Come il re di un paese piovoso (Like the king of a rainy land) originates from a chance juxtaposition of a piece that I composed in 2003 for guitar and double-bass (recorded with  
the title Clinique in the CD Sombra realized with Massimiliano Forza) and the reknowned  poem Il pleure dans mon coeur by Paul Verlaine. Playing with relating them, I realized that  
the rhythm of the melody amazingly matched the rhythm of the poem as well as the atmosphere of the piece recalled the resonance that the poem arouses in me.  That day I decided to pursue this connection intentionally, and give voice to that affinity that draws me close to these poets: Verlaine, Baudelaire and the contemporary Jaccottet.  Feeling of affinity that, as I verified later, connects Philippe Jaccottet to the poète maudit,  who were considered by him fundamental benchmarks for his poetics.

Come il re di un paese piovoso besides being a tribute to these great poets, is what I  regard as a homage to melancholy and uncertainty: the immersion in a frame of mind in  the attempt to grasp its swings and the possible openings.Alessandra Chiurco and Flavio Davanzo have worked with me on this project from its  beginning to share and nourish its development with their sensitivity and skill.  On February 10, 2010, Philippe Jaccottet received the Gran Prix Schiller, and has been  judged “one of the most important french speaking poets of the twentieth century”. This  news fills me with joy and gives me the hope that his work will enjoy a greater diffusion in  our country.  When, a few years ago, I set out to use some of his poems and prose, I got through to him  to ask his consent and I sent him a first recording of the pieces that concern him. Jaccottet  answered with a warm letter, followed by another one after the reception of the CD. It  means a lot to me that he appreciates our work, and, even if experienced only by a short  epistolary exchange, our encounter moved and enriched me, at least as much as the  encounter between my music and his words.