{ Chapter Nineteen }
Natoli: per la barba di Michelangelo! Bongiovanni is suffering from dementia. With this statement he appears to be invoking the Renaissance master in the same way as one would invoke the Madonna, as in: “By the Madonna!”.
by the beard of Michelangelo
tressette
One of Italy’s national card games, together with scopa and Briscola.
Natoli: Ti hai ancora la bocca che ti puzza di latte: an idiomatic expression, meaning, “you’re still wet behind the ears”.