The Madonna of the Almonds (28 page)

The idea for The Madonna of the Almonds came from the legend of the well-loved liqueur Amaretto di Saronno, now known as Disaronno Originale™. The story tells of a love affair between a beautiful widow (an innkeeper in the legend) and the artist Bernardino Luini of the da Vinci school. Luini supposedly painted the widow as the Virgin in the Sanctuary church of Saronno in 1525, and she invented Amaretto for him as a gift of love. Though this tale forms the skeleton of the book, it should be made clear that the Amaretto drink mentioned in these pages bears no other relation to Disaronno Originale™, either in ingredients or method of production. The secrets of Disaronno Originale™ remain in the keeping of the Reina family of Saronno, as they should.

It would be futile, however, to deny the existence of Bernardino Luini, who is now revered as the greatest artist of Renaissance Lombardy, comparable even to his Master, Leonardo da Vinci. In fact, Bernardino’s presence in the Monastery of Saint Maurice in Milan was so secret, and
the work there was so accomplished, that for many years the frescoes were attributed to Leonardo himself.

Little is known of Bernardino’s biography, so I have taken certain liberties with the story of his life, in particular the parentage of his two oldest sons Evangelista and Giovan Pietro. His work, however, speaks for itself. Visit by all means the beautiful sanctuary church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli in Saronno, (now called the Santuario Beata Vergine dei Miracoli) but if you would see Bernardino’s true genius, cross the threshold of Monastero San Maurizio (Ex Monastero Maggiore) in Milan, the decoration of which was Luini’s greatest achievement.

All three of Bernardino’s sons followed him in his profession, and all of them, at different times, added to their father’s work in San Maurizio.

Evangelista (Elijah) Luini became a painter of note and settled in Genoa, where he is known to have painted the civic arms on the lighthouse there in 1544.

Giovan Pietro (Jovaphet) painted the celebrated Last Supper in the Hall of the Nuns in San Maurizio. The apostle John (who leans his head tenderly on the shoulder of his Lord) is clearly portrayed as a woman, and, in fact, appears in another of Giovan Pietro’s frescoes as the Magdalene.
Aurelio Luini was the youngest and most talented of Bernardino’s sons, and as such he inherited the fabled
Libricciolo
, Leonardo’s scrapbook of human facial anomalies. Perhaps because of this, he became a talented painter of grotesques. His contribution to San Maurizio’s decoration was a beautiful panel fresco detailing the Flood. Careful observers will note that among the couples of existent animals entering the Ark is a pair of Unicorns.

And Simonetta di Saronno? She exists on the walls of San Maurizio in the face of every female Saint and every Magdalene, and in Saronno where every Madonna is the same woman. Many of these Holy ladies wear the symbol of the heart of almond leaves somewhere about their person. To me it is suggestive that this beauty with the red hair and the white hands, and the hooded Lombard eyes, lived in Bernardino’s lifetime and heart. Or perhaps she never existed at all. There are Unicorns in the Ark, and like Aurelio Luini’s fresco, some of this book is real, and some is not.

The kernel of the story of the Madonna of the Almonds came from enjoying a glass (or two) of Amaretto one Christmas with my husband. He was reading the back of the box that the bottle came in, which tells of the legend of Disaronno’s origins. He turned to me and said ‘
that’s
your next book’. So thank you, Sacha for the idea and for being there all the way through the ‘distillation’ process!

Thank you to my history teacher Jennifer Gill for first fostering my interest in the Italian Wars, and for her information on the Battle of Pavia. Thanks to my sister Veronica Fiorato and also Elizabeth Glover for their assistance on early ballistics, and to my father Adelin Fiorato who was invaluable on the work of Bernardino Luini.

Many thanks once again to my fantastic agent Teresa Chris and the wonderful team at Beautiful Books, especially Simon Petherick, Tamsin Griffiths and Katherine Josselyn.

This book deals partly with the Jewish experience in Renaissance Italy so I am particularly grateful to Linal Haft for reading the book from a Jewish perspective.

The portraits of the boys in this book were painted in the style of my own children, so thank you, Conrad and Ruby, for letting me borrow your characteristics.

Thanks to the makers of Disaronno both then and now, and to the long-dead Bernardino Luini - may you emerge, at last, from Leonardo’s shadow.

Marina Fiorato is half-Venetian. She is a history graduate of Oxford University and the University of Venice, where she specialized in the study of Shakespeare’s plays as an historical source. After University she studied art and has since worked as an illustrator, actress and film reviewer. She also designed tour visuals for rock bands including U2 and the Rolling Stones. She was married on the Grand Canal, Venice and lives in North London with her husband, son and daughter.

‘Mining the fabled cities of Venice with its fiercely kept secrets, and Murano, its nearby glassblowers’ island, Marina Fiorato has fashioned a double tale of artistry, love, and intrigue, plotted as cunningly as her characters commit treachery. From its mysterious, highly crafted opening to its stunning, riveting culmination, it took my breath away.’

Susan Vreeland, author of
Girl in Hyacinth Blue

‘As mesmerising as the perfect glass at its heart.’

Waterstones Books Quarterly

‘The Glassblower of Murano is a compelling story, richly detailed, with wonderful, memorably drawn characters.’

Diane Haeger, author of
The Secret Bride and The Ruby Ring

‘A sizzling summer read, and a must to pack in the suitcase.’

The Italian Magazine

‘A great read with a plot that moves seamlessly between 17th century and modern-day Venice. If you’ve never been there, you’ll be booking to go, if you have, you’ll be going back!’

Best

‘I would never have guessed that this was a first novel; Marina Fiorato has beautifully recreated the bright, glittering world of the seventeenth-century glassblower, and nestled it surely within a compelling contemporary romance.’

Jeanne Kalogrides, author of
The Borgia Bride and I,
Mona Lisa

‘Fiorato captivates her reader as surely and intricately as the beautiful city of Venice enchants her characters. A fascinating tale of mystery and dedication, of love and betrayal.’

Kate Furnivall, author of
The Russian Concubine

‘Recommended.’

The Good Book Guide

‘The enchanting tale of one woman, her past and the magical art of glassmaking is rich with passion, mystery and intrigue.’

Booktime

Also
by Marina Fiorato

The Glassblower of Murano