence, thus rendering himself immune to personal criticism and maintaining friendly relations. Of course, we only have his version of events, but his literary style suggests modesty and truthfulness - though, again of course - that could all be a front.
For a cheerful armchair traveller like myself, books like this are full of incident - the story of the pet lioness, the complex manifestations of gratitude and eternal friendship demonstrated by an Eritrean prince, the surrender of Tripoli to General Montgomery, relations with his faithful servant Jemberie Igzaou, dealing with a Tuareg warrior who had been bitten by a camel, running sexual health clinics for prostitutes, a Cadi's misunderstanding of the function of a French lingerie mail-order catalogue, his friendship with the scholarly and popular Catholic Bishop of Tripoli, tracking a mad elephant, the history of Bughesha the great liar, and so on and so forth. Di Piranjo is not a man who assumes that his greater modern medical knowledge makes him any more important a human being than those he comes across in their native country, and he is especially fond of men of learning and women who have worked out how to manage their men and earn their respect and loving regard while apparently accepting their lower status.
I liked the author's lack of jingoism. He is part of a colonial power, but he gives the impression that he accepts that as a fact of life, and looks for ways to promote good health and to administer in a way that maintains the peace. His world seems to be remarkably unoppressive. I know this flies in the face of the violent Abyssinian campaign that Mussolini promulgated, but it's this campaign that prompts Di Piranjo to seek repatriation as it seems to be conducted by men with no knowledge of or regard for the country they are trying to subdue.
I found this reminded me that it's wise to know other peoples well before judging them. No mean lesson.
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October 30, 2024on one hand this is entertaining, on the other hand the descriptions and the way the author speaks of the people he encounters is disgusting, this is the sort of writing you would expect from a colonial administrator. I don't think I would recommend anyone read this, unless you enjoy biographies and can stomach a dosage of some dehumanizing language, and strangely perverted descriptions. i would call this interesting rather than good.
January 12, 2025
Incredible, dream-like memoir of a bygone era. Pirajno really knows how to tell stories. One of the nicest books I read, strongly recommended.
May 12, 2020
Lovely book about a medical doctor who is able to visit and observe people at close distance before WW2 in Libya (better: Italian Africa). Due to his profession, he is able to enter rooms - and talk to woman - that are normally closed to most men. He cured a man who had a serpent in his stomach. He had a pet lion cub called Empress. He engaged the Others with curiousity and wonderment. A book with a dozen of wonderful little stories.
Quote about the supremacy of the woman in Tuareg society (page 126): "The Tuareg woman can read and write 'finar'; she generally speaks Arabic, and quite frequently writes it. She has a passionate love of poetry; she preserves and hands on the family traditions; she plays the 'rebeza' a four-stringed mandolin, and the lute, called the 'umzad'. (...) The function of these proud Tuareg warriors is more or less that of the male bee in the hive."
Bughesa el Keddab (page 211): "With the picture in my hand I thought of the first time I had met Bughesha, when he was chasing moth shadows on the lamplit wall. Perhaps that was the secret of his success: he had always left his imagination free ands sold its shadow to whoever liked to buy. He did not become a vizier, and certainly he had no horses shod with silver - but it was obvious that he had successfully sold a great many shadows to innumerable sultans."
Quote about the supremacy of the woman in Tuareg society (page 126): "The Tuareg woman can read and write 'finar'; she generally speaks Arabic, and quite frequently writes it. She has a passionate love of poetry; she preserves and hands on the family traditions; she plays the 'rebeza' a four-stringed mandolin, and the lute, called the 'umzad'. (...) The function of these proud Tuareg warriors is more or less that of the male bee in the hive."
Bughesa el Keddab (page 211): "With the picture in my hand I thought of the first time I had met Bughesha, when he was chasing moth shadows on the lamplit wall. Perhaps that was the secret of his success: he had always left his imagination free ands sold its shadow to whoever liked to buy. He did not become a vizier, and certainly he had no horses shod with silver - but it was obvious that he had successfully sold a great many shadows to innumerable sultans."
March 22, 2025
The book was very well written and easy to read. It was both a mix of refreshing and frustrating to have it take place right before WWII and have nearly no mention of politics, war, or revolutions in Africa. At some points, he would mention an uprising and slide past it as it was inconsequential to his work as a physician. His work directly with the Italian government is seldom explored until the very end of the book, which I believe wraps up his adventure nicely
January 19, 2023
This was one of the best books I have read in a long time! It was different, in a surprisingly good way. All sorts of interesting characters and adventures, taking place in a part of the world, and a time, that I knew very little about.
December 15, 2025
The first hundred pages or so are very interesting, but at some point it falls into Sheherezade territory with gross caricatures of complex cultures and ethnicities. And that’s ignoring the “sins of his age”, as it were.
June 27, 2019
A beautiful gem of a book full of life, characters and adventure.
December 22, 2019
Incredible stories from a traveling doctor in Libya, Algeria, Eritrea, Abyssinia and Yemen from 1924 to end of WW2. Fascinating.
to-buy
January 3, 2021By eland publishing which does out of date travel books
Published mark Shand
Published mark Shand
March 29, 2024
Interesting book about a doctor in Africa during colonialism. Not sure why the title is what it is. Life has really changed in the last 100 years!
December 31, 2025
This was a wonderful read. Really well told memoir account of an Italian doctor and administrator working in Eritrea, Ethiopia what is now Libya, mostly in the 1920s, and also in the 1930s and ending in WW2. There are a whole host of really touching accounts of so much: people, elephants and a lioness…oh my.
The book is narrated in a lovely, heartfelt, warm, embracing way, in English by the author - not by a translator, he wrote directly in English.
I’ve read a few good Italian non fiction books now by Italians from the first half of the 20th Century. They’ve all been really endearing and super accounts to read.
The book is narrated in a lovely, heartfelt, warm, embracing way, in English by the author - not by a translator, he wrote directly in English.
I’ve read a few good Italian non fiction books now by Italians from the first half of the 20th Century. They’ve all been really endearing and super accounts to read.
June 17, 2013
Fascinating adventures of an Italian medic who became a Duke...in North Africa in the 20s, 30s and early 40s. Learned so much about the area and tribes/peoples customs, superstitions, etc.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews