This was a humorous style that often poked fun at clergymen or others in authority. I have almost all his work in my personal library, after spending lots of money and the huge amount of time while searching to possess them. He wrote also “I piccoli maestri” about his experience as a partisan. About: Some Italian fairy tales, folk tales and legends can be traced back thousands of years, and similarities between stories are found in French, Spanish and Celtic traditions as well. Many popular tales like Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty were based, albeit loosely, on true events. Once again, repetition is very important for improving your English, and this book has lots of great repetition. Glad you like it, and please help to update the list, if you read something recommendable. I’ve always thought of Italo Calvino as too depressive for me, but now I’ll give the winter night traveler a go. Gomorrah is one of the books you have to admire for the whistle blower’s courage to expose the workings of the mafia, but I found the novel a drag to get through. Paste in a link and let us now. If you like Dario Fo and his anarchistic comic mysteries based on the commedia dell’arte tradition, you’ll love his only novel. This is a great list! I’d be pleased to add Moravia to the list, though the short stories I have read are too experimental for my taste. That’s interesting to know. I can assure you that the majority of Italians do not even know the existence of some of these books, unfortunately. Umberto Eco (1932 - 2016) is famous for his novel Il Nome della Rosa (The Name of the Rose) and numerous children's books. I’m from Abruzzo and I think Ignazio Silone is the writer who best describes the mentality of people of Abruzzo. Trentino-Alto Adige – Trentino-South Tyrol. Dante Alighieri . The novel disguised semiotic philosophy as crime-fiction on Medieval monastic life which in itself is an outstanding achievement. Discover new authors and their books in our eBook community. In the same genre I much prefer Giancarlo De Cataldo’s ‘Terroni’ from 1995 describing power by television at a time before Berlusconi had refined his political carreer. The protagonist returns to his native village near L’Aquila after 40 years in prison for a murder he did not commit. This site uses cookies. Stories from Pentamerone. All of them I have read at least twice. I love the description of the sumptuous meal and the popular quote saying: “If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change.”. Yet I’d also like to recommend his Mysterious Flame that through loads of illustrations investigates how – in this case Italian – popular culture defines personality. I haven’t read ‘Il Segreto di Luca’ but I’ll look for it next time I get the chance. I have previously shared my favourite books set in Italy, and now I continue my listmania with some highly recommendable Italian reads. The Divine Comedy should naturally top this list due to its status in as one of the greatest works in Italian and world literature. In “Libera nos a Malo” he remembers his childhood and the life of his village, so he uses dialect, Italian and English. I adore all his book but, if I have to choose one, I’d recommend you read “Se una notte d’inverno un viaggiatore”. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. I will definitely add Manzoni, Mariolina Venezia and Mario Rigoni Stern to my reading list. Congratulations to remind him. I would like to suggest you authors as Mariolina Venezia ‘Mille anni che sto qui’ and Mario Rigoni Stern ‘Storia di Tonle’. Other recommended novels by Alberto Moravia include The Lie and Time of Indifference. Embedded within Italian fairy tales are proverbs, jokes and anecdotes that reveal the unique regional and cultural characteristics found across Italy. Italian children's writers (1 C, 24 P) Italian fairy tales (65 P) M Children's magazines published in Italy (16 P) P Pinocchio (4 C, 18 P) Pages in category "Italian children's literature" The following 7 pages are in this category, out of 7 total. Thank you for the addition to the top 10 list of Italian books. “The Tartar Steppe” sounds phenomenal, and I’ll make sure to include it in the next update of the list. Thank you for adding the local perspective. Do you remember the story of Pinocchio? Thank you for the recommendations, I look forward to reading them. Some tips about the authors from Veneto ( like Guido Piovene and Mario Rigoni Stern ): “Il prete bello” by Goffredo Parise ( picaresque adventures in Vicenza during Fascism years ) and “Libera nos a Malo” by Luigi Meneghello, written in Italian, Vicenza dialect and English: a hard reading if you are not from Veneto. 10 Famous Italian Writers and Their Notable Works . Can’t wait to read it. But with your warm recommendations, I’m ready to give the novels a try:). Unsurprisingly, children's books and fairy tales dominate the list of the most translated books throughout history. A. And the lyrics are clearly enunciated. Many composers are … Jump to full list of Italian fairy tales. The book still gives a pretty accurate picture of modern Italy, but unfortunately it hasn’t been translated into English, so it is only relevant for those who want to practice their Italian. I don’t know if you have read it until this point, since a lot of time has passed, but I recommend “Lessico Famigliare”, by Natalia Ginsburg, “I’m Giardino dei Finzi-Contini”, by Giorgio Bassani, anything from Luigi Pirandello (but especially “Uno, Nessuno e Centomila”, “Il Fu Mattia Pascal” and “Sei Personaggi in Cerca d’Autore”), “La Coscienza do Zeno”, by Italo Svevo, the poetry of Eugenio Montale and Umberto Saba, etc. Read Italian fairy tales from the ancient collection, Stories from the Pentamerone, as well as from Andrew Lang and others. I would suggest Primo Levi Se questo è un uomo e La Tregua In the mid-1600s, Giambattista Basile recorded some of the earliest literary versions of fairy tales in his Pentamerone, also known as, Other authors would later draw from his collection for inspiration including. I particularly liked the Basilicata backdrop of this novel, while ‘Steal You Away’ takes place somewhere north of Rome. And some of these And as a small antipasto of very short anecdotes on my life in Italy called ’15 Italian Experiences – Living ‘la dolce vita’. And I can absolutely relate to the never-ending language struggles too. Gianfrancesco Straparola published a collection of fairy tales in Italy during the 1500s that were also published in France; thus, crossing cultural and political borders. Can’t wait to read it:). Fairytalez.com is the world's largest collection of fairy tales, fables and folktales. With a large contribution from the readers, I’m pleased to present an extended version of my Top10 Italian Books that lists some of the most rewarding Italian writers. For someone like myself who is an intermediate level Italian reader. Where on earth is Dino Buzzati’s “Il Deserto dei Tartari” (translated into English as “The Tartar Steppe”)? They are masterpieces about Holocaust but all of Levi production is worth of reading. I’m definitely going to give his books a try:), […] for some classic Italian books to read? The stories were centered around ridiculous situations and plot lines with the main character as a buffoon.