Abstract

The paper considers Carlo Montella's novel Fire in the land registry office, published in Florence in 1956 by Vallecchi. The events narrated in it are set in the land registry office of a provincial town, probably Pisa, where Montella lived and was employed for several years. In the novel one finds detailed descriptions and interesting observations on the life and customs of Italian white-collar workers in the 1950's. It is a sleepy world, staunchly set against change, innovation and modernization. Montella's novel is considered a fictional and literary testimony of a particular slice of reality, and a source of great interest to historians of administration and bureaucracy.