La cuntintizza (El contento)

Cuntintizza is something more than happiness. It is that feeling of joy and happiness that overwhelms us when we do, see or listen to something that we like and that touches our hearts. It is a state of mind of curiosity and wonder that paves the way to hope and inner well-being. It can also be an ideal, a passion, a feeling of love for one's neighbor and an aspiration. The cuntintizza is everything for which life is worthwhile, but needs to be nurtured, cared for and protected; otherwise it atrophies until it disappears. At a time when many look to the East in search of concepts that bring us harmony and well-being, the writer Simonetta Agnello Hornby, one of the most beloved in Italy and Spain, stops looking at her own surroundings to reflect on a philosophy of life rooted in our culture: the pure joy of living. And she does it through her dialogue with her granddaughter, Costanza Gravina, in a delightful exchange that teaches us to reclaim beauty and goodness in these troubled times.