Stefano M. has been my best friend for ten years, between 14 and 24. This book is dedicated to him. Stefano M. died in Rome on December 16, 2004. This books talks about him.
I’ve written To Stefano for the same reason I’ve written To Manlio, because I always think of them. I miss them. I feel nostalgia for them. Stefano M. has been the first per-son I’ve ever learnt something from. He was very different from me, but he was the first one who made me see the outside world. If I hadn’t met Stefano, probably I would have never gone out of my house. My friendship with Stefano has been a shared friendship. Until the last day, there’s always been the three of us: Stefano, his cousin Carlo P. and me. My friendship with Stefano has not been a democratic friend-ship. He was clearly better than me. No doubt about that. To Stefano has come out naturally; it was actually already written inside my head, but I didn’t know that. My memory has shown me the way and the steps. It had already selected the archive material, and I wasn’t aware of that. It had already decided what was important and what wasn’t. I’ve just added the words. To Stefano is different from how I expected it to be. I didn’t think there was so much to tell. I didn’t think I would write an action story. There are no pauses. The story goes on straight to the end. Mindset and psyche are never explained, never displayed. They are incorporated in the action. The narration contains them. They are always inside. Never outside. Never elsewhere. After all, that’s how Stefano was. He called himself a simple person, even though he knew he wasn’t. “I don’t have a subconscious,” he used to say. His problematic and complicated life proved him wrong on a dai-ly basis. However, here’s the surprising thing. To Stefano bursts the banks. I can’t tell when, but it’s a sure thing. It slipped away from me due to its overwhelming energy. It’s not my book. It’s yours as well. It doesn’t deal only with Stefano and the two Carlos. It deals with all of us. It’s a great compliment. I know. I hope it deserves it. I hope you will agree with me. Thank you. Carlo Bay.