Paper short abstract:

Lampedusa's The Leopard presents many family abodes and spaces which together define the Salina family home. The novel, as well as author's own memoirs, lend insights to the nature of “home” and its evolving spaces, following historical, societal and personal upheavals.

Paper long abstract:

On the brink of Italy's reunification, The Leopard delineates the many abodes belonging to the family of Prince Fabrizio Salina, and all the spaces in between, which together constitute the home of the family. The palace of the Salina family seems to participate in the political and social changes that are traced throughout the novel: not only do events from the outer world infiltrate the estate on several occasions, but the physical structure of the palace itself is made to reverberate the upheavals of the time.

An interesting feature of the Salina family home is its non-contiguous character. The home is spread between a number of structures, which are reminiscent of Italy itself: a patchwork of entities which will experience upheaval, change and re-definition with the onset of a new era. Space, structure and home are thus in a process of shift and reconfiguration which reverberates in the memories of the characters and in the symbolic representations of the past and its values.

Heir to an aristocratic family, Lampedusa's own formation years were spent in a home made of several simultaneous locations, each of palatial dimensions. Tough the Lampedusa mansion was totally destroyed by Allied air raids in WWII, he regards this to have been his only home. It is particularly interesting to read his single novel with his memoirs in mind, focusing on the nature of the sensation of "home" such spaces can provide, spaces obliterated by historical and social conditions, besides more common changes one experiences growing up.