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The encounter between Gabriele D’Annunzio, one of the greatest Italian poets, and Nina, an ordinary woman.
An encounter that will change both their lives forever.
Italy, 1919. Torn from her family, Nina is sent to work as a servant in the villa of Gabriele D’Annunzio, the famous Vittoriale on the shores of Lake Garda—more than just an opulent residence, but an architectural and artistic manifesto.
The poet-soldier, once adored and revered, is no longer the man of his glorious beginnings. Blind in one eye, weighed down by age and disillusion, he has become a god in ruins. And yet, from the very first moment, Nina feels irresistibly drawn to him. In her stubbornness and sharp mind, D’Annunzio senses a challenge to his own physical decline, a vital force that might help him push back the darkness.
Nina is pulled into a dangerous game of power and desire, where d’Annunzio’s obsessive need for control threatens to destroy her chance at happiness. Yet amid cruelty and isolation, she finds an unexpected love with Giulio, the gardener, and slowly begins to change: from a fragile girl into a self-aware woman, determined to claim a place for herself in the world.
Set against the rise of Fascism, Bitter Water is a gripping story of resilience, ambition, and the devastating price of freedom.
Maria Costanza Di Croce (Chiaravalle, 1987) graduated in Law from the University of Florence. She lives in Pesaro, where she works, writes, and reads extensively. L’acqua amara (Bitter Water, 2026) is her debut novel.
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