The Hermit

On a hill lives a hermit who illegally occupies an ancient observatory: from up there he awaits the literal fulfillment of the Apocalypse of John. In the last twenty years he has transformed his hermitage into a religious temple, adorning its walls with mosaics, stuccoes and paintings with a symbolic and esoteric appeal.

Three boys, moved by fearless curiosity, decide to walk towards the top of the mountain: Lorenzo is the skeptical and rational part of the trio, as well as an atheist and avowedly anti-theist. With a provocative air, he often enjoys teasing Alberto, his childhood friend and proudly Catholic. Chiara, a cheerful and adventurous girl, is the fun element of the group.

When they consume the encounter with the mysterious man, terrifying events begin to punctuate the adventure: the woods and the hamlet at the foot of the promontory will offer them a disturbing and visionary journey, but in the end it will be reality that will overcome all imagination.

The reader is introduced to a classic adventure for children, with horror veins, which gradually takes shape in a disturbing dream journey to the edge of reality, venting the curiosity and tension accumulated in a science fiction-existential watershed.

Is there a cosmic determinism or is it all governed by chance? Does God exist or is he an invention to make up for human fears? Is faith just an illusion for those who believe or have different sensitivities and approaches to the sense of mystery? Not a few philosophical questions raised will be facing in this tale, whose central focus remains the big issue on the dichotomy Reason and Faith.