Andrea Camilleri

Andrea Camilleri (6 September 1925, Porto Empedocle, Sicily – 17 July 2019, Rome) was an Italian writer, director and screenwriter, best known for his series of detective novels about Inspector Salvo Montalbano. Born in Sicily, Camilleri grew up in a family with literary and theatrical inclinations. He studied literature and theatre directing at the Accademia Nazionale d'Arte Drammatica in Rome. He worked as a theatre and television director, producing plays and adaptations, including works by Pirandello and Beckett, and as a screenwriter for RAI.

His literary career began late, with his first novel Il corso delle cose (1978), but he achieved international fame with the Montalbano series, starting with The Shape of Water (1994). The series, set in the fictional town of Vigàtu, combines crime intrigue, Sicilian dialect, humour and social commentary. Montalbano, a witty and morally complex detective, became a cult figure, and the series has been translated into more than 30 languages, with millions of copies sold. Other notable works include The Serpent's Den, The Scent of the Night, and The Other End of the Line. Camilleri also wrote historical novels, such as Il birraio di Preston, as well as essays and stories.

His style is marked by Sicilian color, irony, and criticism of corruption. He died in 2019 at the age of 93, leaving behind a rich oeuvre and a lasting influence on world literature.