“Hello, I’m Montalbano!” Almost every Monday at 9:15 PM, I would hear these words blaring from the TV in the living room. This is how the episodes of Italy’s most beloved Sicilian police commissioner always begin, alongside a nice close-up of Luca Zingaretti answering the phone, perhaps while sipping coffee on the terrace of his small villa in his fictional hometown of Vigata.
Or perhaps his towel hangs around his neck because he’s just taken an early morning swim, or he’s about to stick his fork into his beloved Adelina’s pasta ‘ncasciata flan.
