Corto Maltese #4 [19]

In "La casa dorata di Samarcanda [parte seconda]", Corto Maltese continues his quest across a fractured post-imperial landscape, chasing whispers of a treasure hidden by Alexander the Great in Afghanistan. Traveling through the newly formed Turkish Republic, the Soviet Union, and Reza Pahlavi’s Iran, he navigates shifting loyalties and vibrant cultures, all while pursuing a mission that may be as much about liberation as it is about legend.

Set in the 1600s near the New England frontier settlement of New Canaan, "Tutto ricominciò con un'estate indiana" unfolds during a rare, golden summer that ignites long-suppressed tensions. Amid a community long at peace with the local Indigenous people, a single day of perfect Indian summer weather becomes the catalyst for a sudden, violent upheaval. The story weaves themes of forbidden love, buried rage, and the fragile peace of a puritanical society—echoing the emotional weight of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s *The Scarlet Letter*—as secrets rise to the surface in a place where silence has long been the rule.