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With his fortuneteller mother, his aunt comedienne in love with Opera, his father, finally an officer of the Italian colonial army in Abyssinia, the current Ethio- pia ... the stage is set for this fighter of literature, this Don Juan with a thousand and one conquests, this intrepid traveler who gave birth to his dream life with his charismatic character, Corto Maltese.
He gave birth to his fascinating captain in Malta, a gypsy of Seville and a father from Cornwall who grew up in the midst of fairies and magicians, a dreamlike world that inspired him with the taste of the open sea.
The father of Hugo Pratt had given him Stevenson’s book, «The Treasure Island» before he went into military detention without return, telling him that one day, he too would find his treasure island.
From this moment on, the life of the young teenager had as theater, the world, to the rhythm of the journeys that forged his soul and nourished his heart to give birth to Corto, his anti-hero.
This superb and proud captain observes no rule and is faithful only in friendship. From childhood, he chose his destiny by tracing with razor this line of luck that a friend of his mother does not see in his hand.
Free as the birds he contemplated on his journeys, an anarchist refusing anything that could prevent him from going forward, the beautiful brown aquiline profile, gentleman with the earring is famous on all continents.
Hugo Pratt’s life and that of his dream character are inextricably intertwined, they feed with fervor and grace.
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