Literary Hub » Italian literature

Lalla Romano Was Writing Autofiction Before It Existed

Lalla Romano Was Writing Autofiction Before It Existed

On the Late Italian Writer’s Masterpiece, “In Farthest Seas”

By Brian Robert Moore | September 5, 2025

The Timeless Magic of Italo Calvino’s <em>Invisible Cities</em> at 50

The Timeless Magic of Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities at 50

Anthony Doerr Reflects on His Long History Deciphering the Literary Puzzles of a Postmodern Masterpiece

By Anthony Doerr | March 20, 2025

Antifascist, Feminist, Timeless: On Alba de Céspedes’s <em>There’s No Turning Back</em>

Antifascist, Feminist, Timeless: On Alba de Céspedes’s There’s No Turning Back

Ann Goldstein: “Even if the world has changed, her characters’ struggles with becoming themselves continue to be familiar.”

By Ann Goldstein | February 13, 2025

A Riveting, Timeless Journey Through the Afterlife: Inside the World of Dante’s <em>Divine Comedy</em>

A Riveting, Timeless Journey Through the Afterlife: Inside the World of Dante’s Divine Comedy

Michael Palma on the Contemporary Relevance of Italian Literature’s Founding Masterpiece

By Michael Palma | December 2, 2024

Boccaccio’s Modern Life: What <em>The Decameron</em> Reveals About Contemporary Anxiety

Boccaccio’s Modern Life: What The Decameron Reveals About Contemporary Anxiety

Ed Simon Considers the Act of Storytelling as a Means of Preserving Our Humor and Humanity in Tumultuous Times

By Ed Simon | August 5, 2024

“Wade Into the Muck With Me.” On Reading and Re-Reading Elena Ferrante

“Wade Into the Muck With Me.” On Reading and Re-Reading Elena Ferrante

Gina Frangello Considers Her Personal History in Relation to the Neapolitan Quartet

By Gina Frangello | June 6, 2024

Best Reviewed
Books of the Week

Two Friends, Two Dolls, One Shared Fear of the Uknown

By Chiara Lagani, Elena Ferrante, Mara Cerri and Ann Goldstein | October 12, 2023

“The Land of the Muses.” How Sardinia Became Italy’s Island of Poets

By Jeff Biggers | May 25, 2023

Jhumpa Lahiri on Michael F. Moore’s Translation of Alessandro Manzoni’s The Betrothed

By Jhumpa Lahiri | September 13, 2022

Trieste vs. Milan, Poetry vs. Plot: Beppe Severgnini on the Italian Love—And Need—For Poetry

Trieste vs. Milan, Poetry vs. Plot: Beppe Severgnini on the Italian Love—And Need—For Poetry

“Poetry belongs not only to those who write it but also to those who read it and listen to it.”

By Beppe Severgnini | May 6, 2022

Five Italian Short Story Collections You Should Read

Five Italian Short Story Collections You Should Read

Francesca Marciano on an Undertranslated Aspect of Italian Literature

By Francesca Marciano | June 16, 2020

Coronavirus is affecting the Italian publishing industry in a big way.

Coronavirus is affecting the Italian publishing industry in a big way.

By Aaron Robertson | February 26, 2020

Happiness, as Such

Happiness, as Such

Natalia Ginzburg (trans. Minna Zalman Proctor)

By Lit Hub Excerpts | July 23, 2019

Pier Paolo Pasolini: Sketches <br>of Rome

Pier Paolo Pasolini: Sketches
of Rome

On the Lupin-Sellers of Campo dei Fiori

By Pier Paolo Pasolini | July 22, 2019

'The Weary Archangel,' <br>A Poem by Giorgio de Chirico

'The Weary Archangel,'
A Poem by Giorgio de Chirico

Alongside the Original Italian From Geometry of Shadows, Translated by Stefania Heim

By Giorgio de Chirico | July 10, 2019

Soul of the Border

Soul of the Border

Matteo Righetto, trans. by Howard Curtis

By Lit Hub Excerpts | June 10, 2019

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