La Scoperta Dell'alba (Annotations in English))

Giovanni Astengo, a middle-aged functionary, works at the Italian State Archives, where he catalogues diaries written by an array of ordinary and extraordinary people. Deeply scarred by the sudden disappearance of his father when he was a child, Giovanni is devoted to his wife and son but suffers another emotional blow when he learns his newborn daughter has Down Syndrome. Over the years, Stella's disability reverberates through the family in much the same way as his father's disappearance years before. Early one August morning when the rest of the family is on vacation, Giovanni follows an impetus to return to his family's country house, the place of his lost happiness, long since abandoned. He goes inside and spots an old black rotary telephone which, astonishingly, has dial tone. On a whim, he dials the phone number of his childhood home and is amazed to hear his own 13-year-old voice respond. So begins a Twilight Zone-type sequence of events that culminates with stunning answers to the questions that have haunted Giovanni throughout his adult life.