Books from Italy
Writing from Italy reaches back through centuries of poetry, chronicle and moral inquiry, and it continues in the modern novel, crime story and memoir. The books below come from that long tradition, with settings that move between the medieval abbey, the southern town and the inner life of the reader.
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Contemporary Fiction
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My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
A contemporary novel about two girls growing up in a poor neighbourhood of Naples and the friendship that shapes their lives.
- If on a Winter's Night a Traveler by Italo Calvino. A contemporary novel that follows a reader interrupted while beginning a book, and turns the act of reading into its subject.
Mystery & Thriller
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The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
A mystery and thriller set in 1327, in which the monk William of Baskerville investigates seven deaths at an Italian abbey.
- The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri. A mystery and thriller, part of his series about a Sicilian detective working a case in a small town.
Sci-Fi & Fantasy
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Cosmicomics by Italo Calvino
A science fiction and fantasy collection, made of short tales that mix cosmology with storytelling.
Poetry
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The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri
A poem, written in Italian, that describes a journey through the afterlife in three parts.
- Canzoniere by Francesco Petrarch. A poetry collection, written in Italian and gathered as a sequence of poems about love and reflection.
Memoir & Nonfiction
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If This Is a Man by Primo Levi
A memoir about his imprisonment in a Nazi concentration camp and his account of survival there.
- Christ Stopped at Eboli by Carlo Levi. A memoir about his time confined in a poor region of southern Italy and the people he met there.
How we choose
These lists start from books Atlas Unread readers can stamp for Italy. Each title and author is confirmed against Wikidata, Wikipedia or library records before it is listed.