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How about a book?
Books about Italy, books about Italians, books set in Italy and books written by Italian authors. Buona lettura!
Fiction:
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Angels and Demons, by Dan Brown. An exciting thriller in which a Harvard symbologist, Robert Langdon, helps solve the mystery of a murdered physicist who was found with an ancient secret brotherhood symbol seared into his chest. Brown incorporates important Roman landmarks throughout his book.
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The Betrothed, by Alessandro Manzoni. This book is considered to be the most famous novel in Italian literature. This historical novel, set in Lombardy during the 17th Century tells the story of two young lovers during a time of turmoil in Italian history - war, famine, plague and Spanish occupation.
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Charterhouse of Parma, by Stendhal. This novel, set in the early 19th Century in Northern Italy, describes the adventures and exploits of Fabrizio del Dongo, a young Lombard nobleman in Napoleon’s army and in the court in Parma.
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If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler, by Italo Calvino. This novel is about a man who is reading a defective book - it contains bits and pieces of other novels. The book takes you through his search in trying to find which book the defective pages belong to and the difficulties he encounters in making sense out of the narration.
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The Late Mattia Pascal, by Luigi Pirandello. The title character is unhappy with his current life – he’s lost all his money and is in a troubled marriage. He discovers that he is accidentally identified as a suicide victim and assumed dead. He uses this opportunity to move and reinvent himself as someone else, only to learn that his new life is no better than the one he tried to escape from.
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The Miracles of Santo Fico, by D.L. Smith. Leo Pizzola returns to his hometown of Santo Fico in Tuscany after living in Chicago for 20 years. When he returns he finds that the town is still poor, yet he is looking for a way to get rich. With the help of his childhood friend, Leo decides to manufacture a "miracle" to trick unsuspecting tourists. However, as one botched scheme after another unravels, something completely unexpected happens, and wonders indeed begin to transform this Italian town.
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The Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco. A historical murder mystery set in an Italian monastery during the religious and political turmoil of the Middle Ages. William of Baskerville, a monk and Adso of Melk, his sidekick, set out to solve the gruesome murders taking place within the monastery walls.
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Silk, by Alessandro Baricco. This novel tells the story of a married French business man who travels to Japan to buy silk. The business trips to this mysterious land are interlaced with the discovery of what love is.
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A Soldier of the Great War, by Mark Helprin. This novel is about the life of Alessandro Giuliani, the son of a Roman lawyer who leaves his privileged life to join the Italian army to fight in WWI. This book may be of interest to outdoormen/rockclimbing enthusiasts.
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Non-Fiction:
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Italian Neighbors, by Tim Parks. Parks, an expatriate living in a small town near Verona, writes about the everyday lives of his neighbors and friends.
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Under the Tuscan Sun, by Frances Mayes. In her book Frances Mayes shares her experience of purchasing and restoring an old villa in Cortona, Italy. It offers excellent descriptions of Italian life, culture and cuisine.
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Children's Books: Picture Books
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Angelo, by David Macaulay. Angelo is restoring the stucco at an old church in Rome when he discovers an injured pigeon, which he names Sylvia. He takes Sylvia home and nurses her back to health. When she’s well and leaves, she comes back everyday to visit Angelo at work. Angelo leaves a special gift for Sylvia at the old church that he restored.
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Katie and the Mona Lisa, by James Mayhew. Katie’s grandmother takes her to the Louvre Art museum. Katie meets Mona Lisa and the two share adventures with other characters from several Italian Renaissance paintings.
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Leonardo and the Flying Boy, by Laurence Anholt. Zoro and Salai are two of Leonardo Da Vinci’s apprentices. Leonardo tells them one day people will be able to fly. The boys discover that their master is building a machine that will allow them to fly. Illustrations of Leonardo’s original artwork are included in the book.
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Strega Nona, by Tomie dePaolo. Strega Nona is an Italian “witch” grandmother with a magical pasta making pot. See what happens to Big Anthony after he disobeys Strega Nona and touches the pot she tells him not to touch.
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The Year I Didn’t Go to School, by Giselle Potter. Potter shares her experience when she was 7 years old and her parents took her to Italy for a year to perform in her family’s theater troupe.
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Zoe Sophia’s Scrapbook: An Adventure in Venice, by Claudia Mauner. Travel with Zoe Sophia and her dog Mickey on their trip from New York City to Venice to visit Zoe Sophia’s great aunt Dorothy. Explore the sites in Venice, take a gondola ride with them and also learn a few Italian words.
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Children's Books: Ages 5-8
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Christmas Cakes, by Francesca Bosca. The Christmas cakes have disappeared in the Italian town of San Vitale. Lucas – the baker’s son – saves the day and Christmas for the people of San Vitale.
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Days of the Blackbird: A Tale of Northern Italy, by Tomie de Paolo. Legend is that, in northern Italy, the last three days of January are so cold that doves take shelter in the chimneys and when they come out they are blackened from the soot, and thus "transformed" into blackbirds. De Paolo incorporates this legend in this story of the daughter of an Italian Duke who asks a dove to withstand the cold weather to sing for her dying father.
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Peppe the Lamp Lighter, by Elisa Bartone. Peppe, a young Italian immigrant living in New York City, takes a job lighting lamps in order to support his family.
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Children's Books: Ages 8-12
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