Novels that have to do with Italy
 

Just got back from Italy, and in my quest to hang on to the memories, I thought I might purchase a couple of books to read that might remind me of our trip. I know of Frances Mayes' Under the Tuscan Sun and Bella Tuscany, but any other suggestions?

My suggestions are: "Extra Virgin" by Annie Hawes about 2 sisters from England that move to a small, backward Italian Riviera town; and "Pasquale's Nose" by Michael Rip about a Nebraska native and his young family living in Sutri, Italy. Both are charming books about Italy that have not been over-publicized like Frances Mayes' books. I liked "Extra Virgin" the best.

I really enjoyed A Thousand Days in Venice.

Here is a thread with 91 answers to it; there must be very few books set in Italy that are not named in it.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...p;tid=34410488

"Growing up in Tuscany". I just read it but can't remember the author. It was a fascinating look at life in Tuscany before, during, and after the world wars.

And don't forget E M Forster's Classic A ROOM WITH A VIEW about a young English girl who travels to Italy.

Also D. H. Lawrence's DH LAWRENCE & ITALY which contains 3 books in 1 -- TWILIGHT IN ITALY, SEA & SARDINIA, and ETRUSCAN PLACES.

And WITHIN TUSCANY by Matthew Spender.

A tongue in cheek fun book is Piazzas and Pizzas (Adventues of the Clean Plate Club in Italy) by Jan Kubik.

Italian Days by Barbara Grizzuti Harrison is an interesting book. It's her trip to Italy and her impressions of the cities she visits.

Neither are novels, but you might enjoy one or both.

I second A Thousand Days in Venice by Maria de Blasi. True recounting of an American woman who meets and marries a Venetian.

I highly recommend Robert Hellenga's *The Fall of a Sparrow*. Have fun reading!

Oh! Forgot to mention the classic book by Charles Dickens, "Pictures from Italy" -- it is written from Dickens' travels throughout the Italian Riviera, Genoa, Rome, etc and is quite interesting to see Italy through his eyes in the 1840s.

"Miss Garnet's Angel" is a lovely story with a wonderful Venice setting. Miss Garnet is a retired English spinster who spends 6 months in Venice and changes her outlook on life.

E. M. Forster's Where Angels Fear to Tread is not as popular as Room with a View, but it's also definitely worthwhile.

An Italian Affair by Laura Fraser

The Dark Heart of Italy by Tobias Jones (non fiction and I don't recommend reading unless you have already been to Italy)

Another great one that I forgot to mention! 'North of Naples, South of Rome' by Paolo Tullio....it's a memoir of Paolo's life in Italy's Comino Valley, instructions on how to haggle t market day, and the charms and scams of Naples. Very funny book, I just bought it and am reading it now.

"Tuscan Soup" by Lou Wakefield. A little known novel, but good enough to be serialised on the BBC. Its strength is in the well drawn characters, but its description of Tuscan towns and their churches is sublime.

I would add also A Green Existence by Jonathan Radford and the now famous Too Much Tuscan Sun

For the contemporary view...
Dances with Luigi; Vanilla Beans & Brodo (about Montalcino) by Isabella Dusi and its sequel Bel Vino (focus on Brunello); Annie Hawes's Extra Virgin (about Liguria) and its sequel Ripe for the Picking.

Try these 2 books from Eric Newby. Love & War in the Appenines about his experiences as an escaped prisoner in Italy during WWII. Also A Small Place in Italy.

Cornelia Funke's - The Thief Lord. Her descriptions of Venice are fantastic.

Angels and Demons by The Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown takes place primarily in Rome. It's fun to guess the locations of future murders by the clues.

This year I read "I'm Not Scared". I am sorry that I can not remember the author's name. He is an Italian and this book has been translated into many languages. Also made into a movie but only shown in major cities so do not know how good the movie is. It is out on DVD now so plan to rent it.

The story takes place in southern Italy in 1978. Perhaps I enjoyed it more than others might because we drove through southern Italy in 1978 (from Naples to Bari) so it was interesting to visualize the description of the scenery, the small villages etc.

I forgot about the fantastic Donna Leon mysteries that are set in Venice and feature Commissario Guido Brunetti. These are my favorite mysteries right now and make you feel like you're reading in Venice. Most of the series is available in Europe but the ones available in the United States are:

Noble Radiance
Acqua Alta
Uniform Justice

They are so much fun!

What a great source of information!!!

It is fun to read books that take place where one is famaliar.

Just read Too Much Tuscan Sun this weekend and laughed almost til I cried in some parts. Great read!

Robert Hellenga has another book besides the one mentioned above, Vaporetto 13 I believe the title is.

Cry to Heaven a classic by Anne Rice.

I loved "Evening Class" by Maeve Binchy. You get Ireland and Italy..what could be better? It is about an Italian class at a community college in Ireland. The class is taught by an Irish woman who has spent the last 26 years in Italy. It follows eight different classmates and the teachers stories and culminates in a trip to Italy.

For a light novel, try Food of Love by Anthony Capella about a young American and a Roman chef.

Mary2GO, Evening Class, yes wasn't that a great book!!! Have you read all the other books written by Maeve Binchy? She has written several and I have enjoyed all of them. But liked Evening Class the best.

Just finished "The Confessor" by Daniel Silva, a mystery thriller, much of it taking place in Italy (Venice, Rome, The Vatican) along with a few other European locations. Highly recommend this if your a fan of this genre (i.e. Dan Brown fans should like Silva's novels).

Thanks for this thread. Just went to the library and picked up "Miss Garnet's Angel." I'll read that next.

FYI "A Thousand Days in Tuscany" has just been released. Sequel to "A Thousand Days in Venice."

"A Kiss from Maddelena" Christopher Castenllani--a love story set in WWII Italy in the Abruzzi.
And the Aurelio Zen mysteries by Michael Diblin, British author, Each one is set in a different area of Italy.

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Just finished reading "Birth of Venus" by Sarah Dunant, a wonderful book set in Florence during 1500's. Per addl threads asking about books to read, I've seen several others have also enjoyed this novel.

Don't know where you were in Italy, but I have a couple of favorites. I am now reading the recently re-issued H.V. Morton's A TRAVELER IN ROME. He wrote in the 1950's about his sojourn there. It is full of history told in anecdotal fashion, so it's not dry. It brings me back to my recent days in Rome, as I read a bit every night before I go to sleep.
For a look at Tuscany during WWII, Iris Origo's wonderful THE WAR IN THE VAL D'ORCIA cannot be beat. She and her husband hid American soldiers and partisans in their woods, and saved the lives of many Italian orphans, even to walking them up a long "stradale bianca" to Montepulciano to hide them in a church basement.
This is a great thread! thanks.

topping

Don't forget all the wonderful films to enhance your memories :)

Hill Towns, by Anne Rivers Siddons.

Cigalechanta, here's one of the many threads about movies set in Italy: http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...mp;tid=4239003

Now, on to the books....

Not a novel, but best I've read on Italy: H.V. Morton's "A Traveller in Italy".

"Tuscany for Beginners" by Imogen Edwards-Jones. (Which I am liking so much I started a whole thread about it yesterday. :-) ) Hilarious!

Here's one I'm sure I neglected to mention previously, because I'm just reading it now (SLOWLY in Italian) for the first time: I Promessi Sposi (The Betrotheed) by Alessandro Manzoni.

topping for the peson looking for literature set in Italy