Relaxed reading
Books to enjoy between Christmas and New Year – from or taking place in Italy. What better way to spend the time between Christmas and New Year than to curl up with a good book while snowflakes fall gently outside?
For fans of Venice
Cristina Caboni: The Magic of the Lagoon
Are you already familiar with the streets of Venice courtesy of Commissario Brunetti? If so, a visit to the glass blowers of Murano could be a great option for you. Bestselling author Cristina Caboni guarantees a real page-turner.
For bon vivants
Francesco Settembrini: Un cappuccino, per favore.
With his entertaining short stories in simple Italian (Level A2-B1), Settembrini gives us insights into Italian culture. The only nicer way to learn the language is by spending time in Italy itself.
For design enthusiasts
Cindi Strauss, Germano Celant: Radical: Italian Design 1965-1985.
The legendary origins of Italian design described in great detail.
Paolo Tinarelli: Italian Glamour: The Essence of Italian Fashion From the Postwar Years to the Present Day.
Italian fashion proved electrifying: iconic outfits for Sophia Loren, Audrey Hepburn, Veruschka and Grace Jones.
Paola Antonelli: 4:3. 50 Years of Italian-German Design.
A catalogue of this legendary exhibition. Compare and contrast - Alessi and Adidas, Fiat and Daimler, Vespa and Miele.
For friends of the classics
Antonfrancesco Grazzini: Fire on the Arno. Renaissance novellas from Florence.
Incredible: although 450 years separate us from Grazzini (1504-1584), the routes taken through the city centre by his doctors and priests, weavers and thieves can still be followed exactly today, from Santa Croce to the Mercato Veccio. A soul mirror.
Carlo Levi: Christ stopped at Eboli.
A depiction of a southern Italy that no longer exists. In 1935, the Torinese doctor Carlo Levi was banished to a god-forsaken, malaria-infested region of Lucania for antifascist activities. Levi paints a portrait of people who had to fight for survival.
For fans of Milan
Paolo Roversi: Black Sun over Milan
The Milanese journalist Paolo Roversi, who won the “Premio Camaiore”, describes the brutal rise of three gangsters in the 1980s.
