'I can think of no finer writer to have beside me while Italy explodes Britain burns while
the world ends' Salman RushdieFrom the age of twelve the Baron Cosimo Piovasco di Rondo makes
his home among ash elm magnolia plum and almond living up in the trees. He walks through
paths made from the twisted branches of olive makes his bed in a holly oak bathes in a
fountain constructed from poplar bark. An aerial library holds the books with which he educates
himself in philosophy and mathematics. Suspended among the leaves the Baron adventures with
bandits and pirates conducts a passionate love affair and watches the Age of Enlightenment
pass by beneath him. 'The most magically ingenious of the contemporary Italian novelists' The
Times
