Dante Alighieri Series by Giulio Leoni, Leoni

Firenze, anno del Signore 1300. In una notte di metà luglio il priore Dante Alighieri viene chiamato in tutta fretta dal Bargello della città e condotto sul luogo di un delitto orrendo. Nel nuovo Palazzo dei Priori ancora in costruzione, tra le ali di un colossale carro allegorico a forma di aquila imperiale, è appeso il cadavere di una donna decapitata, coperta da una ricca veste di broccato color porpora intessuta d'argento... moreFirenze, anno del Signore 1300. In una notte di metà luglio il priore Dante Alighieri viene chiamato in tutta fretta dal Bargello della città e condotto sul luogo di un delitto orrendo. Nel nuovo Palazzo dei Priori ancora in costruzione, tra le ali di un colossale carro allegorico a forma di aquila imperiale, è appeso il cadavere di una donna decapitata, coperta da una ricca veste di broccato color porpora intessuta d'argento. Per Dante non è difficile riconoscere il corpo della bellissima Vana del Moggio, cantatrice amatissima che con la sua voce paradisiaca ammaliava tutta Firenze. Chi può averla uccisa? E perché in quel modo così feroce? Per scoprirlo il sommo poeta dovrà inoltrarsi nella "selva oscura" degli indizi e delle false piste. E su tutto l'ombra di un terrificante mostro mitologico..."I delitti della medusa", vincitore nel 2000 del prestigioso premio Tedeschi, è la prima avventura del sommo poeta nei panni dell'investigatore, il romanzo che ha rivelato le grandi doti di giallista di Giulio Leoni che, come ha scritto Niccolò Ammaniti, "è riuscito a costruire un intreccio da cui è difficile staccarsi e a creare intorno alla figura di Dante un mondo perfetto". less

Florence, June 1300. The body of an artist, his face covered in quicklime, is discovered next to the mosaic he had almost completed. Dante Alighieri, the newly appointed prior of the city of Florence (and the man who will one day write that exhaustive treatise on criminology, the Inferno), is on the case. It is his first official investigation. Obscure clues lead him up and down the streets of Florence, following a trail full of intrigue and mystery... moreFlorence, June 1300. The body of an artist, his face covered in quicklime, is discovered next to the mosaic he had almost completed. Dante Alighieri, the newly appointed prior of the city of Florence (and the man who will one day write that exhaustive treatise on criminology, the Inferno), is on the case. It is his first official investigation. Obscure clues lead him up and down the streets of Florence, following a trail full of intrigue and mystery. Why have seven scholars, each a master of his art, assembled in the city? What was the secret that might have been revealed had the artist lived to complete his work? Was it an alchemist’s formula to transform lead into gold? Did it have to do with Antilia, wild and beautiful, who dances nightly in a tavern owned by a one-armed crusader? Or perhaps with another elusive Beatrice, the heiress to the imperial Swabian throne, whose rumored arrival in the city could upset the political aspirations of Pope Boniface, Dante’s nemesis? Leoni’s voice is wry and irreverent as he pokes fun at the genius poet and renders Dante a human being—brilliant but temperamental, bumbling but undaunted. An enthralling historical thriller from Italy’s new maestro of crime. less

Strange news arrives in Florence, on the banks of the river Arno, a galley has been found, the entire crew dead. Dante Alighieri, Prior to the City, suspects poison. The only clue is a damaged mechanical device, possibly of Arabic origin. Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, known for his obsession with science and medicine, would have been one of the few who could understand such an instrument... moreStrange news arrives in Florence, on the banks of the river Arno, a galley has been found, the entire crew dead. Dante Alighieri, Prior to the City, suspects poison. The only clue is a damaged mechanical device, possibly of Arabic origin. Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, known for his obsession with science and medicine, would have been one of the few who could understand such an instrument. At a time when conspiracy theories abound concerning the death of the Emperor, is this a coincidence or something more sinister? Whilst working on his magnum opus the Divine Comedy, Dante returns to the city only to discover the renegade monk, Brindano, stirring up trouble and recruiting Florentines for a new crusade to liberate the Holy Land. In "The Kingdom of Light", Leoni paints an atmospheric medieval Florence, seething with plots and intrigue, and in Dante delivers a credible, intuitive detective and a fascinating man. less

For fans of Dan Brown’s Inferno, a sensational Italian thriller starring Dante Alighieri as lead detective.A troubled quest, an ambitious politician, a brutal killer. Italy, October 1301. Dante Alighieri, Prior to the city of Florence, is sent to Rome to meet with the Pope. Sinister omens greet his arrival; the river Tiber is threatening to burst its banks and the corpses of several young woman have been found eviscerated and ritually murdered... moreFor fans of Dan Brown’s Inferno, a sensational Italian thriller starring Dante Alighieri as lead detective.A troubled quest, an ambitious politician, a brutal killer. Italy, October 1301. Dante Alighieri, Prior to the city of Florence, is sent to Rome to meet with the Pope. Sinister omens greet his arrival; the river Tiber is threatening to burst its banks and the corpses of several young woman have been found eviscerated and ritually murdered. Dante has no power to order an investigation but when the authorities show little interest in the deaths he promises the mother of one victim that he will bring the murderer to justice. But when Dante visits the Vatican, and makes the acquaintance of an ambitious senator named Spada, he discovers that the city hides yet more dark secrets... less