Isabella Santacroce
Magnificat Amour

In the sublime realm of "Magnificat Amour" by Isabella Santacroce, her pen rises like an ancient sibyl, weaving a symphony of darkness and light, of sin and redemption, where every word is a chord of a divine score. Like a modern-day Emily Dickinson, the author stands out above the ordinary prose of contemporary Italian literature represented by the likes of Fabio Volo, Donato Carrisi, Antonio Scurati, Gianrico Carofiglio etc., painting destinies and passions in a decadent dance between beauty and desolation. Like an ancient harp resonating in the shadows of an abandoned salon, Santacroce's words dance through the folds of time, evoking a world steeped in dazzling lights and spectral shadows, of ineffable love and inevitable damnation. In this masterpiece, the author stands as a modern sibyl, weaving an intricate tapestry of entwined destinies and fiery passions.

On the stage of life emerge two cousins, Lucrezia and Antonia, like mythical figures in a landscape of vanity and desire. Lucrezia, radiant and alluring, embodies the very essence of beauty, while Antonia, nicknamed "the Gnu" for her perceived ugliness, stirs in the shadow of her existence. But it is in the encounter with the enigmatic Manfredi that the lives of the two cousins take a sinister and unsettling turn. Love becomes a dangerous game, a labyrinth of irrevocable desires where no one is immune to the allure of illusions. While Lucrezia allows herself to be captivated by the glamorous aura of an empty love, personified in the pathetic Biscottino, Antonia retreats into the shadow of her own soul, desperately seeking a reflection of herself in the lives of others. The words of Santacroce resonate like notes of a decadent requiem, sharp as blades of light in the darkness of night.

Through prose as sharp as the cut of a diamond, the author mercilessly desecrates the illusions and ambitions of her characters, leaving the reader to contemplate the abyss of the human condition. In this world of distorting mirrors, where beauty is a mask that hides the horror of our essence, "Magnificat Amour" stands as a monument to vanity and the seductive power of beauty. Santacroce invites us to peer into the darkest recesses of our soul, to confront our most intimate truth, as we lose ourselves in the labyrinth of her crystalline words.