Modesta, we wish we could be her

"I have always stolen my share of joy from everything and everyone." It took nearly twenty years for Goliarda Sapienza’s testament-novel to finally be published. And even then, not in full. In 1994, L’arte della gioia was revealed to the world in its first part, two years before the Italian writer and actress passed away. It wasn’t until 1998 that the complete novel saw the light of day, but it was France that turned it into a literary success—Italy arrived much later. And that was no coincidence. The story, now adapted into an original Sky series, defies all rules, from the written page to the screen.

L'arte della gioia: A Story That Breaks Every Rule

The novel itself is a constant shift between literary styles, sometimes even alternating between first and third person. Then there is its thrilling and explosive storytelling, entirely carried by a protagonist who shatters every convention. Valeria Golino, both director and screenwriter, perfectly outfits young actress Tecla Insolia in this role. Just eighteen when she first stepped onto the set, she now has a clear path ahead of her, thanks to the show’s Cannes Festival premiere and its upcoming release on Sky and NOW on February 28.

Who Is Modesta, the Revolutionary Protagonist?

Modesta, the protagonist of L’arte della gioia, possesses a charm impossible to describe in words. She is exactly like the emotions and impulses that drive her throughout the story: primal. There is nothing she does that is not in pursuit of her self-affirmation, beyond any institution—even resorting to murder when necessary, always to dismantle the very symbols of a rigid, imposed society. Family, the Church, the aristocracy. Modesta dismantles power according to the rule that nothing is destroyed, only transformed. So she takes it into her own hands, acquiring piece by piece, day by day, stripping it from others and claiming it for herself. She is the protagonist we all wish we could be—minus the killings. And she is just as captivating on the page as she is in the series adaptation.

A Character That Captivates the Audience

In L’arte della gioia, Modesta’s indifferent yet passionate, brazen yet arrogant nature never distances the viewer. At the first hint of dislike, it becomes immediately clear that it’s not about lacking empathy for her, but rather feeling too much of it. Wishing, perhaps, to trade places with her, even though the early 1900s were hardly the best time for a young woman to live in the sun-drenched lands of Sicily. An abused orphan, a novice with erotic impulses toward her Mother Superior, a pawn in courtly games within lavish yet decaying mansions—Goliarda Sapienza, and later Valeria Golino, never portray Modesta as someone to be protected. She is not a victim to be protected but a predator to be feared. They do not pity her or wonder how she will overcome life’s hardships; they clear the way for her to be as turbulent and hungry as possible. It is an urgent, fierce need for love that fuels her actions, boldly expressed in this TV adaptation. She is rough, provocative, and impossible to look away from. She embodies the audacity, rebellion, and sheer desire for freedom that we all secretly crave. She lacks guilt, and that is precisely what makes her so compelling.

Why L’arte della gioia Was a Late Success in Italy

Not the typical heroine, because L’arte della gioia is not the typical novel. In Italy, it went largely unnoticed when it was finally published, after Sapienza had spent nine years writing it. It was France that propelled it to fame, turning it into the well-known and beloved novel it is today. The same country where Sky has yet to sell the TV series—an unexpected yet telling paradox. Modesta’s fate has always been one of constant transformation, of being mutable and adapting even where she was not wanted, always on her own terms. Now, she hopes to find a way to bring her story to France as well. After all, it is the homeland of a film like Benedetta by Paul Verhoeven, already accustomed to licentious nuns in search of intimacy. But Modesta is much more than that. She has been the devil surrounded by holy water, the young woman yearning for a nun’s virtue (played by Jasmine Trinca), the misplaced finch in the palace of Princess Gaia (played by Valeria Bruni Tedeschi). And if the series performs well, we may witness the continuation of the protagonist’s journey of self-determination, as Sky’s adaptation stops right at that youth— the most fiery and intense phase one could ever narrate. Sexual, bold, arrogant: this is the beauty of Modesta and the series, a spirit we, too, wish we could steal.