W.I.T.C.H. held a special place in my heart from my teenage years onward. Back then, I believe I was the number one fan: I adored every character, and those atmospheres that over time had grown familiar and sparked pure nostalgia with each magazine issue. The newsstand owner in San Daniele del Friuli, my hometown, knew to reserve a copy for me every month, because I would swing by to buy it, come what may.
The W.I.T.C.H. lived their adolescence parallel to mine
From the very first page, I realized I hadn’t stepped into just any world, but into a place where everything seemed possible. Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, and Hay Lin lived their adolescence in parallel with mine: friends, school, insecurities, first loves… like me, they moved through life in small steps, hesitating, discovering it day by day, alongside their powers.
I was struck by the fact that they weren’t perfect, quite the opposite. Yet that imperfection was part of their strength: they were ordinary girls – sometimes fragile or troubled – and each one brought what she had to the table: courage, passion, determination, optimism, wonder. Every girl of my generation could identify with at least one of the W.I.T.C.H. No one was left out, nobody stood alone in a moment as delicate as adolescence, a time when you can feel utterly lost.
Being readers was a source of pride
I adored Will, the guardian of the Heart of Kandrakar; I often daydreamed about what it would be like to belong to the team, and I imagined I might wield a power of my own. The W.I.T.C.H. were five ordinary girls, not physically strong or heroic beyond measure, and yet their lives always left room for the extraordinary.
I remember spending hours tracing the drawings by hand and keeping every single one, including the imperfect ones. That, too, was part of the immersive experience of W.I.T.C.H., which fostered a strong sense of belonging: being readers was a point of pride; we identified with each other, we formed a community – born even before the rise of social media – that had something to discuss and dream about.
Reading was a ritual that lasted thirty days: reflections on what had happened in the latest issue, hypotheses about what would happen in the next, the sprint to the newsstand to grab the magazine each month, private reading in a corner of my bedroom, rereading with friends… and then it started all over again.
Il Cuore solo sa is a contemporary story with a nostalgic flavor
The novel springs from a What if? moment (What if… The Guardians Had Forgotten the Magic?). Writing it felt like reopening a door that had remained ajar for years. And behind that door were all my memories! I tried to imagine the protagonists grown up, changed, even in how they think, with new dreams and new challenges to face.
Il Cuore solo sa is a modern tale, yet it carries a nostalgic undertone, because we will encounter magic, friendship, old loves and new ones. It is crafted for those who loved W.I.T.C.H. as well as for new generations of readers.
The magic of W.I.T.C.H. blossomed twenty-five years ago, but it remains relevant today. The need to understand who we are and to find our place in the world, the importance of recognizing and accepting one’s own fragilities, are timeless themes. Additionally, I would like to remind you that for every story there is never a true ending, but only new beginnings.
THE AUTHOR AND THE VOLUME – Twenty-five years have passed since five girls conquered the world: on April 3, 2001 W.I.T.C.H. was born, a project conceived by Elisabetta Gnone, Alessandro Barbucci and Barbara Canepa in 2001 and produced by Disney Italia, a monthly comic that became a worldwide success, a staple for thousands of readers – over 180 million copies sold in 70 countries – who today have the chance to rediscover traces of a story they never forgot.
“And if… The Guardians Had Forgotten the Magic?”
To celebrate this anniversary, indeed, an exceptional fan, Lodovica Comello, wrote Il Cuore solo sa, a novel that begins with a question: and if… The Guardians Had Forgotten the Magic?
And so Lodovica Comello tells once again of Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia and Hay Lin, now young adults in university who, thanks to a string of coincidences – or perhaps not… – end up back in Heatherfield, together.
Il Cuore solo sa, among other things, will be published in other countries around the world. The volume includes the section “Letters from the Witch to their younger selves of a few years ago,” in which the novel’s protagonists write a message from the future to their teenage selves (with illustrations drawn from the classic comic), the section “Art Gallery,” with 5 illustrations born from the hands of esteemed Disney artists, depicting the W.I.T.C.H., and the “Artist Overlay,” with a colorful exclusive illustration.
