The Lords of the Valley

Lorella Fontanelli

Summary

Italy, Bolognese territories, 1228.The incessant looting and frozen land drove the population to exhaustion in the wars between Guelphs and Ghibellines, which fell like a scourge on the region. Long expanses of perennial snow, populated by wolves, stretched into tangled solitude — a realm of the dead. This was the point at which the lords would turn their horses, summon their greyhounds, and return home. Right in the heart of this solitude, heedless of the unseen forces at work, noble Jacopo da San Lorenzo would encounter the ferocious Cuzzano for the first time, saving the life of a peasant who was about to be killed. Cuzzano’s thirst for revenge for the affront suffered would trigger a spiral of death from which there would be no return. Jacopo San Lorenzo will find himself caught up in a plot to assassinate Emperor Frederick II. An arrow, intended for the emperor and shot from a Cuzzano’s hand, will be stopped by Jacopo’s body, saving his life. This legendary golden arrow will become a symbol of the Cuzzano family’s wickedness, the San Lorenzo family’s nobility, and the indissoluble bond that will be established with the Swabians from that moment on. From generation to generation, the arrow will continue to save and sacrifice, causing an enduring curse that never seems to break.

Available since: 07/04/2025.

Print length: 293 pages.

Contemporary Fiction

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