Dario Becattini to Present His Book “Titanic. Storia di un sogno” for Villa Vittoria Cultura
Florence, 25th June 2024. Tomorrow – Wednesday, 26th June, at 18:30 – a book by Dario Becattini called “Titanic. Storia di un sogno” (Titanic. The Story of a Dream, published by Mauro Pagliai Editore, 2022) will be presented at Villa Vittoria Cultura, within the programme named “Il Libro della settimana” (Book of the Week).
The presentation will see the participation of author Dario Becattini, along with Giovanni Fittante, President of Villa Vittoria Cultura, Lorenzo Conti Lapi, and Bernard Dika.
The book talks about the tragical story of legendary English ocean liner ‘Titanic’ from a new and unusual perspective. On 10th April 1912, the ship left the port of Southampton bound for New York, and sank into the icy cold waters of the Atlantic, off Newfoundland, on the night between the 14th and 15th April, after hitting an iceberg. Of the 2,223 people who boarded the ship, the missing persons – presumed dead – were 1,518. In the same way, in little more than two hours, the most precious pieces of furniture and works of art loaded on the biggest and most beautiful ship ever, were scattered deep beneath the sea, wiping out dreams, certainties, and the hopes of all those who had dreamt that men could dominate natural forces with this great liner – an early 20th-century marine engineering gem.
“I have always been fascinated by the sinking of the Titanic – one of the most tragical pages of the 20th-century history, considered almost like a metaphor of the end of La Belle Époque, and the beginning of the Great War” stated Dario Becattini. “This is why, I tried to revisit this fascinating event, focusing on the special and different socio-cultural context of the people travelling on the ship, and drawing on historical sources, unpublished chronicles of that time, and on the often-controversial news that appeared on the newspapers during those terrible days. The strict compliance with social hierarchies clearly emerged, and was ensured on board thanks to the first class, located on the upper part of the liner, where wealthy businessmen going to New York were accommodated. Second-class cabins were destined to the middle class, while Europe’s ‘migrants’ looking for a new life and new work opportunities travelled in the third-class lower deck, isolated from the rest and in very precarious and uncomfortable conditions”.
“This inevitably leads us to think about the tragical situation we are experiencing today, with thousands of migrants arriving on our shores and fleeing from their countries in hope of a better life”.