Discovering the Dawn

Giovanni Astengo, an archivist, spends his time reading the diaries of people he does not know and waiting for the dawn every morning. His daughter Stella, who has Down syndrome, his teenage son Lorenzo, who finds the answers to all his questions in Italo Calvino's novels, and his wife Giulia, from whom he has become estranged after the birth of their daughter, suffocate Giovanni while tying him to life. As Giovanni comes to terms with himself as a father and an adult, his past confronts him in a way he never expected. Almost like a detective, Giovanni uncovers the mystery behind the escape of his father, who left his home years ago when Italy was going through an extremely painful period politically and was never heard from again, and realizes that adulthood, a sense of trust and family have completely different meanings. Giovanni, who writes down his experiences, knows that when his writings are read, he will be considered to have truly lived.

Walter Veltroni, one of the important political figures of Italy and the Mayor of Rome since 2001, tells the story of the miracle, adventure, sadness and of course the human being underlying seemingly ordinary events and relationships in Discovering the Dawn.