When a story reaches the cinema: From Davide Amante’s novel, L’Affaire Casati Stampa, to Andrea De Sica’s film Gli occhi degli altri.

On the occasion of the Italian release of the film inspired by a story that has already profoundly impacted the collective imagination, attention is once again focused on L’Affaire Casati Stampa, the bestselling novel published in Italy that was the first to tell, in narrative form, one of the most controversial and fascinating stories of twentieth-century Italy.
The book has captivated thousands of readers with its ability to intertwine eroticism, power, scandal, and boundless passion, offering an intimate and literary portrait of characters and dynamics that continue to exert a powerful influence on public opinion today.
Davide Amante explains: “I’ve always been interested in the Casati Stampas’ extreme passion, which can lead to behavioral deviations and reveal their human side, both fragile and powerful. Therefore, I wanted to retrace the judicial investigation in its entirety, convinced that the characters’ souls would be revealed in the facts. And so it was, I believe.”
It’s not uncommon for great stories to explore different languages, from literature to film. In this case, audiences now have the opportunity to rediscover the story in its original form: that of the novel, where it all began. There are stories that don’t belong to a single author or a single language. They emerge, disappear, and then return. They change form, but their emotional core remains intact. The Casati Stampa affair is one of these. Even before becoming film, it was already literature. And perhaps always will be.
L’Affaire Casati Stampa is available in bookstores and online.

Undoubtedly the finest work dedicated to the Casati Stampa affair is Davide Amante’s refined novel, L’Affaire Casati Stampa. This intensely paced novel explores an extreme romantic relationship, punctuated chapter by chapter by the court documents and investigations conducted. Beautifully written, refined, and with a unique style, Davide Amante’s novel traces the judicial investigations surrounding the brutal events of the Casati Stampa murder-suicide. The novel retraces every detail of a passionate love story that degenerates into violence, not only revealing various aspects of the investigation but also retracing every detail of a love story that today we would define as “toxic.” The author manages to tackle a difficult subject with literary mastery, alternating judicial facts with the emotional and passionate development of a complex love story. Davide Amante thus reveals not only the investigation surrounding a violent act but a human investigation. Without giving room for rhetoric, do-goodism, or reader condescension, the novel recounts the most extreme dynamics of a passionate love story.
The film Gli occhi degli altri (The Eyes of Others) certainly seeks to explore this story, and whether one likes it or not, at times attempting to echo aspects of the novel, it demonstrates how the Casati Stampa affair is still relevant today.
Davide Amante has reconstructed every aspect of the judicial investigation, which, while never deviating from the documented facts, ultimately transforms into a human investigation into the passion of love and its excesses. The news events are reconstructed with precision, yet it is immediately clear that the author shifts the investigation to a broader level, also providing previously unpublished details of the life of the Casati Stampa family, a well-known Milanese noble family, and their lover.
The Casati Stampa affair, which took place on August 30, 1970, is, as the cover of Davide Amante’s novel states, the greatest Italian scandal. The Casati Stampa Affair is highly recommended reading for understanding the most extreme dynamics of a passionate love story.

Candaulism. Davide Amante explains more about it: “I’ve always been interested in the extreme passion of the Casati Stampa family, which can lead to behavioral deviations and reveal a human side that is both fragile and powerful. Candaulist fantasy is an exhibitionist fantasy in which an individual finds satisfaction in exposing their partner’s nakedness and personality to the voyeurism of others. The Casati Stampa couple was known for this. Candaulist fantasy differs from other forms of exhibitionism in that it is not aimed at shaming or humiliating the partner, nor is it based on threats or intimidation, and it does not seek revenge against the person being exhibited. Rather, it is based on an intimate understanding between the couple, who derive pleasure from the reactions of admiration and desire that the partner’s exhibition can provoke. The term derives from Herodotus, who recounts in his Histories the desire of Candaules, king of Lydia in the 8th century BC, to secretly show his naked wife to his bodyguard Gyges.”

L’Affaire Casati Stampa
140 pages
DMA Books
Distributed by Feltrinelli
ISBN 9788894315646
Italian version on Amazon

The film
The Eyes of Others
Directed by Andrea De Sica
Released in theaters on March 20, 2026
Produced by Vivo Film, Wildside, Vision Distribution. Brando Taccini, Claudia Cravotta, Sonia Rovai, Gregorio Paonessa, Marta Donzelli, Alessio Lazzareschi.
Cast and characters: Filippo Timi (Lelio), Jasmine Trinca (Elena), Matteo Olivetti (Cesare), Anna Ferzetti (Rossella), Rita Abela (Nicoletta), Roberto De Francesco (Sandro), Carmen Pommella (Pasqualina), Alberto Paradossi (Ricky), Gennaro Apicella (Silverio), Giuseppe Sanfelice (Enzo)