Rome, Italy – Introducing places that have been declared world heritage sites by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) to children without boring them. This is the idea that gave birth to the book "I mirabolanti viaggi di Nicky Stoppino – Luoghi italiani Patrimônio Unesco," which means "The amazing travels of Nicky Stoppino." Originally written in Italian, the work was released this Monday (27th) in Rome and has not been translated into any other language yet.
Italy is one of the countries with the most sites on Unesco’s list: there are 44 such sites in the country, including the historical centres of cities such as Rome and Naples, the Amalfi Coast and the Trulli of Arab origin in Alberobello, in the Puglia region. France has 33 sites, China has 40, Brazil has 18 and the Arab countries have approximately 60. Worldwide, according to the Unesco, there are 911 cultural and natural heritage sites. The program has existed since 1972 and aims to preserve the sites listed by the organization.
Promoted by Associazione Cittá e Siti Italiani Patrimônio Mondiale Unesco and published by Italian publishing house Kite, which is internationally known for its projects targeting children and adolescents, the book tells the adventures of a charismatic and clumsy private detective, Nicky Stoppino, while looking for a writer and his precious notebook which have disappeared mysteriously. The plot was created by the Italian Luigi Dal Cin and the illustrations were drawn by Simona Mulazzani.
According to Tommaso Gavioli, the project’s coordinator, the idea arose out of a need to bring history and knowledge to children and adolescents, and to show Italians the importance of sites considered world cultural and natural heritage sites by the Unesco. "The aim was to do it without being boring and institutional. The idea was to tell the story in a fun, enthralling way, which may be applied to other countries, other Unesco sites, for instance," he says.
Adventure
It took a good adventure story, which is the age bracket’s favourite genre, and exciting images to set the plot in, in order to accomplish the task of attracting – and holding – the attention of children and adolescents. Enter Dal Cin, who has published over 70 books translated into nine different languages, and Milanese illustrator Simona Mulazzani, who also has experience abroad, especially in the United States and Japan, and more than 60 books under his belt.
Dal Cin, who specializes in writing fiction for children and adolescents, inspired himself in crime novels of the 1950s, filled with a good dose of irony – "at given moments the detective reads an instruction manual, because he doesn’t know what to do," says Dal Cin – and created the character Nicky, who travels to all of the Unesco cultural and natural heritage sites in Italy trying to solve the great mystery of the famous writer’s disappearance. The character’s enigmatic, almost gloomy air is brought about by Simona’s drawings.
The adventure begins in the Italian Alps, on the Dolomites, which have been declared a world natural heritage site last year. There, Nick Stoppino goes hunting for the first clue to solve the enigma. From there, he travels to the 43 other Italian sites. The last site is Sardinia, at the ruins known as the Nuragic Complex of Barumini. In each chapter, the reader will find a mix of historical information about the site, in a light-hearted language, as well as many secondary characters with odd names, such as Fosco Settevette, Otto Lucchetto and comissioneer Sventola.
Print run
According to Caterina Arcaro, of the Kite publishing house, the book’s initial print run will be 5,000 copies, in Italian, that the Unesco will also distribute to public schools. Another 2,000 copies will be distributed for sale at bookstores across the country. Each book will cost 12 euros. Copies in English, however, will only be printed in the second phase of the project, probably in 2011. As new places in Italy become part of Unesco’s heritage, there might be a follow up to Nicky’s adventures, in a third phase of the project.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum