Fantaghirò,
persona bella
Seven illustrations inspired by an italian folk tale
for "Children's tales from around the world",
a project by Expo 2020 Dubai
Client: The Italian Republic
Agency: Almaviva
One day the girls came into his bedroom and saw that the King was sitting on the red chair, an open letter in his hand. His eldest daughter said, “Lord Father, what has happened?”
“Such beautiful reeds,” exclaimed the Princess. “If we had them at home, imagine how many nice distaffs we could make on which to spin our wool.”
Fantaghirò was disguised as a warrior. Armed with a sword and pistols, she looked like a valiant dragoon. She and Tonino left with the army in their wake.
Fantaghirò took the swords off the wall and started to try one after another, handling them deftly. She even took the pistols and the muskets, and tried them too.
The following morning, Fantaghirò and Romualdo met in front of the garden fish pond. He jumped into the water, shouting: “Join me. It is very hot out there and the water is so refreshing.”
The next morning Romualdo went into the room to see where his mysterious guest had slept, and found her note.
The young king took her to his palace where he and his bride lived happily for years to come, and in time the brave and clever Fantaghirò inherited her father’s land and became Queen of the two kingdoms.
