Corto Maltese #12 [15]

In "La casa dorata di Samarcanda [parte seconda]", Corto Maltese journeys through the volatile landscapes of the early 20th century, navigating the shifting borders of the Turkish Republic, the Soviet Union, and Reza Pahlavi’s Iran in search of a legendary treasure tied to Alexander the Great. His quest, cloaked in myth and driven by a daring mission, brings him into contact with diverse cultures and hidden dangers as he moves ever closer to a secret that could change everything.

Set in the 1600s near the New England frontier settlement of New Canaan, "Tutto ricominciò con un'estate indiana" unfolds during a summer of unexpected warmth that ignites long-suppressed tensions. Amid a community long at peace with the local Indigenous people, a single day of golden weather becomes the spark for a sudden, violent upheaval. The story weaves themes of forbidden love, repressed desire, and deep-seated hatred within a rigid Puritan society, echoing the emotional intensity of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s *The Scarlet Letter*.