People | A portrait of a writer-lifeguard

Marco Buticchi, sea stories

“Call me back in 10 minutes” would be the perfect title for Marco Buticchi’s autobiography should he ever find the time to write it. It’s a phrase that has changed the life of the only Italian author to be included in Longanesi’s Masters of Adventure series, alongside the likes of Clive Cussler and Wilbur Smith, on more than one occasion as he tells us in great amusement from the Lido di Lerici beach resort which he runs with his wife Consuelo. A former petrol trader, Buticchi turned his back on his former life to devote himself to his two great passions: his Lido and writing adventure novels in which history is at the service of adventure rather than vice versa. He published his first books himself and they sold. Then one day he received one of those life-changing phone calls from none other than Mario Spagnol of Longanesi. Convinced the call was a prank, he uttered those now famous words: “Call me back in 10 minutes”. Happily Spagnol did just that, marking the start of a partnership that has lasted 13 years. Buticchi’s latest novel, Breath of Desert, has been in the Italian top ten list for over four months now and it has already sold 300,000 copies.

Does being one of the literary gods earn you a living wage or does the sun umbrella business pay better?
It depends on how greedy you are. Let’s just say that right now my main profession is as a lifeguard. So, for the moment, I’m still a writer-lifeguard.

Your books have different historical locations and inspirations, but the sea is almost always the backdrop. Why?
We Ligurians are born with the mountains to our backs and the sea in front of us. Opening up to the sea is a necessity. The protagonist in my latest novel takes to the waves because he can no longer bear the weight crushing his heart. So the sea is an outlet to life and a source of inspiration. And, of course, I’m a person that really can say that I live on the sea and of the sea too!

You claim your novels are the result of sudden flashes of inspiration. Was that the case with Breath of Desert too?
It certainly was. In that particular case, my inspiration was the Williamsburg, Henry Truman’s former Presidential yacht which now lies abandoned in the port of La Spezia, just behind my house.

But what was it about that heap of rusting iron that sparked your imagination?
She’s gorgeous. You can see how proud and elegant she is a mile away. I asked myself why people insist on having these big white confections rather than renovating a yacht as splendid as she is.

Big white confections?
Yes, the big glossy white yachts designed with no other purpose than to astonish and show off. This year in Porto Cervo, they had Madsummer, an 80-metre Lürssen with all of these underwater spotlights on her hull. Every fish for a kilometre was completely dazed and confused…

If you were to buy yourself a boat, what would you choose?
I’d go for a Perini Navi. Or a Southern Wind. Do you know I almost ended up running that yard? Before setting up the Southern Wind Shipyard, Willy Persico was one of the top Italian oil traders. And he was also my boss. So when he embarked on his adventure, he asked me if I wanted to run the yard. I had just gotten married at the time and the idea of moving to South Africa didn’t appeal. So I decided to fall back on the sun lounger and umbrella business. Every now and then I wonder what would have happened if Mario Spagnol hadn’t called me!

For the record, Buticchi’s second legendary “Call me back in 10 minutes” was launched at Gigi Zazzeri, then editor-in-chief of Capital who was calling to invite him to test-drive the new Ferrari 330 Spider in Monte Carlo. Needless to say, Zazzeri did call back and Buticchi did go to Monaco. The third time he said it was to Maria Grazia Cucinotta, a devotee of his work who was filming in Liguria and wanted to meet him. She too did as requested, resulting in what is now a decade-long friendship. Just as we finish up, Buticchi’s mobile rings. He looks at the number and then utters that famous line again…

Text Giuliana Fratnik, photos Alessandro Ottaviani

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The glittering world of yachting

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