On Friday 8 August 2025, at 5:30 pm, in the evocative Piazzetta San Rocco di Asiago, the Aperitivo con l'Autore by Brazzale festival welcomes Gianni Oliva, for the presentation of his debut novel "Il pendio dei noci", published by Mondadori.
After a long and authoritative career as a historian, with numerous essays on the history of the twentieth century, Gianni Oliva measures himself with fiction for the first time. And he does so by choosing a terrain he knows in depth: that of the First World War, told with historical precision but also with a new emotional depth.
The protagonist is Giuliano, born in 1880 in a Piedmontese valley. His life took an unexpected turn after a youth marked by love for Maddalena and broken dreams: enlistment in the Foreign Legion, and finally the Great War, fought as a sergeant on Monte Grappa.
The novel alternates between two temporal levels: on the one hand, the past, with childhood, love and betrayed hopes; on the other, the very hard days of the second battle of Grappa, where Giuliano intertwines his story with those of Valdo, Gildo and Captain Maglioli, a philosophy professor catapulted into the brutality of the front.
Between friendship, courage, pain and humanity, "The slope of the walnut trees" returns with lucidity and emotion the face of a sacrificed generation, and reminds us how, even in the most extreme conditions, the human soul is capable of forging deep bonds.
A touching and intense work, which combines the rigor of the historian with the empathy of the narrator, giving readers an authentic reflection on war and memory.
The meeting will be open to the public and will offer the opportunity to dialogue with the author about his new, successful incursion into the historical novel.
Admission to the event is free, subject to availability.
In case of bad weather, the venue of the meeting may be subject to change. For updates and information, you can contact the bookshop through the appropriate buttons at the bottom of the page.
Gianni Oliva, professor of History of Military Institutions, has published many historical essays with Mondadori. Among others, The Defeated and the Liberated, Foibe, You Kill Too Little, Soldiers and Officers, The Treasure of the Vanquished, The Last Days of the Monarchy, The Fascist War, The Beautiful Death, The Purgatory of the Vanquished, Years of Lead and TNT.
Oliva is president of the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Turin.
Il pendio dei noci represents his debut in fiction.
For more information, contact the Giunti di Asiago Bookshop by clicking the blue buttons below. 👇
