Sunday 04 / October / 2026
PALERMO (ITALY): Some journeys are measured in kilometres. Others are measured in the people we meet, the places that stay with us and the stories we carry home.
For Dr Luca Moretti and Dr Lucia Oliva, both kinds of journeys have shaped their lives.
Their latest book, Avventurevolissimevolmente, is an exuberant collection of stories gathered over more than 25 years of travelling, working, creating and meeting people across continents.
It is not quite an autobiography, nor is it a traditional travel book. Instead, it is a series of intimate glimpses into two lives lived at the intersection of art, culture and human curiosity.
And among all the places that have entered those stories, Oman has a particularly important place.
Moretti and Oliva have lived in the Sultanate for around a decade, making it their adopted home while continuing to build bridges with the cultural worlds of Italy and Europe. Their book reflects that unusual position — looking at Oman not as passing visitors, but through the eyes of people who have stayed long enough to form deep connections with the country and its people.
That connection is now taking the book beyond Italy.
Following a successful tour this summer, the authors have begun work on an English translation, encouraged by the response the book has received both in Italy and abroad, particularly in Oman.
The task will not be simple.
Even the title presents a challenge. Avventurevolissimevolmente is a playful Italian invention by the authors, deliberately extravagant and carrying literary echoes that reach back to baroque literature by Francesco Moneti ("precipitevolissimevolmente") and, more distantly, to Dante Alighieri (sovramagnificentissimamente).
Its first suggested English equivalent, With Utmost Adventurousness, captures something of the meaning, but perhaps not all of the mischief.
The authors are still searching for the right answer.
That search mirrors the larger challenge of translating the book, whose pages move between literary and cinematic references, Latin and dialect expressions, humour and theatrical turns of phrase.
The words may be Italian. The experiences, however, are universal.
A book that refuses to sit still
It is perhaps fitting that a book about movement should have been presented in such unusual settings.
The recent Italian tour began in Milan, at the ADI Design Museum, and continued through Liguria and Gubbio before reaching Sicily.
On Alicudi, one of the remote Aeolian Islands, the conventional rules of a book launch were abandoned altogether.
The setting was a natural volcanic amphitheatre by the sea. The audience gathered among rocks and pebbles as the sun moved towards the horizon.
And the authors?
They were in the water.
Standing waist-deep in the sea, Moretti and Oliva conducted what was billed as a “seaside literary sunset”, using specially designed floating trays to hold books and stage materials.
It was an unusual spectacle, but also an appropriate one for a book whose stories seem to resist conventional boundaries.
Among those attending were renowned figures from the world of Italian cinema and theatre, including actress Mascia Musy, actress Rada Rassimov and producer Andrea Andermann, whose live opera-film productions have earned seven Primetime Emmy Awards.
From the remote beauty of Alicudi, the tour moved to Palermo.
Here, the sea gave way to the grand interiors of Palazzo Branciforte.
An evening with an Omani connection
Palermo's history makes it an especially appropriate city for a book built around cultural encounters.
Greeks, Arabs, Normans, Byzantines and Spaniards have all left their mark on the Sicilian capital. Its architecture, food, language and traditions still bear the traces of those centuries of interaction.
At Palazzo Branciforte, Moretti and Oliva found an audience that reflected that same cultural richness.
The event in the Sala dei 99 brought together prominent figures from Palermo's cultural and social circles, including Duke Alberto and Duchess Monroy di Giampilieri, Princess Stefy Tortorici di Raffadali, Princess Annie Spadafora, Baroness Antonella Canalotti and Baron Sebastiano Oddo.
Oman was present too
His Highness Nazar Al Julanda Al Said, Oman's Ambassador to Italy, had been unable to attend because of prior institutional commitments.
He nevertheless sent his congratulations to the authors and greetings to Palermo's authorities and people.
The connection was particularly meaningful because Oman is not merely a subject in the book. It is part of the authors' own story.
The Palermo initiative was driven by Duchess Clara Monroy, a leading figure behind Settimana delle Culture, chaired by President Giorgio Filippone, an initiative dedicated to creating dialogue between cultures.
In her opening remarks, Duchess Monroy recalled Oman's special place in Palermo's cultural memory, including the visit of the late His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said.
During that visit, the Omani Royal Guard Military Band performed in the square outside Teatro Massimo, leaving an enduring memory among those who witnessed the occasion.
Seeing Oman through different eyes
The conversation that followed was led by Pietro Massimo Busetta, senior professor at the University of Palermo's Faculty of Economics.
A traveller, photographer and author, Busetta has visited more than 60 countries and documented his experiences through books and exhibitions.
He proved a natural interlocutor for Moretti and Oliva, drawing out anecdotes from their years of travel and artistic work.
But the evening also offered something else: a different way of seeing Oman.
For years, Moretti and Oliva have used art and cultural events to bring Oman into conversation with their Italian and European heritage.
Their stories reveal a country encountered through friendships, artistic collaborations, everyday experiences and an appreciation of its people and traditions.
It is an insider's portrait without pretending to be native.
Perhaps that is what makes it compelling.
They remain Europeans looking at Oman, but they are also residents who have been shaped by the country in which they have chosen to live.
Their work occupies that space between cultures.
Critic Massimiliano Reggiani recently described the pair as “cultural bridges”, writing of the way their journeys allow them to bring a culture while also being enriched by those who welcome them. The description seems particularly fitting.
The journey continues
The English translation of Avventurevolissimevolmente is now taking shape.
The title is unresolved. The language will require careful adaptation. And some of the book's most distinctly Italian humour and references will inevitably test the translator.
But perhaps that is also part of the adventure.
A book born from encounters between cultures is now preparing for another encounter — this time with readers in another language.
For Moretti and Oliva, the journey has never really been about reaching a final destination.
It has been about arriving somewhere, listening, exchanging stories, forming connections and then carrying something of that place with them when they leave. Oman has been one of those places.
And after a decade, it seems the Sultanate has done more than provide a setting for their lives and work.
It has become part of their story.
Their journey continues on Instagram at @theculturalweavers and @luciaolivaartist.
