Tra Roma e la Sicilia : gli incontri di Sciascia nel Fuoco nel mare

This article analyses Leonardo Sciascia's writing which appeared in Il fuoco nel mare (The Fire in the Sea), a collection of tales which were originally published in various newspapers between 1947 and 1975 and then published as a collection by Paolo Squillacioti in 2010. This article seeks to read these pieces through the filter of the travel experiences of the writer from Racalmuto in various Italian places, in particular Rome and Sicily.

It aims to reveal Sciascia's state of mind when leaving his island and to show the feelings which animated periods spent away from Sicily, as he was caught between the desire to escape and a ‘chronic nostalgia' which set him immediately on the path back home. From these feelings, filtered through encounters, discussions and anecdotes, emerges a form of writing which reflects the dual state in which Sciascia lived, as an attentive observer of reality, who needed periods away from Sicily in order to constantly renew his relationship with the island. [Publisher's text]