At Habita79 in Pompei, as part of the series "Incontri di Valore," Catena Fiorello presented "Serenata salentina" in a conversation led by Nicola Ruocco. The evening centered on two themes that run through her work: places that act on the inner life, and family memory passed from voice to page.
Fiorello described Salento not only as a setting, but as an active presence in the emotional transformation of her characters. The landscape, the countryside and small towns, becomes part of how they change.
The novel follows five women and their wounds. At the center is Gabriella, forty-two, facing a betrayed marriage and a house suddenly empty. Around her, other female figures carry their own fractures. Their stories cross the countryside, the small centers, and Grecìa salentina, where grico survives.
The title refers to an old serenata in grico attributed to Vito Domenico Palumbo at the end of the nineteenth century. The research does not confirm whether the serenata is reproduced in full in the novel or recalled within the plot, but its presence signals the book's attention to language, song, and continuity.
"I continue the tradition by telling stories with my books"
The most personal moment of the Pompei meeting concerned the origin of Fiorello's vocation. She traced it to her grandmother's "cunti," saying she continues that tradition through her writing: "continuo la tradizione contando con i miei libri."
For Fiorello, the relationship with the past and with roots retains an essential part of the meaning of existence. Family memory, Sicilian female figures, and the passage from oral tradition to written narrative recur throughout her public account of her work.
From Maria Sentimento to Serenata salentina
Readers who know Fiorello's earlier novel will recognize the thread. "Vita e peccati di Maria Sentimento," published by Mondadori in 2021, is ideally dedicated to her grandmother, Catena D'Amore.
That earlier book tells the story of a strong and contradictory Sicilian woman, weaving together loves, betrayals, family, religion, village life, and gossip. In an interview on 26 August 2026, Fiorello linked the novel to her grandmother's figure and described it as a tribute to her life and to Taormina in its golden years.
"Serenata salentina" moves the geography toward Puglia, while keeping the same central concerns: women shaped by family and place, wounds carried openly, and memory as a resource rather than a weight.
What to expect from the book
For readers approaching "Serenata salentina," the validated sources point to three entry points.
First, the characters: five women, with Gabriella's story of separation and emptiness as an emotional anchor.
Second, the place: Salento as a force in the narrative, present in its rural spaces, towns, and the Grecìa salentina area.
Third, the sound: a title rooted in an old grico serenata, suggesting music and older language as part of the story's background.
No complete publisher's record confirming publication date, page count, or full bibliographic details was available in the research acquired for this article, and the account of the Pompei event and the novel's contents comes principally from local press coverage.
