I podcast di Radio In Fiore · RADIO IN FIORE

A PROPOSITO DI CHICO_MOSTRA DI SAN GIUSEPPE_2026

·1 hr 13 min·5 clips

Giacomo reads two passages from his novel: 'Life is a game of pranks' and 'certain absences can become presences if you learn to feel them with your heart.'

1. Radio In Fiore presents a special live episode of 'A Proposito Di' from the Mostra Internazionale di San Giuseppe in Casale Monferrato, centered on Giacomo Mazzarino's debut novel 'L'odore delle cose perdute.' 2. Giacomo Mazzarino appears as the sole literary guest, with jazz-soul singer Elena Pongolini and guitarist Samuele Lago providing live musical accompaniment throughout the episode. 3. The episode's core thesis is that Mazzarino's novel—narrated entirely from the dog Chico's perspective—serves as an autobiographical vehicle for its author to process loss, nostalgia, and personal vulnerability. 4. Mazzarino adopted Chico from the Baulandia kennel in Casale Monferrato after learning the dog had been confiscated from a rural property where animals were poorly treated. 5. Chico suffers from leishmaniasis, a disease affecting the kidneys and liver; his brother, still at the kennel at time of writing, shares the same condition. 6. The novel's characters are based on real people, with invented names; the sole invented character is Anna, the first adopter who returned Chico after discovering his illness, whom Mazzarino describes as 'a character we would all like to have in our lives.' 7. Mazzarino modeled the novel's taciturn first owner partly on his own maternal grandfather—a silent man whose words carried weight—rather than painting him as overtly cruel. 8. A secondary character named Trattore, Chico's kennel companion, is described by Mazzarino as 'a dog thinker' who teaches Chico what waiting means, a lesson Mazzarino intends as applicable to humans. 9. The host reads two passages from the novel: 'Life is a game of pranks, like when they pull an old ball and you complain because you preferred the new one, but in the end you run the same,' and 'certain absences can become presences if you learn to feel them with your heart.' 10. Mazzarino wrote the novel in multiple interrupted phases, stopping for a full year at one point, and completing it only when personal circumstances made writing his only emotional outlet. 11. Mazzarino writes in a specific café in Casale Monferrato, stimulated by passersby, and at a bench near his house where his father used to sit in the sun. 12. The host draws a parallel between Mazzarino's café habit and Ernest Hemingway, who reportedly wrote at the Café Roma in Alassio and initiated the Miss Muretto elections. 13. A barista at Mazzarino's writing café urged him to abandon a planned kitten adoption and return to Baulandia for Chico; he canceled the kitten appointment on the spot. 14. On Mazzarino's return visit, Chico interrupted his own activity mid-action and ran across the kennel lawn to meet him—the moment Mazzarino decided to adopt him. 15. Mazzarino also consulted a psychologist before committing to the adoption, describing the decision as one he needed professional confirmation to make consciously. 16. Toward the end of the broadcast, Mazzarino announces a sequel in which the narrative perspective inverts: where the original had Chico learning from the world, the sequel will have Mazzarino—nearly 49—learning from his dog. 17. The episode alternates between interview segments and live musical performances; Elena Pongolini and Samuele Lago perform four songs, and guest Aurora sings 'Skyfall' by Adele. 18. The tone is warm and conversational, with the host guiding Mazzarino through personal disclosures rather than literary analysis, and the presence of Chico himself in the studio is noted repeatedly. 19. Listeners who enjoy intimate author interviews about pet-inspired writing, Italian regional culture, or live acoustic music will find this episode appealing. 20. Listeners seeking literary criticism, plot analysis, or content in a single language may find the format—heavily interspersed with music and the abrupt ending—unsatisfying.

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from I podcast di Radio In Fiore