Salvo Montalbano

Inspector Salvo Montalbano is a fictional character created by Italian writer Andrea Camilleri in a series of novels and short stories.

Set in the picturesque Sicilian town of Vigàta (modeled after Porto Empedocle, Camilleri's home town), the fractious detective's character and manner encapsulate much of Sicilian mythology and astute detective work. The original books are written in a mix of Italian, strict Sicilian, and a Sicilianized Italian.

The name Montalbano is a homage to the Spanish writer Manuel Vázquez Montalbán; the similarities between Montalbán's Pepe Carvalho and Camilleri's fictional detective are remarkable. Both writers make great play of their protagonists' gastronomic preferences.

Location

Inspector Montalbano lives and works in the fictional town of "Vigàta", in the equally fictional district of "Montelusa". Camilleri based Vigata on his home town of Porto Empedocle, on Sicily's south-west coast, while Montelusa, the district headquarters, is based on Agrigento. However the dramatizations of the Montalbano stories were mainly filmed at Ragusa, while the seaside and harbour locations were at Punta Secca and Licata.

TV series

RAI has since 1999 produced a television series based on the novels. Montalbano is played by Luca Zingaretti. The series is almost entirely shot in the Sicilian city of Ragusa, Italy, and surrounding towns.

"Excursion to Tindari" and "Montalbano's Croquettes" ("Gli Arancini di Montalbano") were first aired in the UK on BBC Four in December 2008. "Montalbano's Croquettes" was repeated in December 2010 and "Excursion to Tindari" in August 2011.

In Australia the television series was shown on Special Broadcasting Service in Italian, subtitled in English by SBS staff. The DVD region code Region 4 DVDs available were produced and subtitled by RAI Trade. Acorn Media UK will release a box set in the UK, featuring the episodes The Snack Thief, The Voice of The Violin, The Shape of Water and The Mystery of The Terracota Dog, in February 2012

Trivia

Camilleri's writings have enjoyed, and still enjoy, a huge popular success in Italy. Montalbano personifies Camilleri's writing style and is therefore at the core of this success, so much so that the evident resemblance between Porto Empedocle and Vigàta has prompted the city of Porto Empedocle to rename itself "Porto Empedocle Vigàta" since 2003.

Bibliography

Novels

1. The Shape of Water — 2002 (La forma dell’acqua — 1994)
2. The Terracotta Dog — 2002 (Il cane di terracotta — 1996)
3. The Snack Thief — 2003 (Il ladro di merendine — 1996)
4. The Voice of the Violin — 2003 (La voce del violino — 1997)
5. Excursion to Tindari — 2005 (La gita a Tindari — 2000)
6. The Scent of the Night — 2005 (L’odore della notte — 2001)
7. Rounding the Mark — 2006 (Il giro di boa — 2003)
8. The Patience of the Spider — 2007 (La pazienza del ragno — 2004)
9. The Paper Moon — 2008 (La luna di carta — 2005)
10. August Heat — 2009 (La vampa d'agosto — 2006)
11. The Wings of the Sphinx — 2009 (Le ali della sfinge — 2006)
12. The Track of Sand — 2010 (La pista di sabbia — 2008)
13. The Potters Field — 2011 (Il campo del vasaio — 2008)
14. The Age of Doubt — 2011 (L'età del dubbio) — 2008
15. (Il sorriso di Angelica — 2010)
16. (Le prime indagini — 2011)
17. (La danza del gabbiano — 2011)
18. (La caccia al tesoro — 2011)
19. (Il gioco degli specchi — 2011)

Collections of short stories

• Un mese con Montalbano (1998)
• Gli arancini di Montalbano (1999)
• La paura di Montalbano (2002)
• La prima indagine di Montalbano (2004)

See also

• Scala dei Turchi

External links

• On the trail of Inspector Montalbano from Montelusa to Vigata
• The real life locations used for the TV series