Black Run by Antonio Manzini – AOSTA VALLEY (VALLE d’AOSTA)
The Savage Shore by David Hewson – CALABRIA
A Quiet Death In Italy by Tom Benjamin – EMILIA-ROMAGNA 
Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere by Jan Morris – FRIULI-VENEZIA GIULIA
Summer Fever by Kate Riordan – MARCHE
The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant – TUSCANY (TOSCANA)
Novel set in Overijssel 1961
Great Books set across the 20 Regions of ITALY
16th May 2025
Great books set across the 20 Regions of Italy. A brilliant book for each one…
My Mother is a River by Donatella Di Pietrantonio – ABRUZZO
The sensitive and powerful story of the love between a mother and her daughter, a love “gone wrong from the start”. When Esperia exhibits the symptoms of a disease that robs her of her memory and the very sense of her existence, it is time for the daughter to take care of her and help her to rebuild her disintegrating identity. So the daily recounting of the past begins. Day after day we learn about the characters of the extended family, the inhabitants of the small village still without running water or electricity, in a “bright and harsh” Abruzzo, which emerges from the pages like a mythological distant land. They are bittersweet memories, full of life and truth, that rebuild the story of a relationship and of an Italy that appears so very distant and yet it is still present in our characters’ history. And, in the telling, the mother and daughter relationship slowly changes, fluctuating between love and hate, nostalgia and denial.
Black Run by Antonio Manzini – AOSTA VALLEY (VALLE d’AOSTA)
Already an international hit, a sly, sizzling mystery set in the Italian Alps, the first in a sensational crime series.
The dark flanks of the Alps tower over everything. Wind whistles through the fir trees. An expanse of ice and snow with no end in sight. A growing stain. A mess of flesh and blood. A corpse buried six inches under the snow.
Enter Rocco Schiavone, Deputy Police Chief and a man who has more beautiful women in his bed than sensible shoes under it. He’s stuck in this backwards Alpine town after getting on the wrong side of the wrong people and longs for the fritto misto, cobbled streets and lucky breaks of his beloved Rome. He hates this place and the provincial locals almost as much as his superiors for their petty rules and for exiling him here. On top of that, he’s got a body to deal with and this mangled corpse is “a pain in the ass, number 10 on the scale, summa cum laude”…
There is blood on the black run and nothing to identify the victim but a tattoo of Luisa Pec, owner of a bar popular with the locals and a pair of blue eyes popular with Rocco. Was it a crime of passion? Or of jealousy? And how are the mafia involved? Rocco Schivone is on the case, the first in a sensational new crime series.
The Night Falling by Katherine Webb – APULLA (PUGLIA)
Puglia, 1921. Leandro Cardetta, born into poverty, emigrated to America to make his fortune and has returned home to southern Italy a rich man, accompanied by his glamorous wife, Marcie, an ex-showgirl fighting middle age. Now Leandro has money enough to hire renowned English architect, Boyd Kinsgley, to renovate a crumbling palazzo into an Art Deco statement of wealth, and host Boyd’s teenage son and his diffident young second wife, Clare, for one extraordinary summer.
Under the burning sky, beyond the luxury of Leandro’s home, tensions are high. Veterans of the Great War are desperate for work and food. Among these is Ettore, Leandro’s nephew. Gripped by grief at the loss of his fiancée, Ettore has sworn to identify Livia’s killer, and take his revenge. He is too proud to go to his uncle for charity, but when he injures himself one day, he has no choice but to knock on Leandro’s door. Meeting Clare there will change everything – and in the most violent way.
During the fierce summer of 1921, all these lives converge. Exactly how did Leandro grow rich in America, and what is the strange hold he has over Boyd? What happened to the first Mrs Kingsley, and what secret haunts the outwardly exuberant Marcie Cardetta? Hearts will be broken, blood will be spilt and the hardest of life’s lessons will be learnt as shadows fall.
Christ Stopped at Eboli by Primo Levi – BASILICATA
‘We’re not Christians, Christ stopped short of here, at Eboli.’ Exiled to a remote and barren corner of Italy for his opposition to Mussolini, Carlo Levi entered a world cut off from history and the state, hedged in by custom and sorrow, without comfort or solace, where, eternally patient, the peasants lived in an age-old stillness and in the presence of death – for Christ did stop at Eboli.
The Savage Shore by David Hewson – CALABRIA
Roman police detective Nic Costa has been sent undercover to Italy’s beautiful, remote Calabrian coast to bring in the head of the feared mob, the ‘Ndrangheta, who has offered to turn state witness for reasons of his own.
Hoping to reel in the biggest prize the state police have seen in years, the infamous Butcher of Palermo, Costa and his team are aware the stakes are high. But the constant deception is taking its toll. Out of their depth in a lawless part of Italy where they are the outcasts, not the men in the hills, with their shotguns and rough justice, the detectives find themselves pitched as much against one another as the mob. As the tension rises, it’s clear the operation is not going to plan. Is Nic Costa getting too close to the enemy for comfort – and is there a traitor among them …?
My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante – CAMPANIA
The first in My Brilliant Friend series
A modern masterpiece from one of Italy’s most acclaimed authors, My Brilliant Friend is a rich, intense and generous hearted story about two friends, Elena and Lila. Ferrante’s inimitable style lends itself perfectly to a meticulous portrait of these two women that is also the story of a nation and a touching meditation on the nature of friendship. Through the lives of these two women, Ferrante tells the story of a neighbourhood, a city and a country as it is transformed in ways that, in turn, also transform the relationship between her two protagonists.
A Quiet Death In Italy by Tom Benjamin – EMILIA-ROMAGNA
Daniel Leicester Book 1
Bologna: city of secrets, suspicion… and murder
A dark and atmospheric crime thriller set in the beautiful Italian city of Bologna, perfect for fans of Donna Leon, Michael Dibdin and Philip Gwynne Jones.
When the body of a radical protestor is found floating in one of Bologna’s underground canals, it seems that most of the city is ready to blame the usual suspects: the police.
But when private investigator Daniel Leicester, son-in-law to the former chief of police, receives a call from the dead man’s lover, he follows a trail that begins in the 1970s and leads all the way to the rotten heart of the present-day political establishment.
Beneath the beauty of the city, Bologna has a dark underside, and English detective Daniel must unravel a web of secrets, deceit and corruption – before he is caught in it himself.
Tom Benjamin’s gripping debut transports you to the ancient and mysterious Italian city less travelled: Bologna.
Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere by Jan Morris – FRIULI-VENEZIA GIULIA
Jan Morris (then James) first visited Trieste as a soldier at the end of the Second World War. Since then, the city has come to represent her own life, with all its hopes, disillusionments, loves and memories. Here, her thoughts on a host of subjects – ships, cities, cats, sex, nationalism, Jewishness, civility and kindness – are inspired by the presence of Trieste, and recorded in or between the lines of this book.
Evoking the whole of its modern history, from its explosive growth to wealth and fame under the Habsburgs, through the years of Fascist rule to the miserable years of the Cold War, when rivalries among the great powers prevented its creation as a free city under United Nations auspices, Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere is neither a history nor a travel book; like the place, it is one of a kind.
The Curse of Pietro Houdini by Derek B Miller – LATIUM (LAZIO)
Shortlisted for the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize 2024
We will lie, cheat, steal, fight, kill, and sin our way to Napoli. We will trust no one but each other, and we will remember that in this place, at this time, there is no way to tell friend from foe.
The bombing of Rome in 1943 leaves fourteen-year-old Massimo orphaned and with no choice but to set out on a perilous journey to find his remaining family in Naples. A chance meeting with the mysterious and charismatic Pietro Houdini will deliver both of them to the doors of the monastery of Monte Cassino, a centuries-old haven of contemplation, learning and art.
But the abbey is in the path of the relentless Allied advance to Rome. Pietro and Massimo need a plan to survive the coming onslaught and that means out-manoeuvring the Germans who are as interested in the abbey’s art collection as in the murder of two of their officers in the town below.
For their plan to work, they must dissemble, disguise, and outwit two armies using skills that Pietro has in spades, but as war edges ever closer, it becomes clear that Massimo is not without a surprise or two either…
Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman – LIGURIA
Andre Aciman’s Call Me by Your Name is the story of a sudden and powerful romance that blossoms between an adolescent boy and a summer guest at his parents’ cliffside mansion on the Italian Riviera. Each is unprepared for the consequences of their attraction, when, during the restless summer weeks, unrelenting currents of obsession, fascination, and desire intensify their passion and test the charged ground between them. Recklessly, the two verge toward the one thing both fear they may never truly find again: total intimacy. It is an instant classic and one of the great love stories of our time.
Leonardo’s Swans by Karen Essex – LOMBARDY (LOMBARDIA)
Isabella and Beatrice d’Este are as different as night and day. Wordly and ambitious, Isabella’s beauty and intellect are legendary across the courts of Europe, while her younger sister, a tomboy, prefers horses and the hunt. When Isabella is betrothed to the Marquis of Mantua, all her ambitions seem to come true — until Beatrice marries Ludovico, the powerful Duke of Milan. Suddenly, Isabella finds herself drawn to her sister’s husband, a man as charismatic as he is dangerous. Once close, the sisters are now fierce rivals, for Ludovico’s affections but also for the larger prize, to be immortalized by Milan’s court painter, Leonardo da Vinci. Da Vinci’s glittering genius is at its zenith, with such masterpieces as The Last Supper and the Mona Lisa, but he constantly struggles not to let his noble patrons’ incessant demands compromise his own artistic vision.
Meanwhile, the black clouds of war are looming on the horizon. As Ludovico’s gamble for power in Western Europe begins to fall apart, the sisters must choose — between passion and family, loyalty and survival.
Summer Fever by Kate Riordan – MARCHE
Two couples. One sweltering Italian villa . . .
Nick and Laura are the hosts: pretending their marriage isn’t on the rocks.
Madison and Bastian are the guests: neither is remotely who they claim to be.
Under the scorching Mediterranean sun no secret is safe. No betrayal goes unnoticed.
The Generosity of Strangers by Thomas Antonaccio – MOLISE
The Generosity of Strangers: When War Came to Fornelli is written in first person, free verse, and consists of a series of vignettes chronicling the real life experiences of a young girl and her family in war-torn Italy in the 1940s. The story is set in the town of Fornelli–a tiny hilltop community in Italy’s mountainous heart.
For Lucia and her family, life in Fornelli is anything but boring. Life is difficult, yet tranquil. But soon the war comes, and life in Fornelli is tranquil no more.
The Generosity of Strangers: When War Came to Fornelli is a true accounting from the eyes of Lucia, about faith, hope, and courage in the midst of war and its aftermath. It poetically conveys how even in desperate times people can open their hearts and rise above adversity.
The Name Of The Rose by Umberto Eco – PIEDMONT (PIEMONTE)
The year is 1327. Franciscans in a wealthy Italian abbey are suspected of heresy, and Brother William of Baskerville arrives to investigate.When his delicate mission is suddenly overshadowed by seven bizarre deaths, Brother William turns detective. He collects evidence, deciphers secret symbols and coded manuscripts, and digs into the eerie labyrinth of the abbey where extraordinary things are happening under the over of night. A spectacular popular and critical success, The Name of the Rose is not only a narrative of a murder investigation but an astonishing chronicle of the Middle Ages.
Vendetta by Michael Dibdin – SARDINIA (SARDEGNA)
Inspector Aurelio Zen has a problem: the impossible murder of an eccentric billionaire, recorded on the closed-circuit video of Oscar Burolo’s top-security Sardinian fortress. Officials in a high government ministry want someone – anyone – to blame, and they want Zen to find a likely candidate.
But the billionaire’s corrupt dealings enriched some of the most exalted figures in Italian politics, and as Zen gets to work, he is plunged into a menacing and violent world where his own life is soon at risk.
Eva Sleeps by Francesca Melandri – TRENTINO ALTO ADIGE (SÜDTIROL)
TR: Katherine Gregor
40-year-old Eva receives an unexpected message from Calabria, Italy. Vito is ill and would like to see her one more time. A retired police officer, he was stationed in South Tyrol during the 1960s, troubled years of tension and violence. Troubles that did not stop a young officer from falling in love with the wrong woman, the beautiful Gerda Huber, single mother and sister of a terrorist. Their affair was a passionate one, but what was the nature of their love? And if he loved her so profoundly, why did he return to Calabria? It’s time for Eva to find out.
The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant – TUSCANY (TOSCANA)
Alessandra is not quite fifteen when her prosperous merchant father brings a young painter back with him from Holland to adorn the walls of the new family chapel. She is fascinated by his talents and envious of his abilities and opportunities to paint to the glory of God. Soon her love of art and her lively independence are luring her into closer involvement with all sorts of taboo areas of life. On excursions into the streets of night-time Florence she observes a terrible evil stalking the city and witnesses the rise of the fiery young priest, Savanarola, who has set out to rid the city of vice, richness, even art itself.
Alessandra must make crucial decisions about the shape of her adult life, as Florence itself must choose between the old ways of the luxury-loving Medicis and the asceticism of Savanorola. And through it all, there is the painter, whose love will change everything.
The Umbrian Thursday Night Supper Club by Marlena de Blasi – UMBRIA
Every week on a Thursday evening, a group of four Italian rural women gather in a derelict stone house in the hills above Italy’s Orvieto. There – along with their friend, Marlena – they cook together, sit down to a beautiful supper, drink their beloved local wines, and talk.
Here, surrounded by candle light, good food and friendship, Miranda, Ninucia, Paolina and Gilda tell their life stories of loves lost and found, of ageing and abandonment, of mafia grudges and family feuds, and of cherished ingredients and recipes whose secrets have been passed down through the generations. Around this table, these five friends share their food and all that life has offered them – the good and the bad.
The Glassmaker by Tracy Chevalier – VENETO
Venice, 1486. Across the lagoon lies Murano. Time flows differently here – like the glass the island’s maestros spend their lives learning to handle.
Women are not meant to work with glass, but Orsola Rosso flouts convention to save her family from ruin. She works in secret, knowing her creations must be perfect to be accepted by men. But perfection may take a lifetime.
Skipping like a stone through the centuries, we follow Orsola as she hones her craft through war and plague, tragedy and triumph, love and loss.
The beads she creates will adorn the necks of empresses and courtesans from Paris to Vienna – but will she ever earn the respect of those closest to her?
We hope you enjoy our selection on books across every Region in Italy!
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