A Path to Eternity: Tracing the Footsteps of a Sicilian Literary Giant

Ciao, people of HIVE!

Let's continue our journey in Sicily. In previous articles, I talked about the Valley of the Temples and Palermo. Today, however, I want to take you back to the surroundings of Agrigento, to show you a visit to the birthplace and tomb of a very famous figure who once lived on this coast: Luigi Pirandello.

Born in 1867, Pirandello was one of the greatest Italian playwrights, novelists and writers, and he's still considered one of the most important European authors of the 20th century. In 1934, two years before his death, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

His work revolutionized the theater by blending reality and fiction, and creating a new type of drama. His plays explore themes such as identity, the relativity of truth and the contradictions of human nature. Pirandello was fascinated by the difficulty of the individual in recognizing themselves and the conflict between who they are and who others believe they are. His impact on world literature is immense, and his works continue to be studied for their psychological depth and stylistic innovation.

Pirandello's birthplace is located in a rural area perched above the sea, between Agrigento and Porto Empedocle. His family moved to this area in the very year of his birth, 1867, to escape the severe cholera epidemic that was sweeping through Sicily at the time.

After the writer's death, the house fell into disrepair and was damaged by the explosion of a munitions depot in 1943, during World War II. Following the war, it was declared a national monument and an important restoration work began, eventually bringing it to its current appearance.

This small wall, which marks the boundary of the parking area, is decorated with some inscriptions: they are the titles and excerpts from Pirandello's works, in Italian language.

From Pirandello's house there is also a beautiful view of the Valley of the Temples, though unfortunately with a few eyesores in the background due to some modern construction.

Unfortunately, I didn’t take many photos inside, as I preferred to focus on the visit and my feelings. It often happens that I don’t take pictures in museums.

Anyway, on the ground floor, there are rooms used for temporary exhibitions, while on the upper floor, you can find his personal belongings, photographs, letters he received during his lifetime and the Greek urn used to transport his ashes from Rome (where he passed away) to Agrigento.

From the windows of the second floor, Pirandello enjoyed an incredible view of the sea and the countryside of Agrigento. This view deeply moved me because there’s nothing modern in sight, nothing contemporary: this landscape, full of flowers and olive trees, is very similar to what the writer would have seen in the second half of the 19th century. It truly feels like looking at a landscape from another time, like stepping back over a century.

Framed in this picture, there is a sheet containing Pirandello's last will, written in verse. With great humility, the writer requests a very simple funeral, without any display of wealth, expensive clothes or precious objects, and without tears or despair.

He also asks for his body to be cremated, and his ashes scattered, rather than kept. "If this is not possible," he writes, "may my ashes be taken to Sicily to be walled up in a rough stone from the countryside in Agrigento, where I was born."

Thus, following a beautiful country road, we reached the place of Pirandello's eternal rest. His wishes were respected: as I mentioned earlier, his ashes were brought from Rome to Agrigento and placed inside a large block of stone, carved by the sculptor Marino Mazzacurati.