THIS BOOK SEEKS TO PAY HOMAGE TO ALL THOSE WHO HAVE BELIEVED in me over the past few years. To those people who have been able to stand by me and take part in my story in so many different ways, beginning with those who nurtured me with their trust and their teaching, and allowed me to draw on those resources as I continued to write.
To people like Vincenzo Consolo, who listened to me when I was still a boy and who, together with his wife Caterina, welcomed me into his home, itself a kind of storehouse of affection, a place where I learned about the responsibilities of literature and the power of the written word.
To Goffredo Fofi, the first person to urge me to really look out of my window, who taught me how people have etched their words and actions onto a landscape.
To Guiseppe Montesano, who practically adopted me, and who opened literature’s door to me, with whom I had endless discussions on boundless worlds that only literature can create.
To Corrado Stajano, the author of a book without which I never would have found my way, which taught me how to be strong in the most difficult circumstances.
To the memory of Enzo Siciliano, who believed in my talent and made room for my words.
To Helena Janeczek, who was there for me at the start and will always be there, no matter what.
To Tiziano Scarpa, who invited me to be part of the Indian Nation and gave me the opportunity to communicate with my first readers and a community of writer friends who have never abandoned me.
To Francesco Pinto, who urged me several years ago not to be afraid of television.
To the people at Mondadori who have worked with me and for my words, who have believed in me since Gomorrah, who have given me their support through the most difficult times, and who have consistently gone beyond their professional obligations. To my foreign editors, who have worked with passion and keen intelligence on my behalf.
To the director and staff at L’Espresso, who took my side from the very beginning and who believed in my articles.
To the director and staff at La Repubblica, who gave me their best pages and stood by me.
To every other Italian newspaper that has defended me, and to foreign newspapers that have allowed me to communicate what I believe in to the rest of the world.
To all those people working in television and radio who have been so accessible and generous, who have given me and my story airtime, interviews and programmes. They have contributed a great deal in bringing the issues to the attention of the public, and have ultimately had an effect on public opinion.
My thanks also to Mikhail Gorbachev and Elie Wiesel, who were among the first to sign a petition voicing their solidarity with my situation, and to Lech Walesa and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Thank you to Shirin Ebadi, Betty Williams and Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for their own battles, and who continue to follow my story. To Rita Levi Montalcini and Renato Dulbecco who, together with Dario Fo, used their authority to intervene on my behalf when things got tough for me. Thanks to Orhan Pamuk, who listened to me in Germany and said: “Here is my wish, and I pray that you listen: live.” To Wisława Szymborska and Günter Grass, who stood up for me in Poland and Germany. To John M. Coetzee, who signed a petition in my name, as did Elfriede Jelinek and José Saramago. My thanks also to Salman Rushdie who, having been through a similar situation, gave me advice on how to deal with everyday problems when living under siege.
Thanks to Joe Pistone, a.k.a. Donnie Brasco, who allowed me to become part of his experience, offered me his friendship and made suggestions as to how to deal with asphyxiating loneliness.
Thanks to Claudio Abbado, who did me the great honour of dedicating one of his concerts at San Carlo in Naples to me.
To Martin Scorsese, who defended me from the usual accusations of having defamed my country.
To Fandango, who decided to produce the film of Gomorrah when the book had only just come out, and did so in such a way that won us the Grand Prix in Cannes and the David di Donatello.
To Mario Gelardi, Ivan Castiglione and all the actors who produced a stage version of my book and performed it all over Italy, making it one of the most well-attended plays of recent years.
To all those colleagues and figures in the cultural arena who took my story and words to heart, and who offered me their support in a variety of ways: Martin Amis, Paul Auster, Ingrid Betancourt, Junot Díaz, Umberto Eco, Nathan Englander, Hans Magnus Enzensberger, Jonathan Safran Foer, Jonathan Franzen, David Grossman, Siri Hustvedt, Tahar Ben Jelloun, Jonathan Lethem, Caro Llewelyn, Mario Vargas Llosa, Claudio Magris, Javier Marías, Colum McCann, Ian McEwan, Patrick McGrath, Suketu Mehta, Adam Michnik, Taslima Nasreen, Chuck Palahniuk, Francesco Rosi, Cathleen Schine, Peter Schneider and the Taviani brothers.
To the musicians who decided to dedicate their songs to me or to include me in their projects: Massive Attack, Subsonica, Fabri Fibra, Lucariello and ’A67.
To my country Italy, which has defended me, and in particular to our President, Giorgio Napolitano, who has shown me his sincere concern and support on more than one occasion.
To the carabinieri forces that protect me, to the lucid intelligence of General Gaetano Maruccia, who has been a significant reference point for me, and to the support and friendship of Colonel Ciro La Volla.
To Nando, Leo, Aristide, Francesco, Marco, Michele and Sebastiano, who are by my side every day and who show courage, professionalism, affection and personal sacrifice without ever making me feel that I am a burden.
To the associations that have laboured on my behalf, to the people who have brought about spontaneous actions in my favour, to Alex Pecoraro and those on the web who have built a network of information and solidarity. To those who used social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace to create a network of support and to generate publicity.
To all those Italian cities that have offered me honorary citizenship – Rome, Turin, Bologna, Florence, Venice, Ancona, L’Aquila, Mantua, Montebelluna, Orvieto, Pisa, Reggio Emilia, Viterbo, to name but a few – showing that my problems were shared by the whole country, and allowing me still to feel at home in Italy.
Thanks to all those countries that have offered me hospitality: to Spain, my home for many months; to Sweden, which gave me asylum; to Germany, which showed its solidarity and friendship on many occasions; to President Shimon Peres, who offered me refuge in Israel; and to France, which offered me honorary citizenship of its capital. I acknowledge that I have received a great deal both from my own country and from the rest of the world.
Lastly, I thank my family; I hope they can forgive me for everything that they have had to go through because of me.
R.S.