Original text of the first edition, unabridged and carefully revised, and supplemented by numerous contemporary illustrations from early editions.

"It was in the church of San Lorenzo at Naples, in the year 1758, that Vincentio di Vivaldi first saw Ellena Rosalba" - it is love at first sight for the young nobleman, and he soon wins Ellena's heart. But the proud Marchesa doesn't approve her son's bond with an ordinary girl. To set an end to the relationship, she and her confessor, the sinister monk Schedoni, concoct cruel plans that are to banish Ellena from Vivaldi's life forever ...