The Hotel of the Angel

When, in The Moon And The Bonfires, Anguilla comes back to his hometown after so many years, he stays at Albergo dell’Angelo (the Hotel of the Angel), in the main square of the village. Before the war, there actually was an Albergo dell’Angelo, in the old town, but the one where Pavese used to stay was La Posta, which overlooks the main square and is therefore mistaken for the other. From his balcony there, Anguilla observes the patron saint’s festival. The short story The Langa, too, portrays a similar scene in that same place: “This summer I have come to the Albergo dell’Angelo, on the village square, where nobody has recognised me anymore…”