The novel is mainly set in the world of today but has generous flashbacks to the epoch of the Mayas (3rd century BC), the conquest of Mexico (1518 onwards), the age of Galileo (1610-1640 c.) with a brief reference to the period of Vivaldi (1730 c.).
The book opens with a brief prologue in which, during his astronomical observations in 1611 at Vaiano, near Prato, Galileo discovers the existence of a cave hidden in the hills. He secretly has the entrance sealed in such a way that the slab that covers the entrance can only be opened by a music box that he has invented. Thirty years later, Galileo hides there a strongbox containing a very important secret and, before he dies, sends a letter and the music box to a safe place. Finally, a letter of Galileo containing a clue to the treasure falls into the hands of Alderigo Papini, a member of an aristocratic family from Pisa.
The second flashback concerns Vivaldi. The Venetian composer goes to Puglia to a property owned by the Knights of Malta, where he has been asked to write the score for the music box before it stops for ever.
Now, we return to the present day and the first person that appears is Federigo Papini, the descendant of the Tuscan nobleman and the head of a criminal organisation, obsessed by the challenge launched by Galileo four centuries earlier that no one in his family had been able to solve.
Then the other characters are introduced: a group of four musicians that specialise in ancient music. The leader is Michel, a Frenchman who served in the Foreign Legion. Then there is an attractive Italian-American troubadour called Frank, who resembles Danny de Vito and the Frenchman’s assistant, the handsome Francesco plus Anna, a young music teacher. Financed by Michel, the quartet are about to open an ancient music workshop in the hills of Salsomaggiore Terme. During work on the villa, the musicians find a copy of the Vivaldi score and this is the starting point for a journey through time that takes them first to Verona, then to Puglia and finally to Malta, where they discover the clue left by the custodian of Santo Stefano, the abbot belonging to the Knights of Malta. This clue leads them to the Chateau des Baux in Provence and the original letter of Galileo. This is the fist of a series of enigmas that they must solve to arrive at the treasure. Meanwhile, they discover the existence of a centuries-old secret organisation that is ready to kill in order to protect the secret of Galileo. This means that there are two opposing groups spying on the activities of the musicians: the Tuscan criminals and the organisation with headquarters in the U.S.A.
In parallel, there is the story of Fra Carlos who followed Cortés in the Conquest of Mexico, introduced by a meeting of Galileo with one of the monk’s disciples many years later. Galileo is entrusted with something that is so important that the scientist is absolutely terrified.
The last flashbacks are located in Guatemala in the third century B.C., in Tartaruga Corazzata, the capital city of the King of the Mayas.
With tenacity and intelligence, the four musicians succeed in solving the enigmas designed by Galileo and succeed in opening the cave. The two opposing groups also arrive in the hills of Tuscany, when the secret is finally revealed, a secret that will leave you open-mouthed
The book opens with a brief prologue in which, during his astronomical observations in 1611 at Vaiano, near Prato, Galileo discovers the existence of a cave hidden in the hills. He secretly has the entrance sealed in such a way that the slab that covers the entrance can only be opened by a music box that he has invented. Thirty years later, Galileo hides there a strongbox containing a very important secret and, before he dies, sends a letter and the music box to a safe place. Finally, a letter of Galileo containing a clue to the treasure falls into the hands of Alderigo Papini, a member of an aristocratic family from Pisa.
The second flashback concerns Vivaldi. The Venetian composer goes to Puglia to a property owned by the Knights of Malta, where he has been asked to write the score for the music box before it stops for ever.
Now, we return to the present day and the first person that appears is Federigo Papini, the descendant of the Tuscan nobleman and the head of a criminal organisation, obsessed by the challenge launched by Galileo four centuries earlier that no one in his family had been able to solve.
Then the other characters are introduced: a group of four musicians that specialise in ancient music. The leader is Michel, a Frenchman who served in the Foreign Legion. Then there is an attractive Italian-American troubadour called Frank, who resembles Danny de Vito and the Frenchman’s assistant, the handsome Francesco plus Anna, a young music teacher. Financed by Michel, the quartet are about to open an ancient music workshop in the hills of Salsomaggiore Terme. During work on the villa, the musicians find a copy of the Vivaldi score and this is the starting point for a journey through time that takes them first to Verona, then to Puglia and finally to Malta, where they discover the clue left by the custodian of Santo Stefano, the abbot belonging to the Knights of Malta. This clue leads them to the Chateau des Baux in Provence and the original letter of Galileo. This is the fist of a series of enigmas that they must solve to arrive at the treasure. Meanwhile, they discover the existence of a centuries-old secret organisation that is ready to kill in order to protect the secret of Galileo. This means that there are two opposing groups spying on the activities of the musicians: the Tuscan criminals and the organisation with headquarters in the U.S.A.
In parallel, there is the story of Fra Carlos who followed Cortés in the Conquest of Mexico, introduced by a meeting of Galileo with one of the monk’s disciples many years later. Galileo is entrusted with something that is so important that the scientist is absolutely terrified.
The last flashbacks are located in Guatemala in the third century B.C., in Tartaruga Corazzata, the capital city of the King of the Mayas.
With tenacity and intelligence, the four musicians succeed in solving the enigmas designed by Galileo and succeed in opening the cave. The two opposing groups also arrive in the hills of Tuscany, when the secret is finally revealed, a secret that will leave you open-mouthed
