The last week in the life of the brilliant politician and mathematician Caccioppoli (in 1959). His health has already been sapped by his alcoholism and he can sometimes scarcely be distinguished from a homeless tramp; he has withdrawn from politics long ago and as an academic he lives on his fame and routine. The life story of the scholar and political activist is told in an indirect way. The characters around about him fill in the picture of the past indirectly.Using the story of Caccioppoli, Mario Martone, himself also a Neapolitan, mainly wanted to tell a story about his city. With Caccioppoli – the genius, dandy, nihilist and alcoholic with his tendency to self-destruction – Martone provides a picture of his own time and surroundings.
