The Art of Joy

Her name is Modesta - but she is anything but meek and mild. Modeste, an amoral and passionate woman in ordinary sight, is protected by a special invincible talisman - the art of joy - during historical and personal storms. She was born in a small Sicilian village to a poor family and in an even poorer country on January 1, 1900 - the same day as the new twentieth century. A little girl who discovered physical pleasure in her childhood knows what she wants and doesn't hesitate to fight for it. The name Modesta in Italian means everything she is not - humble, gentle and resigned to the fact that she will never achieve what she desires. That's what they wanted her to be - but she is wild and untamed. From the convent, where she was brought up by nuns, she enters a noble palace where, thanks to her talent and determination, she becomes the head of the family through marriage. Emancipation of women, free love, homosexual relationships, violence, a sham, diseases, abortion and illegitimate children, the ubiquitous, unscrupulous mafia, fascism stifling free culture, wars, political ideas infected by a ruthless ideology... Modesta sails through the history of the entire twentieth century with a free mind and incredible courage, and is not afraid to go against the tide.