LE NOVELLE MARINARESCHE DI MASTRO CATRAME | 1973 | E. SALGARI

Le novelle marinaresche di Mastro Catrame is a collection of twelve maritime tales narrated by the superstitious old sailor “Mastro Catrame” during twelve nights aboard a ship. The stories evoke legends of the sea: phantom ships, sea monsters, sirens, mysterious lights, haunted vessels, and other wonders and terrors typical of nautical folklore. Salgari frames a tension between traditional beliefs and skeptical, rational explanation (often represented by the ship’s captain), giving the stories both charm and moral contrast. Written in vivid, adventurous prose and aimed at younger readers, the volume serves both as entertainment and as cultural testimony to maritime myth and sailor culture.