I wanted to start a new series this year called My Favourite Books...in which I will share with you a collection of my favourite books with the same theme, setting, or genre. First up, I wanted to begin with My Favourite Books....Set in Italy because I recently reread Diana Athill's A Florence Diary (which absolutely makes my list) and was to remember some of my other favourite books with Italy as the setting.
I am a trained Italian language teacher and spent time in my early twenties living and travelling in Italy. It is a place that holds a very dear place in my heart and has inspired many writers, artists, musicians and creatives over the centuries, from the composer Giuseppe Verdi to artist Michelangelo to writer Italo Calvino. Overseas travel isn't in our plans at the moment but when I feel that longing for Italy, these are the books that I turn to. Of my list, the first three are non-fiction, and the following seven are fiction. I hope you enjoy my top 10 favourite books set in Italy!
Italian Folktales - Italo Calvino - Calvino is one Italy's most famous authors and there are many of his novels that could be included on this list, but this collection of Italian Folktales is one of my favourites. Not for the weak of heart and certainly not for little children, they include titles such as The Man Wreathed in Seaweed, Dauntless Little John and The Man Who Only Came Out at Night. They show the deep humour and superstitions of Italians from centuries ago and are well worth a visit today.
A Florence Diary - Diana Athill - Another non-fiction book on my list. Written by author and publisher, Athill, on her first trip to Italy with her cousin Pen in August 1947. Set against the backdrop of an Italy facing rebuilding after the Second World War, Athill's frank love and enjoyment of Florence is inspiring. Seeing how these two single, young women navigate their way through a foreign country is at times funny, inspiring and awesome. Athill writes about art, architecture, men, food and travel with wit and humour that warms my heart and makes me long for Florence.
Under the Tuscan Sun - Frances Mayes - I've read this book a couple of times now and each time I love Mayes' beautiful descriptions of Tuscany and her exciting journey to renovate an old Tuscan farmhouse. I'm sure it has inspired so many people to chuck in their day jobs and move to Italy for a new life. As much as I would like to follow along, a few chapters of this book is enough for me to plan, daydream and then once more settle back into normal, suburban life :) I am also a big fan of Mayes lesser known but equally inspiring book, See You in The Piazza which chronicles who travels through Italy, with particular focus on dining and piazza life. Bellissimo!
The Prince - Machiavelli - "one must know how to colour one's actions and to be a great liar and deceiver. Men are so simple, and so much creatures of circumstance, that the deceiver will always find someone ready to be deceived." Machiavelli's classic is one of my favourite books for reading when I want to return the world of Italy during the Renaissance - when princes and state leaders ruled and there was deception, greed, power and force lurking around every door. I like to think that Machiavelli's words on how to be a strong leader are a little exaggerated but I see that too many of our world's leaders have obviously read the book too and taken the words to heart!
The Decameron - Boccaccio
Another Renaissance classic; one that tells the story of a group of friends who flee the countryside during the Black Death to seek refuge in the clean, fresh air of their country house. The young people amuse themselves by taking it in turns to tell stories and entertain each other whilst the plagues rages on outside the villa's walls. The stories within the story are worth reading and have been into a tv series on Netflix, which I have yet to watch (if you have seen it please tell me what you think of it!)
Montalbano Series - Andrea Camilleri
This is a whole series of books, not one in particular. Nothing gives the sense of a place like a Montalbano book by Andrea Camilleri (in my opinion!) Salvo Montalbano is an Inspector in the fictional town of Vigata, Sicily. There are 28 books in the series (you can see them all in order here) , and has even been made into a television series. I love it for the cultural references that the inspector makes, the food that he eats in exquisite detail and the complex culture and social mores of Sicily.
Commissario Brunetti Series - Donna Leon
Just like Montalbano, this is a detective series with Commissario Guido Brunetti as the protagonist. Set in Venice "La Serenissima" (The Most Serene), it brings to life the vibrant character of the famous city built on water. I haven't been to Sicily before but I have been to Venice a few times - once as a tourist and a couple of times as a student. Both were very different experiences; I believe you have to go off the beaten track to discover the real Venice and Leon's series does a wonderful job of presenting that in her series. It always amazes me that Venice and Sicily are part of the same country!
A Room With A View - E.M. Forster
“It is fate that I am here,' George persisted, 'but you can call it Italy if it makes you less unhappy.”
Such a classic novel set in both Florence, Italy and Edwardian England! It highlights, through the struggles of the protagonist young Lucy Honeychurch, the difference between the acceptable behaviour and freedom of holidaying in a foreign country (Italia!) and the more rigid social mores of life back in England. Lucy finds love in Florence, which surprisingly also follows her back to England where she must decide if she will follow her heart of the conventions and expectations of her class and role as a woman in Edwardian England. The descriptions of Florence are wonderful; Forster paints the city with the depth and humanity of one who knows the city well.
The Passion - Jeanette Winterson
This novel intertwines the stories of Henri, a French soldier and Villanelle, the web-footed daughter of a Venetian boatman. Set during the time of Napoleon's invasion throughout Europe and the subsequent "Napoleonic Wars" that ensued, but focusing on Venice during Carnival, this book brings many aspect of Venetian culture, history and society to life.
The Little World of Don Camillo - Giovanni Guareschi
This is also a series of books that was written by Guareschi, an Italian journalist and writer. It tells the story of Don Camillo, a Catholic priest in post-WWII Italy who is often pitted up against the Community mayor, Peppone. Although they are very different in their ideologies, they come together when they have to. I love the setting (a fictional rural village called Boscaccio) and the time in which these stories were set. Of this "little world" that he created, Guareschi says:
These are invented, naturally, and therefore very life-like, for dozens of times I have seen a story I have written, a couple of moths later actually take place. There is nothing extraordinary about this - it's simply a question of reasoning: you take into consideration the time, the season, the customs and the psychological moment, and you can conclude that in a given set of circumstances such and such a thing will happen.
The Castle of Otranto - Horace Walpole
Finishing with Walpole's Gothic classic, The Castle of Otranto (1764) which may be a bit of a controversial choice. Not everyone likes Otranto, and that's okay. I wanted to add it one to my list because of the dark, medieval setting contained within in. The plot itself is not imperative to the setting, but by incorporating a dark, mysterious setting for this story, Walpole pulls in deep elements of the Gothic genre: terror, mystery, and lots of drama! Although Walpole had never been to Puglia, Italy there is a real castle of Otranto which fits the bill of this story nicely (you can check it out here if you're interested).
Comments
Post a Comment