The Italian Cultural Institute of Pretoria presents an exclusive literary event celebrating the Italian publication of Etienne van Heerden’s acclaimed novel The Long Silence of Mario Salviati.
Join us for a special conversation with Etienne van Heerden, one of South Africa’s leading novelists, and Dr Raphael d’Abdon, writer, academic and translator of the new Italian edition.
Originally published in Afrikaans in 2000 as Die swye van Mario Salviati, the novel is now reaching Italian readers in a new translation published by CH3 Press. The book was awarded the 2001 M-Net Prize for Prose.
About the book
Set in the rugged landscape of South Africa’s Great Karoo, in the fictional town of Yearsonend, The Long Silence of Mario Salviati is a richly layered novel in which history, memory, myth and magical realism intertwine.
At the heart of the novel is Mario Salviati, an Italian prisoner of war during the Second World War, who was interned at Zonderwater Camp before coming to the Karoo, where he became a stonemason. Now deaf, mute and blind, Mario has remained silent for decades — but his silence conceals crucial knowledge about the town’s past.
Van Heerden explores themes of memory, displacement, identity and silence, as well as the ways in which the past continues to shape the present. The novel brings together South African history and the experience of an Italian POW, creating a fascinating literary bridge between South Africa and Italy.
Meet the Author and Translator
This special event will offer audiences the opportunity to meet Etienne van Heerden and Dr Raphael d’Abdon and hear them discuss the novel, its themes, its South African context, and the challenges of bringing this celebrated work of Afrikaans literature to Italian readers.
Copies of both the Italian and English editions will be available for purchase at the book presentation.
Date: 28 October 2026
Venue: Embassy of Italy, Pretoria
For further information and registration, please write to:
pretoria.italy@gmail.com