I have completed the Italia Reading Challenge, which was a challenge for me to read books by Italian authors throughout the year 2022. I would like to thank Emma from Book Around the Corner for contributing to this challenge and the first two books in the selection above are her review contributions. The challenge covered such diverse genres as literary fiction (Pavese), historical fiction (Bassani), play (Pirandello), non-fiction (Angela), short story (Buzzati) and memoir/poetry (Dante), as well as authors born in such diverse regions of Italy as Sardinia (Pulixi), Veneto (Buzzati), Piedmont (Pavese), Lazio (Rome) (Morante), Tuscany (Florence) (Dante), Varese (Fo), and Sicily (Pirandello).
I. Emma, Book Around the Corner – The Island of Souls by Piergiorgio Pulixi
II. Emma, Book Around the Corner – The Day Will Come by Giulia Caminito
III. The Moon and The Bonfire by Cesare Pavese – ★★★★
IV. Six Characters in Search of an Author by Luigi Pirandello – ★★★★
V. A Day in the Life of Ancient Rome by Alberto Angela – ★★★★
VI. La Vita Nuova by Dante Alighieri – ★★★★★
VII. The Siren: A Selection of Short Stories by Dino Buzzati – ★★★1/2
VIII. Arturo’s Island by Elsa Morante – ★★★★
IX. Accidental Death of an Anarchist by Dario Fo – ★★★★★
X. Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan – ★★★★★
XI. Catastrophe & Other Stories by Dino Buzzati – ★★★★
XII. The Garden of the Finzi-Continis by Giorgio Bassani – ★★★★
For this challenge, I also compiled a list titled “Italian Literature Recommendations for Each Zodiac Sign“, as well as talked about Italian children’s literature to celebrate the International Children’s Day.
Thoughts on Papyrus 
This is a complex challenge. Congratulations. I have bought Le Grand Meaulnes to read but have not started it yet. Definitely like the sound of the Finzi-Contini one.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am in total awe, Diana. I’d like to think I’d tackle at least a couple of these titles, even if the categories in toto are beyond me, and the Finzi-Contini novel perhaps will be in the vanguard!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Congratulations on completing your Italian reading challenge!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome!
LikeLike
Wow, that’s a lot of Italian books. They have wonderful literature!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well done!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very well done, what a great idea for a challenge and a terrific achievement!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Jane!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Congratulations! Reading on a theme is always a good experience, I find, since each book feeds into one’s appreciation of the others. Will you be starting a new challenge?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! I Challenges like this one are great, of course, and for many reasons, but are also rather taxing, to be honest, so I think I am taking a break from them this year, and how about you?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, after finishing my Spanish Civil War challenge I’m taking a break too before deciding on another themed challenge. As you say, it can be quite hard work!
LikeLike
Brava and congratulations, what an accomplishment! I haven’t read any of these books and appreciate having some intriguing titles to look into.
LikeLike
Congratulations for completing this challenge! It’s great that you got a great variety of genres and regions! Are you going to do a challenge with another country for 2023?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! I am thinking of taking a break from challenges this year. I plan to read some very long books this year, so I guess that would be a sufficient challenge for me 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Congratulations! But no Italo Calvino?
I’m addicted to this author, so much so that I decided to learn Italian to read hin in the original text. Currently reading his book on Why Read the Classics?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks! Calvino is great. Like Umberto Eco, I think he is one of the better known, if not the best known, author(s) outside of Italy, and I wanted to draw attention to other writers. I’ve heard good things about this non-fiction of his, and I absolutely love Invisible Cities, too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, and they say Calvino is better known outside than inside Italy! My favorite is If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler
LikeLiked by 1 person