Release date is 2025-12-30

Barbara Magni and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images made available by the HathiTrust Digital Library)

Il curato d'Orobio by Giovanni Visconti Venosta is a novella written in the late 19th century. Set in a Lombard valley, it follows the kindly village priest Don Cornelio Sacchi as he faces the death of his close friend Count Maurizio d’Orsenigo, the uncertain fate of the count’s daughter Cristina, and the return of the ward Enrico amid village gossip and clerical foibles. Blending gentle satire of provincial life with themes of patriotism, charity, and budding affection, the tale centers on whether family loyalty and unexpected benefactors can safeguard honor and home.

The opening of the work traces Don Cornelio’s somber walk down the mountain with his young coadjutor, sketching his past as a 1848 patriot and his long friendship with the now-deceased count. A lively tavern scene paints the village—skeptical doctor, echoing apothecary, blustering mayor, and two contrasting priests—while rumors swirl about the count’s debts and even ghostly voices. Enrico arrives from abroad, mourns his benefactor, confides in Don Cornelio a guarded hope tied to Cristina, and departs in tears, leaving Cristina quietly stirred by new feelings. In the days of mounting gossip, a sleek agent, Zaccaria Valassina, brings news that Cristina’s wealthy aunt, donna Fulvia d’Orsenigo vedova Sacchi, will assume the debts and preserve the estate; Don Cornelio, relieved yet uneasy, arranges to escort Cristina to meet her aunt, as the village’s hopes rise and its skeptics grumble. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Originally published: Milano: Treves, 1886