Leopardi is a child prodigy growing up under his father’s implacably watchful eye in a library that serves as a house. His mind ranges free but his home is a prison: he reads everything but the universe was elsewhere. In Europe the world is changing, revolutions break out and Giacomo desperately seeks contact with the outside. At 24, when he finally leaves Recanati, Italian high society opens its doors to him but our rebel does not adapt. In Florence he gets involved in a love triangle with Antonio Ranieri, the Neapolitan friend with whom he lives, Bohemian-style, and the very beautiful Fanny. He finally moves to Naples with Ranieri, where he lives immersed in the miserable but vital spectacle of the plebian portion of the city. Cholera breaks out: Giacomo and Ranieri complete the last leg of their long journey, to a country villa beneath Vesuvius. the film is not in competition
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