This book is not a biography, nor a technical-artistic analysis of Rossini's work. It is rather the result of a lifetime of enthusiastic cohabitation with the composer and the desire to spread the word about him. It is also an occasion to translate long experience into useful suggestions for understanding and interpreting his works. Thus, it is a book both for musicians, who will find advice and reflections useful for taking on the Rossini repertory, and for listeners fascinated by this composer, who is so easy to approach, but so difficult to understand.