Esperanza

Italy of the Renaissance was known for its achievement in art and architecture as well as literature, music, philosophy and science. It began in Tuscany, centered in Florence before spreading to Rome, then the rest of Europe. Marchisio, a Florentine young man who was sent by his father to Rome to achieve knowledge from the scholars of the city, was only interested in enjoying his life in the brothels away from the boredom of the libraries and museums. In his encounter of prostitution in the capital of Lazio, he was helped twice by a beautiful, mysterious and haughty lady who appeared later to be the living legend of Rome.

Esperanza is a simple soul who have lost all hopes and dreams but tried to find her missing soul in giving hopefulness to all those who need it. As her name indicates (Hope in Spanish), she dedicated herself to free the unfortunate ones from their misery even though she is the one in most need for hope and love. She used to escape from her suffering through prostitution and has given up all her dreams of a happy decent life, yet she is well known in all the country to be hard to get. In one way, she can be considered as one of those subtle heroes who despite their suffering continue to offer help and care for all those around them.

This is a short novel that describes the lives of different people in the renaissance period of Italy, where the flourishing culture merges with the existence of the poor souls in the dark alleys, the titles of the nobility, the gratitude, the pain, the love, the torment, and the honor. It shows simply that even people living without hope are able to provide it to those who need it the most.