Vittoria Colonna and Michelangelo Buonarroti
A work of historical fiction set in turbulent 16th-century Italy
Listen to Linda read an excerpt:
PRAISE FOR Love That Moves the Sun
“. . . a sweeping historical epic and a sensitively observed exploration of the passionate friendship between Colonna and Michelangelo . . . . While Colonna and Michelangelo’s friendship forms the emotional center of the novel, the poet’s story and her journey as a woman and a writer are dynamic and multilayered. . . . A stirring and emotionally resonant portrait of a pivotal relationship in the life of Michelangelo.” – Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“. . . an elegant portrayal of the friendship between the poet and the artist who stirred her from solitude. Intimate and perspective-driven, it explores faith, love, and the lines where public and private life converge.” – Foreword Clarion Reviews
“Cardillo gives us an intimate, rich, engrossing glimpse into the life of one of the most celebrated poets of the Renaissance and her extraordinary relationship with Michelangelo. Anyone who loves being immersed in historical detail that’s woven organically into a seamless narrative will love this beautifully researched and written novel.” – Susanne Dunlap, author of Émilie’s Voice and Liszt’s Kiss
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Vittoria Colonna ignites the spirit of Michelangelo with love’s profound terror and fierce beauty.
He was the genius of his age; revered sculptor, painter, architect and poet; fiercely devoted friend; beleaguered artist to the popes; and a pilgrim in search of an elusive redemption.
She was a celebrated poet; dutiful daughter; adoring yet betrayed wife; powerful political voice; spiritual seeker; suspected heretic; and the only woman Michelangelo ever loved.
Read an excerpt
His hand moves across the page as if in a caress. But rather than stroking my face, he is sketching it. The late-afternoon sun in the garden illuminates not only his reluctant subject, but allows me to study him as he works.
The hand holding his red chalk is scarred and stained, the pigments from the Last Judgment imbedded in the deep lines of his palm. The hand has neither the elegant proportions of his David nor the evocative power of his Adam on the Sistine ceiling. But it is a robust and beautiful hand to me, a hand that clasps mine and lifts me up. A hand that encircles my own and fills its emptiness.
A light smile plays on his lips and I find myself reflecting it back to him.
“I don’t know why you’re doing this when you have much more important work that begs for your attention.”
“I do this because I can give both of us long life by depicting these faces of ours.”
“You intend to make us immortal?”
“A thousand years from now, people will see how lovely you were and how wretched I was. But more than that, they’ll see how, in loving you, I was no fool.”
I shake my head. “But you are a fool. What do you know of me to love me like this?”
“I know enough. When others looked at me, they saw only a rough-hewn block of hardened stone, an impassive shell. But you, like a sculptor, carved away at me until you found the soul within.”
Copyright 2018 Linda Cardillo
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