Dante, Bea and the Mistery of the Living Paintings

By Carlo Ciceroni

A magical story set in Florence, Italy in the 1300s. Among the art, colors, sounds, and scents of the city, the children Dante and Bea encounter really existed artists and wonderful animals while trying to solve an intricate mystery. It contains 13 illustrations. It is a fun and exciting story that teaches to love animals. For children of all ages.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Carlo Ciceroni
• Release date: Apr 1, 2018
• ISBN: 9788827597965

Book preview

Ringraziamenti

Dante's Stone

Did you try standing up, Little Dante? Bea’s face looked way too happy as she asked Dante that question.

The boy quickly thought to himself: Oh man, that doesn’t sound good!.

When his friend, Bea, called him Little Dante, it was almost certain she’d played one of her cruel jokes on him! Last week, right before he had gone into church to help the priest with mass, that little pest had hidden four toads in his pocket. At first, they were just croaking, but then they had climbed out of his pocket to take a nice long stroll around the church! The little creatures started hopping around and scaring all the people!

The priest had gotten really mad and told Dante’s mother what had happened. She grounded him right away. However, Dante never told anyone that it was actually Bea who was responsible for the incident at the church. Dante and Bea had caught the toads together and wanted to use them to play jokes on their friends. So, Dante felt partially guilty. That’s why he decided to just take his punishment without complaint.

He was a very proud boy, and he never would have tried to blame a girl for his troubles anyway. Plus, Bea had been his best friend since birth.

When he was done thinking about that day, he mustered up his courage. He placed his hands on the large stone he was sitting on and pushed himself up with his arms and legs. A loud ripping sound could be heard, and Dante felt a very uncomfortable draft across his backside. Feeling defeated, Dante turned toward the boulder he had been sitting on, already imagining what he’d see there. Seeing that piece of cloth on the stone meant that it was no longer where it was supposed to be. A large piece of his red tunic was sticking to the stone!

Dante didn’t bother looking at Bea. He heard her behind him, laughing away.

Then, in a soft voice he said, It’s carpenters’ glue, isn’t it?.

Bea batted her eyelashes and responded with a loving tone. Yes, Little Dante, the strongest there is… hey, you’re not mad, are you?

You know that I’m going to get you back, right? said Dante, acting calm.

Yeah, I figure you’ll probably try to get back at me with some trick. But I don’t think you’ll be very successful, Little Dante… Bea replied.

The third Little Dante in a row, with that teasing voice, was one too many! Dante lunged at her. He would teach her a lesson! But she was ready for that, and she darted away, quick as can be.

Dante knew he wouldn’t actually do anything really bad to Bea. Even though this time she deserved it! He’d only wanted to scare her.

Dante and Bea had always liked each other. They were next-door neighbors when they were born and had grown up together. Bea’s family was one of the richest and most important families in Florence. For centuries, they had given much to the city’s poor. Young Bea had gotten the best qualities from her parents. Though, sometimes, she was a little too much for Dante!

Bea knew that her friend would always sit on that same stone and wait for her. In fact, that very stone is still there today, exactly where it was then. It can be seen to