The Cloven Viscount

In a whimsical tale set during the Turkish wars, a young viscount suffers a bizarre fate when a cannonball cleaves him precisely in half, leaving two distinct beings where once there was one. Each half embodies an extreme of human nature—one purely good, the other irredeemably evil—as they return to their medieval estate to wreak havoc in opposing ways. The villagers find themselves caught between these polar forces, discovering that both absolute virtue and complete wickedness prove equally troublesome. Calvino weaves a darkly comic allegory about the fractured nature of humanity, exploring how wholeness requires the integration of light and shadow within us all.

Edoardo Ballerini brings remarkable nuance to this philosophical fairy tale, skillfully distinguishing between the two halves of the viscount through subtle vocal shifts that highlight their contrasting natures without resorting to caricature. His warm, measured delivery perfectly captures Calvino's blend of medieval atmosphere and modern irony, allowing the story's deeper meanings to emerge naturally through the fantastical events. The audio format enhances the novella's folkloric quality, with Ballerini's Italian heritage lending authentic flavor to the names and settings while maintaining the English translation's elegant prose rhythms.