Profile of Luce Galante de Secly

Luce Galante de Secly’s serene presence and soft voice draw people to her as naturally as light draws a moth. She strokes everyone to whom she speaks, pale tones and light fingers drawing them closer, closer to her warm, comforting, quiet presence. She is beguiling, ‘moving, a tender and slightly mysterious woman. She still lives in her mother’s childhood house, an immense and beautifully furnished palazzo in Lecce with library after library filled with books, one room opening into the next. Her father, an important book collector, was the editor of the great newspaper of the south, La Gazetta del Mezzogiorno. His leather-bound first editions claim shelf after shelf. Luce’s dynamic husband, a highly distinguished surgeon, is now retired, although he never stops moving, thinking, doing. He collects art books, which are everywhere in this big, comfortable house—on tables, on shelves, stacked on the floor. He is passionate about music and opera; he paces from room to room finding records, laying hands on pamphlets, books, and articles to be displayed and discussed.