Don Giovanni in Sicily

Don Giovanni in Sicilia caricatures a stereotypical forty-year-old Sicilian bachelor who lives in a stifling society, is spoiled by his sisters, and is affected by a distorted sexual drive and obsession known as gallismo. Giovanni Percolla, our main character, destroys the myth of the traditional Don Juan, spending his days in idleness. His sexual desire is more imaginative than practical. He has no lasting love affairs, instead he experiences brief encounters with hotel waitresses and prostitutes. The comic effect of the book is created by the discrepancy between the historical lover, Don Juan, and his farcical counterpart transplanted in Fascist Sicily. Even though women are the obsession of Giovanni and his friends, the ladies are the subjects and fantasies of the men who exaggerate reality in order to show off their pride and virility.