Top 12 Italian writers

Dante Alighieri

He was a poet of the Late Middle Ages/Early Renaissance. He is known as "the Supreme Poet". His main work is “The Divine Comedy”a poem written between 1308 and 1320. The Divine Comedy describes the poet’s travels through Hell, Purgatory and Paradise.

Giovanni Boccaccio

Poet and important Renaissance humanist who wrote “The Decameron”, considered a masterpiece of classical early Italian prose. It is a collection of 100 tales told by a group of seven young women and three young men sheltering in a villa outside Florence.

Alessandro Manzoni

A poet and novelist, famous for the novel “I promessi sposi” (The Betrothed), a symbol of the Italian Risorgimento: it has a patriotic message and it is considered also a fundamental milestone in the development of the modern, unified Italian language.

Carlo Collodi

With the founding of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861, he ceased his journalistic activities and began writing for children. He is known as the creator of “Pinocchio”, the puppet carved out of a piece of wood by the old woodcarver Geppetto.

Luigi Pirandello

He was a sicilian dramatist, novelist and poet. He won the 1934 Nobel Prize in Literature. Pirandello's works include novels, short stories, plays. He wrote also “Uno, nessuno e centomila” (One, No One, and a Hundred Thousand).

Goliarda Sapienza

She started to study theatre and she worked as an actor in films and plays. In 1958 she focused on writing and her most famous novel is “L'arte della gioia” (The Art of Joy). The book is a novel about female freedom against the patriarchal society.

Andrea Camilleri

He is a contemporary author from Italy. His novels are about the adventures of the detective Montalbano. From this books, it was created a series, which has been adapted for Italian television and translated in different languages.

Oriana Fallaci

She was an Italian journalist, author, and political interviewer. During World War II she joined the Italian anti-fascist resistance movement. She had a long and successful journalistic career.

Umberto Eco

Italian novelist, literary critic, philosopher, and university professor. He is known for his “Il nome della rosa” (The Name of the Rose), a murder mistery that combines semiotics in fiction with biblical analysis, medieval studies, and literary theory.

Elena Ferrante

She is a pseudonymous of an italian author who never reveals her real identity. She wrote a series which is set in Naples and recount the friendship of two women, from youth to adulthood, during the political and social changes in the 60s and 70s.

Susanna Tamaro

In 1994, the author wrote “Va' dove ti porta il cuore” (Follow your Heart). The book was an international bestseller.

Roberto Saviano

He is a journalist, writer and essayist. He wrote "Gomorrah" (his debut novel) in which he investigated on the economic reality of Italy and the business of the Camorra and organized crimes.