Fans Sink into a Slice of Neapolitan Delight in Chongqing

Chongqing - On May 11, the Consulate General of Italy in Chongqing held the cultural event "Chongqing – Meet Brilliant Friend" in Jiangbei District, downtown Chongqing.

Guido Bilancini, the Consul General of Italy in Chongqing, gave an opening speech for the event. “As the Italian book series, Neapolitan Novels and its TV adaptation have gained a wide audience in China, we want to know why we hold this sharing event.”

Guido Bilancini, the Consul General of Italy in Chongqing, made the opening speech at the event on May 11, in Chongqing. (Photo provided to iChongqing)

Published in 2011, the first work of "My Brilliant Girlfriend" was a huge success. This was followed by The Story of a New Name (2013), Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay (2014), and The Story of the Lost Child (2015). The books were translated into different languages and became an understandable sensation worldwide. And it has been adapted into TV series by HBO.

Zhang Ying, flute player of Chongqing Opera House and Chongqing Symphony Orchestra, and Huang Xi, violin soloist of Chongqing Opera House and Chongqing Symphony Orchestra, performed the main theme of the HBO and RAI original series My Brilliant Friend with the flute and violin.

The flute and violin performance. (Photo provided to iChongqing)

The translator of the Chinese version of Neapolitan novels, Professor Chen Ying at Sichuan International Studies University, was invited to share her stories during the translating process with the book fans coming from all different places in Chongqing and provide some suggestions for students who also want to be translators.

Professor Chen Ying shares her views on the characters in the book. (Photo provided to iChongqing)

The Neapolitan Novels by the Italian writer Elena Ferrante are about the lifelong friendship between two women who grew up in the lower class in a poor neighborhood in Naples. They try to create lives for themselves and show up the wake-up of women at that time.

The monologue on "Become." (Photo provided to iChongqing)