De Luca: “My story in pills”

Bologna, May 30, 2025 – What do a university student who lived in the Middle Ages have in common with one today? And are we sure that certain arguments between spouses in ancient times were so different from those of a current couple? Opening a window on common lives of the past is Costantino Andrea De Luca , a historian and popularizer who from Padua chose to live in Bologna, where he graduated. And where he will present his latest book Lo scriba del faraone e altre storie di vita quotidiana dall'antichità a oggi (Bur Rizzoli), next June 4 at the Coop Zanichelli.

Another key to reading and telling the story, therefore, is possible: between the pages we discover not only great characters or famous battles, but people with their emotions and small and large adventures in which to identify.

In the meantime, Costantino is also very popular on social media with the profile Pillole di storia in which for years he has been telling stories and curiosities: and today he will do it for us in the episode of the podcast Il Resto di Bologna. “I came here for the master's degree in Historical Sciences and I stopped because I liked the city very much”.

When was your passion for history born?

“At ten years old, thanks to the teacher Davide, a substitute, who transmitted to me the sensational passion. And this makes you think about the importance of a single teacher on the lives of children. I have many friends who are substitutes, precarious: but they too can make a difference and shape minds”.

For years he has been publishing his 'Pillole di storia' on social media.

“Since the end of 2017 I started publishing anecdotes, at first only about ancient history, then also about more recent eras: I talk about any topic I find interesting, I love reading history books, it's a daily activity”.

And now the book, in which we discover 'other people's lives' that have never been included in history books.

“I tell the stories of ordinary, forgotten people, with whom we can still empathize today. For example, an underpaid teacher in Ancient Rome who asks for a raise or an exchange of letters between a man and a woman: a long-distance relationship that had the same problems as those of today, between doubts and nostalgia. I'm not talking about Napoleon or Julius Caesar, but about people like us”.

How did you select the lives?

“Being involved in popularization, I read a lot and I come across paragraphs that mention characters that arouse sympathy in me. Then I go to delve deeper into papers and other books. For example, one chapter talks about a woman tormented by her ex-husband in China in 248 BC, a story that has never been told by anyone in Italian, taken from the minutes of a trial found in a tomb on strips of bamboo. A sad and unfortunately current story”.

The book takes us all over the world, but two stories bring us to Bologna .

“Yes, one in the Middle Ages, between 200 and 300, and the other in the 16th century. The first talks about university students, how they spent their time, how they had fun, the anxiety before an exam. There are testimonies from professors who tell of students not so much interested in studying, but more in meeting women around the city. In this, the Medieval Civic Museum is fantastic, there are tombs with sculpted faces of students: some are visibly bored, others are diligent and take notes. I recommend everyone to visit. The other example talks about the nuns of the convent of San Lorenzo: today it is no longer there, but it was located in via Castiglione. These nuns had formed a choir, they were musicians, singers, but they had problems with the Inquisition, which came to investigate: it was rumored that a musical instrument had disappeared and that the devil was involved”.