Exclusive interview with author Marina Fiorato and a review of her new novel about secrets hidden in the Botticelli painting La Primavera
Rating: 3 Stars
By Gabrielle Pantera
“A family friend sent me an article in the British Times newspaper, entitled The Botticelli Code,” says The Botticelli Secret author Marina Fiorato. “It was about an Italian academic named Enrico Guidoni who thought he had unraveled the secrets of Botticelli’s most famous painting, La Primavera. I’d always loved the painting and especially the figure of Flora; I decided to make her my heroine and weave a story around Guidoni’s theory.”
The Botticelli Secret is set in 1482 in Florence. Posing for Botticelli’s Primavera is prostitute Luciana Vetra. Even though she’s illiterate, Luciana notices something odd about the painting that worries the painter. He sends her away without payment. Angry, Luciana steals a miniature of the painting. She flees Florence with the handsome and intelligent Brother Guido della Torre. They realize they’re in danger and go on the run to solve the mystery of the painting.
This all will sound very familiar to anyone who’s even heard of the DaVinci Code. Fiorato writes well, but her style is very different from (DaVinci Code author) Dan Brown. Her story is softer, more emotional. The story is told in first person by the model Luciana. The book has lots of swearing that doesn’t move the story forward. While it defines who the characters are, it’s a distraction from the story. The plot concept is fascinating, but secondary to the character development.
Fiorato’s research is very detailed. “As well as my usual research in libraries and on the Internet I went to every single city that my characters visit and investigated every clue in person. I spent a long time in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence looking at La Primavera itself.”
Fiorato, who’d worked as an illustrator in the past, created the illustrations for the book himself. “It was really nice to get my pencil out again,” says Fiorato.
Travel is a great perk, says Fiorato. “I was paid to travel round Italy and write an article for Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper. I spent the Easter Holidays staying in wonderful hotels with my husband and kids and traveling free on the Italian trains.”
Fiorato’s agent in the the U.S is Patty Moosbrugger. In the UK it’s Teresa Chris. “I found Teresa by sending her three chapters and a synopsis of my first book. Luckily, she liked it, asked to read the rest, and took me on.”
Marina Fiorato is half-Venetian. She was born in Manchester and raised in the Yorkshire Dales. She studied at Oxford University where she graduated with a degree in history and the University of Venice where she specialized in the study of Shakespeare’s plays as an historical source. She’s worked as an illustrator, designing tour visuals for the rock bands U2 and the Rolling Stones. She’s also been an actress and film reviewer. She lives in North London with her husband, son and daughter.
The Botticelli Secret by Marina Fiorato. Trade Paperback, 544 pages, Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin; 1 edition (March 30, 2010), Language: English, ISBN: 9780312606367 $14.99
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