Giuseppe Gazzaniga: ‘alcina’s Island’

An Englishman, a Frenchman, a German, an Italian and a Spaniard all get washed up on a remote desert island. The colourful flora and fauna suggest an enticing paradise, and the resident nymphs prove pleasantly attentive. But a shadow is cast when our intrepid Europeans discover that this tropical speck of land is ruled by a capricious sorceress – a mere 800 years old, and drop-dead gorgeous – who has the disconcerting habit of transforming her di...