Understanding the many facets of Italian culture, their traditions, their history and the food culture takes time. Of course it would be easier for all of us if we could just move in with an Italian family for a year and learn directly from them. Since this isn’t possible for most of us, another great way to learn about Italy, its culture, traditions, history and the Italian food culture is by reading books.
The beauty of the books in our list of great books to read to discover more about Italy, is that they show you many different sides and regions of Italy. Imagine Stanley Tucci’s show Searching for Italy on steroids…
To find some great recommendations we ventured down a cobblestone street in one of our favorite Tuscan towns (Lucca) to seek out the advice of a local bookstore owner who we love and always turn to for great book advice (and some great Italian conversation). As always Giulia was full of knowledge (this is why we love local booksellers) and recommendations.
Here is what we chose to top our Great Books to Read to Understand Italy:
How To Be Italian by Maria Pasquale
Many of my friends have this book in their collections. How To Be Italian is a celebration of the Italian lifestyle - an education in drinking to savor the moment, travelling indulgently, and cherishing food and culture. A lesson in the dolce far niente the sweetness of doing nothing. We may not all live in the bel paese, but anyone can learn from the rich tapestry of life on the boot.
From the innovation of Italian fashion and design, the Golden Age of its cinema to the Roman Empire's cultural echoes (and some very good espresso), take a dip into the Italian psyche and learn to eat, love, dress, think, and have fun as only the Italians can.
Il Dolce Far Niente by Lucy Laucht
Il Dolce Far Niente is on my wish list for Christmas. It is a gorgeous, photographic ode to the magic of southern Italy in the summer by renowned travel, fashion, and lifestyle photographer Lucy Laucht. It helps tide over my new obsession with southern Italy until I can return.
These lyrical scenes of Naples, The Aeolian Islands, Ischia, The Amalfi Coast + Capri, Sicily, Puglia and The Egadi Islands is a celebration of the Italian way of summer and that distinctly Italian art of sweet idleness.
Our Italian Christmas Eve (kids book) by Danielle Sedita & Francesco Sedita
I love this book for kids! It is such a fun way to learn about Italian traditions at Christmas time. I also learned a few things reading the book! Have fun learning and getting in the holiday spirit. Deck the halls and mix up the eggnog! It’s Christmas Eve for little Danielle and Francesco—a time for family, presents, music, and most importantly . . . food!
The siblings are very excited to celebrate at Aunt Babe’s house, where there are too many aunties, uncles, and cousins to count. And all is peaceful and bright—until they realize that someone forgot to bring the dessert! Francesco and Danielle know they can save Christmas, but only if they can remember their mother’s cheesecake recipe before it’s too late.
This festive tribute to food and family will get young readers in the holiday spirit and make them very hungry for a Christmas feast—Italian style!
Always Italy by Frances Mayes
Always Italy is an absolute treat to look through. Frances Mayes can show Tuscany as no one else can. This lush guide, featuring more than 350 glorious photographs from National Geographic, showcases the best Italy has to offer from the perspective of two women who have spent their lives reveling in its unique joys. In these illuminating pages, Frances Mayes, the author of Under the Tuscan Sun and many other bestsellers, and New York Times travel writer Ondine Cohane reveal an Italy that only the locals know, filled with top destinations and unforgettable travel experiences in every region. From the colorful coastline of Cinque Terre and the quiet ports of the Aeolian Islands to the Renaissance architecture of Florence and the best pizza in Rome, every section features insider secrets and off-the-beaten-path recommendations (for example, a little restaurant in Piedmont known for its tajarin, a pasta that is the perfect bed for the region’s celebrated truffles).
The Italians by John Hooper
When I discovered this book at Etta's bookshop I immediately put it on my Christmas wish list. There is so much to learn in this book!
John Hooper’s entertaining and perceptive book The Italians is the ideal companion for anyone seeking to understand contemporary Italy and the unique character of the Italians. Fifteen years as a foreign correspondent based in Rome have sharpened Hooper’s observations, and he looks at the facts that lie behind the stereotypes, shedding new light on everything from the Italians’ bewildering politics to their love of life and beauty. Hooper persuasively demonstrates the impact of geography, history, and tradition on many aspects of Italian life, including football and Freemasonry, sex, food, and opera. Brimming with the kind of fascinating—and often hilarious—insights unavailable in guidebooks, The Italians will surprise even the most die-hard Italophile.
The Florios of Sicily by Stefania Auci
The Florios of Siciliy is based on the true history of the uncrowned kings of Sicily: the story of a family, restless and ambitious, shrewd and determined to be richer and more powerful than anybody else.
In this grand, sweeping epic inspired by the real lives of history-making titans, international best-selling author Stefania Auci brings to life the dark secrets, the loves and betrayals, and the cruel acts of revenge that marked the Florio family’s century of influence.
This book has been on my books to read list all year. I find this families history and the effect it had on Sicily an absolutely fascinating look at one of Italy's most powerful families.
The Borgias by Paul Strathern
I had never heard of The Borgia family until my friends recommended I watch the series. I can't wait to read this book before I watch the series! Their ties to the Vatican have me very intrigued. The glorious and infamous history of the Borgia family—a world of saints, corrupt popes, and depraved princes and poisoners—set against the golden age of the Italian Renaissance.
The Borgia family have become a byword for evil. Corruption, incest, ruthless megalomania, avarice and vicious cruelty—all have been associated with their name. And yet, paradoxically, this family lived when the Renaissance was coming into its full flowering in Italy. Examples of infamy flourished alongside some of the finest art produced in western history.
Italian Phrase Book published by Penguin
Penguin’s Italian Phrasebook includes a wealth of useful words and expressions essential to travelers of all kinds, spelled out phonetically and arranged in sections to help you deal with specific situations and needs as they arise. There are many phrasebooks on the market, I think this one is just particularly sweet looking and the perfect size for carrying around with you as you travel.
Delizia! By John Dickie
Delizia! is the fascinating story of how one vast country comprised of uniquely distinct regions came to produce some of the most delicious and beloved foods of all time is expertly revealed.
If you want to understand Italian food, it’s important to recognize one central insight: Italian food is city food. It’s not coincidental that so many Italian foods and dishes are named after cities: bistecca alla fiorentina, prosciutto di Parma, pizza napoletana. Italy has the world’s longest unbroken tradition of urban living, and food has played an integral role in that tradition.
Catastrophe & Other Stories by Dino Buzzati
In Catastrophe, the renowned Italian short story writer Dino Buzzati brings vividly to life the slow and quietly terrifying collapse of our known, everyday world. In stories touched by the fantastical and the strange, and filled with humor, irony, and menace, Buzzati illuminates the nightmarish side of our ordinary existence.
The Tartar Steppe by Dino Buzzati
Often likened to Kafka's The Castle, The Tartar Steppe is both a scathing critique of military life and a meditation on the human thirst for glory. It tells of young Giovanni Drogo, who is posted to a distant fort overlooking the vast Tartar steppe. Although not intending to stay, Giovanni suddenly finds that years have passed, as, almost without his noticing, he has come to share the others' wait for a foreign invasion that never happens. Over time the fort is downgraded and Giovanni's ambitions fade―until the day the enemy begins massing on the desolate steppe…
The Leopard by Tomasi Di Lampedusa
The Leopard is one of the greatest novels of the twentieth century. Giulia told me it is one of the most famous Italian books read by English speakers. We became aware of this story after visiting the Dolce & Gabbana show in Milan this summer. They had an exhibit based on the famous movie by the same name. The Sicilian prince Giuseppe Tomasi Di Lampedusa (1896-1957) died just after writing The Leopard, his only novel. Visconti's film adaptation, starring Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale, won the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1963.
In Sicily, in 1860, a family from the high aristocracy suffered the consequences of the change of regime in favor of the Republicans. While Prince Salina lets himself be overcome by nostalgia, his nephew Tancred embodies the new force that is shaking his country. He asks for the hand of Angélique, daughter of an upstart, while this union marks the defeat of the family coat of arms.
There are so many amazing books about Italy from different perspectives, experiences and parts of history. These are just a small sampling of ones we love. We hope you dive into some of these books and come back to tell us what you thought of them!
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