The subject of this book is melodrama, not exclusively as a chapter in the history of theater. What concerns the author more is the presence of melodrama in Greek cities in the 19th century and its specific weight as a functional element of the mindsets of urban classes, as a "constituent" of commercial societies.

The focus of the research is on Patras and Hermoupolis, which constitute two authentic and self-sufficient worlds of the Greek space for more than sixty years. In both cities, the merchants organize, themselves and only themselves, their collective social life and claim melodrama as their "coveted" entertainment.

The title of the book may imply (and perhaps envy) the mystery of the title of Gaston Leroux's novel The Phantom of the Opera. After all, stories with ghosts wandering in theaters are not absent from the Greek space. More than that, however, the title suggests an obsession, a constant search, in any way, for "Italian winters".