Snails and Rebellion

In the noble Piovasco di Rondò household, young Cosimo's refusal to eat snails at a tense family meal becomes the catalyst for a life-changing act of rebellion. Frustrated by the oppressive rules and the grotesque culinary experiments of his sister Battista, Cosimo climbs into the branches of the holm oak and declares he will never come down. His family, a mix of tradition-bound parents, a militaristic mother, a scheming uncle, and a peculiar sister, is both bewildered and dismissive, expecting him to return. But Cosimo's gesture is more than childish stubbornness—it is a declaration of independence from the arbitrary authority and hypocrisy of adulthood. His younger brother Biagio, the narrator, watches in awe as Cosimo's protest becomes a permanent way of life, setting the stage for a story of radical self-determination.

The Boy in the Trees

Cosimo quickly learns to navigate the interconnected canopy, discovering a new perspective on the world below. He explores neighboring gardens, including the mysterious Ondariva estate, where he meets the spirited Viola, a girl his own age. Their playful, competitive banter on swings and branches hints at a deeper connection. Cosimo's vow to never touch the ground becomes a game, a challenge, and a principle. He claims dominion over the treetops, inventing rules and boundaries that both separate and connect him to others. The trees become his refuge, his kingdom, and his means of engaging with the world on his own terms.

New Kingdom, New Rules

As days pass, Cosimo's resolve hardens. He forges alliances with his brother Biagio, who supplies him with ropes and tools, and begins constructing shelters and devising ways to live entirely above ground. The family's attempts to lure him down—through forgiveness, punishment, or trickery—fail. Cosimo's rebellion is not just against his family but against the expectations of society. He explores the vast, interconnected forests of Ombrosa, realizing he can travel for miles without touching earth. The trees become both a physical and philosophical space for freedom, observation, and self-invention.

Fruit Thieves and Friendships

Cosimo encounters a band of ragged fruit thieves—local boys who live by their wits and agility. Initially an outsider, he earns their respect through his superior tree-climbing skills and quick thinking. He learns of the legendary Sinforosa, a girl who once led the band, and suspects she is Viola. Cosimo's interactions with the thieves and the poor of Ombrosa broaden his understanding of society's margins. He becomes both a leader and a mediator, straddling the worlds of nobility and outcasts, always from his vantage point in the trees.

Viola and the Bandits

Viola, revealed as Sinforosa, returns to the scene, stirring up old loyalties and jealousies among the boys. Cosimo's feelings for her deepen, but their relationship is fraught with competition, pride, and misunderstanding. Viola is as unpredictable and independent as Cosimo, and their encounters are marked by games, challenges, and emotional reversals. The trees become a stage for their evolving, tumultuous bond—a blend of childhood play, adolescent longing, and the first stirrings of adult love.

The Wildcat and Farewell

Cosimo's encounter with a wildcat in the woods becomes a test of survival and courage. He kills the beast but is wounded and bloodied, only to discover that Viola is being sent away to school. His triumph is met with indifference, and her departure leaves him desolate. Cosimo fashions a cap from the wildcat's fur, a symbol of his new, hardened identity. The episode marks the end of childhood innocence and the beginning of a more solitary, self-reliant existence.

The World Above Ground

As months and years pass, Cosimo's presence in the trees becomes a fixture of Ombrosa. He interacts with peasants, wanderers, and even visiting nobility, offering advice, learning new skills, and becoming a local curiosity. His family adapts to his absence, and the townspeople come to accept, even respect, his eccentricity. Cosimo's daily life is a blend of practical ingenuity—hunting, building, inventing—and philosophical reflection. He becomes a symbol of freedom, strangeness, and the possibility of living differently.

Lessons from the Trees

Cosimo continues his studies with the Abbé Fauchelefleur, who is both tutor and companion. Their lessons, conducted from branch to ground, evolve into discussions of philosophy, science, and the nature of society. Cosimo's thirst for knowledge leads him to correspond with thinkers across Europe and to amass a library in the treetops. He becomes a self-taught scholar, blending Enlightenment ideals with his own unique perspective. The trees are both classroom and laboratory, a place for intellectual as well as physical exploration.

The Baron's Growing Legend

Stories of the "Baron in the Trees" circulate far and wide, attracting visitors, curiosity-seekers, and even the attention of foreign courts. Cosimo becomes a storyteller himself, embellishing his adventures and blurring the line between fact and fiction. He is both admired and mocked, a figure of myth and reality. His relationships with his family, especially his brother Biagio and the eccentric Cavalier Carrega, deepen, marked by affection, rivalry, and mutual incomprehension.

Ottimo Massimo's Loyalty

Cosimo befriends Ottimo Massimo, a dachshund abandoned by Viola's family. The dog becomes his constant companion, hunting partner, and confidant. Their bond is one of mutual loyalty and understanding, transcending the divide between ground and sky. Ottimo Massimo's presence is a reminder of lost love, childhood, and the enduring need for connection.

The Brigand's Library

Cosimo befriends Gian dei Brughi, a notorious brigand hiding in the woods. Their unlikely friendship is forged through a shared love of books. Cosimo supplies Gian with novels, and the bandit becomes obsessed with reading, neglecting his criminal career. The power of literature to civilize, distract, and ultimately destroy is dramatized in Gian's fate. Cosimo's own passion for knowledge is deepened, and he becomes a conduit for the spread of ideas, both radical and humane.

Fire, Forests, and Leadership

When arson threatens the forests of Ombrosa, Cosimo organizes the townspeople into fire brigades, using his knowledge of the trees to coordinate defense and prevention. His leadership unites people across class and profession, demonstrating the power of collective action. The episode marks Cosimo's emergence as a civic leader, respected for his ingenuity, courage, and commitment to the common good.

The Pirate's Secret

Cosimo uncovers a plot involving his uncle, the Cavalier Carrega, who is secretly aiding Barbary pirates. Torn between loyalty and justice, Cosimo intervenes, leading to a dramatic confrontation and the Cavalier's death. The episode is a meditation on the complexities of family, exile, and the costs of divided allegiance. Cosimo's actions are both heroic and tragic, reinforcing his isolation and sense of responsibility.

Love and the Spanish Exiles

Cosimo encounters a colony of Spanish nobles exiled in the trees of Olivabassa. Among them is Ursula, a spirited and resourceful young woman. Their romance is tender, playful, and marked by mutual respect. Cosimo helps the exiles adapt to arboreal life, inventing new devices and fostering a sense of solidarity. The episode explores themes of belonging, exile, and the possibility of happiness in unlikely circumstances.

Ursula and the Walnut Tree

Cosimo and Ursula's relationship deepens, but is ultimately constrained by the realities of exile and the expectations of her family. When the Spanish nobles are allowed to return home, Ursula must choose between love and duty. Cosimo, true to his vow, refuses to descend to earth, and Ursula departs. The episode is a poignant meditation on the costs of fidelity to one's principles and the inevitability of loss.

Return of the Marchesa

Years later, Viola returns to Ombrosa as a widow, now the Marchesa. Her arrival reignites Cosimo's old feelings, and their love affair resumes with renewed intensity. Their relationship is passionate, competitive, and fraught with misunderstandings. Viola is as independent and capricious as ever, and their love is both a source of joy and torment. The trees become a theater for their romance, a space of freedom and constraint.

Love, Jealousy, and Loss

Cosimo and Viola's relationship is tested by jealousy, pride, and the impossibility of absolute union. Viola's flirtations and Cosimo's stubbornness lead to quarrels, reconciliations, and ultimately, separation. Viola leaves Ombrosa, and Cosimo is plunged into grief and madness. The episode explores the tension between love and autonomy, the pain of loss, and the difficulty of reconciling desire with principle.

Madness and the Birds

Bereft of love, Cosimo becomes increasingly eccentric, identifying with birds and animals, writing pamphlets, and living on charity. His madness is both a retreat and a form of protest, a refusal to conform to the world's expectations. Yet, in moments of crisis—such as a wolf invasion—he rallies the community and demonstrates his enduring value. Cosimo's life becomes a parable of resilience, creativity, and the costs of radical freedom.

Revolution and the Tree of Liberty

The French Revolution and Napoleonic wars reach Ombrosa, bringing turmoil, hope, and disappointment. Cosimo is both participant and observer, organizing resistance, advocating for justice, and witnessing the cycles of revolution and reaction. His "Constitution for All Living Things" is ignored, but his example continues to inspire. The world changes, but Cosimo remains steadfast in his commitment to his unique way of life.

War, Wolves, and Old Age

As Cosimo ages, the world around him transforms. Empires rise and fall, forests are cut down, and new generations forget the old ways. Cosimo's health declines, but he refuses to descend. In his final days, he is cared for by the townspeople and his brother Biagio. When a passing balloon offers a fleeting chance at flight, Cosimo leaps, vanishing into the sky. His life becomes legend—a testament to the possibility of living according to one's own truth, and the enduring mystery of the human spirit.

Characters

Cosimo Piovasco di Rondò

Cosimo is the protagonist whose childhood act of rebellion—climbing into the trees and vowing never to come down—becomes a lifelong commitment to independence, curiosity, and self-invention. He is both a dreamer and a pragmatist, inventing new ways to live, learn, and love from his arboreal perch. Cosimo's relationships—with family, friends, lovers, and the people of Ombrosa—are marked by empathy, stubbornness, and a restless search for meaning. Psychologically, he embodies the tension between freedom and belonging, idealism and isolation. Over time, he evolves from a rebellious boy to a wise, eccentric elder, his life a parable of authenticity and the costs of radical autonomy.

Biagio Piovasco di Rondò

Biagio is Cosimo's younger brother and the story's chronicler. He is practical, cautious, and deeply attached to his brother, serving as a bridge between Cosimo and the world below. Biagio's perspective is marked by affection, admiration, and occasional bewilderment. He provides context, commentary, and emotional grounding, allowing readers to understand Cosimo's choices and their impact on those around him. Biagio's own life is shaped by Cosimo's example, even as he chooses a more conventional path.

Viola (Sinforosa, Marchesa)

Viola is Cosimo's childhood friend, first love, and lifelong obsession. She is fiercely independent, intelligent, and unpredictable, challenging Cosimo at every turn. Their relationship is a dance of attraction, rivalry, and misunderstanding, marked by moments of intense connection and painful separation. Viola's refusal to be possessed or defined by anyone mirrors Cosimo's own commitment to freedom, making their love both irresistible and impossible. Psychologically, she represents the allure and danger of desire, the complexity of female agency, and the limits of romantic fulfillment.

Battista Piovasco di Rondò

Cosimo's sister, Battista, is a figure of domestic rebellion and macabre creativity. Forced into a quasi-nunnish existence after a scandal, she expresses her frustrations through bizarre and unsettling culinary experiments. Her relationship with Cosimo is antagonistic but also marked by a shared spirit of defiance. Battista's psychological complexity lies in her struggle for agency within the constraints of gender and family.

Baron Arminio Piovasco di Rondò

Cosimo's father is obsessed with lineage, status, and the restoration of the family's ducal title. He is both a figure of authority and a source of comic frustration, unable to understand or control his son's rebellion. His relationship with Cosimo is marked by disappointment, pride, and a longing for order. Psychologically, he represents the fading power of the old order and the anxieties of a world in transition.

Generalessa Corradina di Rondò

Cosimo's mother, the Generalessa, is a woman of military discipline and strategic thinking. She channels her energies into embroidery, battle maps, and the management of the household. Her relationship with Cosimo is marked by a mixture of concern, pride, and resignation. She accepts his strangeness more readily than others, embodying both the strengths and limitations of maternal love.

Cavalier Enea Silvio Carrega

The Cavalier is Cosimo's uncle, a man of mysterious origins, Turkish robes, and a passion for hydraulics and beekeeping. His life is marked by exile, betrayal, and unfulfilled longing. His relationship with Cosimo is one of mutual curiosity and occasional collaboration. Psychologically, he represents the costs of divided loyalty, the pain of displacement, and the dangers of nostalgia.

Ottimo Massimo

Ottimo Massimo is the dachshund who becomes Cosimo's faithful companion. Abandoned by Viola's family, he bridges the worlds of ground and sky, embodying loyalty, adaptability, and the enduring need for connection. His presence is a source of comfort, comic relief, and emotional resonance throughout Cosimo's life.

Gian dei Brughi

Gian is a notorious brigand whose life is transformed by Cosimo's gift of books. His obsession with reading leads to his neglect of crime, alienation from his peers, and eventual capture and execution. Gian's story is a meditation on the civilizing power of literature, the dangers of obsession, and the possibility of redemption.

Ursula

Ursula is the Spanish exile with whom Cosimo shares a brief, tender romance. She is resourceful, kind, and adaptable, helping her family survive in the trees. Her relationship with Cosimo is marked by mutual respect and affection, but ultimately constrained by duty and circumstance. Psychologically, she represents the possibility of happiness within limits, and the pain of necessary separation.

Plot Devices

Arboreal Narrative Structure

The central device of the novel is Cosimo's literal and metaphorical life in the trees. This structure allows Calvino to explore themes of perspective, autonomy, and the relationship between individual and society. The trees are both a physical setting and a symbol of freedom, creativity, and the possibility of alternative ways of living. The narrative moves fluidly between episodes of adventure, romance, philosophy, and social commentary, mirroring the branching, interconnected nature of the forest itself.

Foreshadowing and Recurrence

Calvino uses recurring motifs—snails, swings, wildcats, books, and storms—to foreshadow key events and to create a sense of cyclical time. Relationships and conflicts established in childhood reappear in new forms throughout Cosimo's life, emphasizing the persistence of character and the inevitability of change.

Blending of Fact and Fiction

The novel blurs the line between historical reality and myth, with Cosimo's exploits becoming the stuff of local legend, gossip, and international curiosity. The narrator, Biagio, both documents and embellishes, inviting readers to question the nature of truth, memory, and storytelling.

Philosophical Dialogue and Satire

Through Cosimo's conversations with philosophers, priests, brigands, and exiles, Calvino satirizes the intellectual currents of the Enlightenment and the contradictions of modernity. The novel is both a celebration and a critique of reason, progress, and the limits of utopian thinking.

Symbolic

Last updated: July 18, 2025