Next Gen · A new inheritance
The Secret of the Niña and the Pact of Amalfi
Alberto receives a brass sextant and sets out with Kaltrina in search of the rules that can guide Camino Holding. Between Genoa and Amalfi they discover the Pact of the Column: merit and risk are shared, because no one faces the sea alone.
“We decide our own starting point.”— Kaltrina
English edition · free download
Amazon link coming soon
Historical note, separate from the narrative.
The ship that took command
The Niña was officially named Santa Clara. After the Santa María ran aground off Hispaniola on Christmas night in 1492, Christopher Columbus chose the Niña as his command ship for the return voyage. In the story, this historical transition becomes a question about succession: what makes a new generation ready to take the helm?
The link to the novel
La Niña — La Traiettoria, Volume I
This historical transition is the starting point of La Niña, the first volume in the La Traiettoria series: the caravel’s crew becomes the metaphor for a company learning to sail when no course yet exists.
Read the novel La NiñaNext Gen
The first four illustrations
The authentic opening of the story: Edoardo’s gift, the question facing Camino Holding, the archive in Genoa and the Pact of the Column in Amalfi.
Illustration I
Under the warm light of Tirana, young Alberto received a gift that would change the way he looked at the world. Edoardo, a wise man who smelled of salt and old books, handed him a dark wooden box. Inside was a brass sextant, an ancient instrument that served not only to measure the height of the stars above the sea, but to find one's own direction in the storms of life. “Sailing is not just commanding a ship, Alberto,” Edoardo told him. “It is learning to find your bearing when the course does not yet exist.”
Illustration II
Alberto looked at his company, the Camino Holding, and felt like a captain facing an unknown ocean. Together with his wife Kaltrina, a woman of sharp gaze and brilliant mind, he wondered how to steer that great crew. “Finding your bearing is far harder than giving orders,” Kaltrina observed as she studied the city map. They realised that the company was not just an office but a brave ship, and that to make her travel safely they needed ancient rules, written with heart and reason.
Illustration III
Their journey began in Genoa, among the narrow alleys that smell of history. In a dusty old archive, guided by the wise archivist Agata, they discovered incredible documents. The merchants of the past did not write only contracts for money; between the tightly sewn lines they hid secret messages to protect the people they loved. They learned that true wealth is not what is carried in the hold, but the care with which the secrets that keep a crew together are guarded.
Illustration IV
Once in Amalfi, Alberto entered the monumental Arsenal of the Republic. There, beneath the tall stone vaults, their guide Rosetta told them of the “Pact of the Column”. It was a magnificent rule: in the old days, on board a ship, everyone — from the rich shipowner to the last of the sailors — were partners. They shared the profits when the voyage went well, but they stood by one another when the sea grew furious. “No one is alone on the column,” Rosetta explained, and Alberto understood that merit and risk must always be shared.