The Infinitely Small

According to the man himself, things went more or less like this.

– "Good morning, Mr. Branduardi, we're an order of Franciscan friars, and we'd like to commission a work about the life of the Saint…"

– "Thank you, but I don't think I'm interested, I'm a humble sinner"

(thinking to himself: "Besides, this sort of thing isn't really Radio Maria material!").

– But look, this is a serious matter, a philological project drawn from the Franciscan Sources…

– Ah, well, if that's how things stand, let's talk about it…

The curious anecdote, told by Angelo Branduardi himself during one of his recent concerts in Rome, traces the origin of one of the Lombard singer-songwriter's most singular projects: "The Infinitely Small", the concept album devoted to Saint Francis and released for the Jubilee of 2000.

Drawing, together with his wife Luisa Zappa, on the "Fonti francescane" and other texts – including Canto XI of Dante Alighieri's "Paradiso" – Branduardi assembles an original Franciscan mosaic, built on melodies of his own and other composers, and boasting some highly prestigious collaborations, from Ennio Morricone to Teresa Salgueiro, the splendid voice of Madredeus, all the way to Franco Battiato.

The Sicilian singer-songwriter is brought in for a key track on the record, one that recounts one of the miraculous episodes in the Saint's life: the meeting – which took place in 1219 in Damietta, then under siege by the Crusaders – between Francis of Assisi and the sultan al-Malik al-Kāmil, nephew of Saladin, who ruled over Egypt and Syria. On that occasion, according to the sources, Francis did not merely seek dialogue with the sovereign, but also deeply moved and, in effect, sanctified a woman who was trying to seduce him: he chose to put his own faith to the test by throwing himself into the fire and inviting her to do the same. And who better than Franco Battiato to give voice to that "mystical and sensual" narrative, capturing all its authenticity?

When Branduardi contacted his friend to ask him to take part, the answer was enthusiastic. "But don't you want to hear the song first?" "No, I trust you, go ahead."

And so "Il sultano di Babilonia e la prostituta" was born, an experiment whose sound is just as singular, boldly mixing an almost techno-like tunz tunz with Balkan folk, with accordions and percussion whipping up a frenzy while Branduardi and Battiato's voices trade off on vocals, retelling the story in a tone somewhere between legend and folk tale. A track so rhythmic and compelling that it's practically impossible to sit still while listening to it.

But while the music - credited to Branduardi with Alessandro Parente - will contribute to the song's success, no less important is the lyrics, penned as usual by Luisa Zappa, the tireless companion of the Lombard minstrel both in life and in writing. The idea is drawn from this passage from the Fioretti:

And when Saint Francis told her: – I accept, let us go to bed – she led him to her room. Saint Francis said: – Come with me, I shall take you to a most beautiful bed – And he led her to a great fire that was burning in that house; and in a fervor of spirit he stripped himself naked, and threw himself down beside this fire upon the burning floor, inviting her to undress as well and come lie with him in that soft and beautiful bed. And as Saint Francis remained there for a long while with a joyful countenance, neither burning nor even being scorched, that woman, terrified and struck in her heart by such a miracle, not only repented of her sin and evil intention, but was even perfectly converted to the faith of Christ, and became so holy that through her many souls in those lands were saved

As for the historical accuracy of the events, it may seem unlikely that a 13th-century friar would have traveled all the way to the Egyptian court, but several historical sources confirm that the journey really did take place, right in the middle of the Fifth Crusade. In those years Christendom was gripped by a renewed missionary zeal, but Francis's aim was to evangelize through word and example, not through weapons. Thus in 1219 he reached Damietta, theater of the conflict between crusaders and Muslims, and, during a truce, presented himself before the sultan.

Documentation of the episode is fragmentary. Muslim sources mention the visit of a Christian monk; the story also circulated in the Latin world: Jacques de Vitry, the author of the chronicle of Ernoul, and, shortly afterward, Thomas of Celano all wrote about it. Interpretations vary: from a pointless endeavor to an example of authentic evangelical life, up to the reading that sees Francis as an aspiring martyr. More recent historiography considers the encounter essentially credible. It remains difficult to picture the scene or guess the language in which the dialogue took place, though some scholars suggest that Francis knew Old French.

(Saint Francis before the Sultan, or the Trial by Fire, from the Giottesque frescoes of the Upper Basilica of Assisi – between 1295 and 1299)

Although not always so inspired, Branduardi's Franciscan concept album avoids the risk of monotony, alternating solemnity and levity, dark atmospheres and luminous passages, through an expressive journey that always keeps the listener's attention high. The album will be followed by a major tour across Europe, with a full-fledged stage show in which Branduardi will also make use of actors and dancers.

On his thoughts about Saint Francis, Branduardi has said: "He's a true Saint: exemplary and exceptional, thoroughly Christian in his choice to live the Gospel to the fullest, yet he never stops being a man. Francis is a man (and therefore a Saint) who chooses the joy of living, recommends it to his disciples, loves poverty 'never divorced from joy'. This is what fascinates me about Francis: his sunny nature, his vital energy, which make him so far removed from the sad, exalted faces of monastic spirituality and extraordinarily vigorous, more alive than ever amid the passions and problems of our time: poverty, illness, marginalization, ecology, the attitude toward 'the other', war. Francis of Assisi is, today more than ever, a Saint, but he is also a great poet; he loved to sing and did so often, even alone. To accompany his Canticle of the Creatures, Francis composed music that has been lost; I have tried to give his words a voice again so they can be sung once more. This is the reason that drove me to set to music passages from his writings and episodes from his life drawn from the Fonti Francescane. This is it: Francis was a poet, he loved to sing, and he was a Saint".

Below is the full lyrics of "Il sultano di Babilonia e la prostituta".

Frate Francesco partì una volta per Oltremare

Fino alle terre di Babilonia a predicare

Coi suoi compagni sulla via dei Saracini

Furono presi e bastonati i poverini

Frate Francesco parlò

And he preached well

That the Great Sultan listened to

And greatly admired him

He freed him

From the chains

So Francis set off for Babylon to preach

Brother Francis stopped to rest

And a woman wanted to approach him

Her face was beautiful but her heart was poisonous

With her body she invited him to sin

Frate Francesco parlò

With you I shall sin

He lay down in the fire

His arms outstretched to her

She repented

She converted

So Francis set off for Babylon to preach

Ride the wave of great music

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04/03/2026