20+ Books Set in Italy That Will Transport You There
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Ready to escape to Italy with these unforgettable books?
Maybe it’s the sunlit piazzas, the quiet villages tucked between vineyards, or the centuries of history layered into every cobbled street. From sweeping literary sagas to dreamy summer romances, novels set in Italy capture the beauty, complexity, and emotional intensity of the country.
Some stories follow travelers discovering Italy for the first time. Others are written by Italian authors themselves, revealing a deeper portrait of the country’s culture, friendships, and history.
If you’re dreaming of wandering through Florence, swimming along the Amalfi Coast, or getting lost in the narrow streets of Naples, these books will take you there.
For me, this list feels especially personal. Italy is my country, and there’s something fascinating about seeing familiar places through the eyes of international authors. Sometimes they capture the romance of Italy perfectly — the long dinners, golden evenings, and the sense that life slows down here. Other times, they notice small details locals might take for granted. Either way, reading stories set in Italy always adds an extra touch of magic when the landscapes, cities, and traditions feel so close to home.
From romantic escapes on the Amalfi Coast to literary stories set in Florence, Naples, and Sicily, these are some of the best books set in Italy to add to your reading list.
Happy Reading!
If you’re looking for all the upcoming books, take a look at
Romantic & Contemporary Books Set in Italy
One Italian Summer
by Rebecca Serle
After her mother’s death, Katy travels alone to Positano on the Amalfi Coast, hoping to understand the place her mother loved so deeply. What she doesn’t expect is to encounter her mother as a young woman, long before Katy was born. As the days unfold along the sparkling Mediterranean coastline, past and present begin to blur in unexpected ways. Through laughter, memories, and difficult truths, Katy slowly learns that love between mothers and daughters can be far more complex than she ever imagined.
Problematic Summer Romance
by Ali Hazelwood
Maya Killgore has spent years trying to ignore her feelings for Conor Harkness, knowing their complicated past and age difference make any relationship impossible. But when a destination wedding in Taormina forces them to spend a week together in Sicily, distance becomes harder to maintain. Surrounded by ancient ruins, breathtaking coastal views, and wedding chaos, their unresolved tension begins to surface. As the days pass under the warm Italian sun, Maya must decide whether some risks are worth taking after all.
Love & Gelato
by Jenna Evans Welch
When Lina travels to Tuscany after her mother’s death, she expects nothing more than an awkward summer with the father she barely knows. Instead, she discovers her mother’s old journal filled with stories of romance, secrets, and adventures in Florence. As Lina follows the clues through the city’s art museums, hidden gardens, and charming streets, she begins to see her mother’s life in a new light. What begins as a difficult trip slowly turns into a summer that changes Lina forever.
The View from Lake Como
by Adriana Trigiani
When Jess escapes to the breathtaking shores of Lake Como, she hopes distance will help her make sense of the life she has built and the choices she now questions. Surrounded by elegant villas, winding lakeside paths, and the quiet rhythm of Italian days, she begins to see her past and future more clearly. What starts as a simple getaway slowly becomes a journey toward rediscovering courage, love, and the possibility of starting again.
The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany
by Lori Nelson Spielman
For generations, the Fontana family has believed they are cursed when it comes to love. When Emilia receives a mysterious letter suggesting the curse might be broken, she sets off on a journey through Italy with her cousin Lucy and her adventurous Aunt Poppy. Traveling from the rolling hills of Tuscany to the lively streets of Florence, Emilia begins to question whether fate truly controls her future. Along the way, she discovers unexpected friendships, family secrets, and the possibility of love.
Literary Fiction & Italian Stories
My Brilliant Friend
by Elena Ferrante
The first book in Elena Ferrante’s celebrated Neapolitan Novels series, My Brilliant Friend begins in a poor neighborhood of 1950s Naples, where two girls grow up bound together by a friendship that is both fiercely loyal and quietly competitive. Elena dreams of education and a life beyond the limits of their community, while the brilliant and unpredictable Lila challenges every expectation placed upon her. As the girls grow into adolescence, their ambitions begin to pull them in different directions. The novel has also inspired the acclaimed television adaptation that brought Ferrante’s Naples to life on screen.
If you’d like to dive deeper into the story, you can explore the reading guide for My Brilliant Friend
Still Life
by Sarah Winman
In Tuscany during the final months of World War II, a young English soldier named Ulysses Temper takes shelter in the wine cellar of an abandoned villa, where he meets Evelyn Skinner, an art historian rescuing paintings from the devastation of war. Their unexpected encounter sparks a friendship that quietly shapes the rest of Ulysses’s life. Through art, memory, and chance connections, Florence becomes the heart of a story about friendship, love, and belonging.
Historical Fiction Set in Italy
Eternal
by Lisa Scottoline
Set against the dramatic backdrop of World War II, this sweeping historical novel follows three childhood friends in Rome—Elisabetta, Marco, and Sandro—whose lives become increasingly complicated as Mussolini’s fascist regime tightens its grip on Italy. While Sandro faces growing danger because of his Jewish heritage, Marco is drawn toward the power and promise of the fascist movement, leaving Elisabetta torn between loyalty and love. As war reshapes their city and their futures, the three friends must confront choices that will change their lives forever.
The Marriage Portrait
by Maggie O’Farrell
In Renaissance Florence, Lucrezia de’ Medici suddenly finds herself at the center of a political marriage meant for her older sister. Sent to the court of Ferrara at only fifteen, she must quickly learn to navigate a world filled with intrigue and watchful eyes. As rumors and suspicions begin to surround her powerful husband, Lucrezia realizes her new life may be far more dangerous than she imagined. Maggie O’Farrell’s richly detailed novel explores power, art, and survival in Renaissance Italy and was also selected as a Reese’s Book Club pick.
Save for Later
The Glassmaker
by Tracy Chevalier
Set in Renaissance Venice, this sweeping historical novel follows Orsola Rosso, the eldest daughter in a family of glassblowers on the island of Murano. Although women are not allowed to practice the craft, Orsola secretly teaches herself to make glass beads after her father’s death to help support her family. As the story spans centuries of Venetian history—from plague and war to the city’s changing fortunes—Orsola and the women of the Rosso family fight to preserve their art, their independence, and their legacy.
Beneath a Scarlet Sky
by Mark Sullivan
In the final years of World War II, seventeen-year-old Pino Lella finds himself drawn into the Italian resistance, helping Jews escape through the Alps to safety. Hoping to protect his family, he later becomes the driver for a powerful Nazi officer, secretly gathering intelligence for the Allies. As the war intensifies around him, Pino must navigate danger, loyalty, and impossible choices. Inspired by a true story, this novel reveals the remarkable courage of one young man during one of history’s darkest times.
Italian Authors You Should Read in Translation
The Letter Carrier
by Francesca Giannone
When Anna moves from northern Italy to a small village in Puglia after World War II, she becomes the town’s first female letter carrier. Delivering letters from house to house, she carries the hopes, secrets, and heartbreak of an entire community. Over time, Anna becomes an unexpected witness to the changing lives around her. Through her journey, the novel paints a vivid portrait of resilience, independence, and life in southern Italy.
The Leopard
by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
Recently adapted into a television series, this sweeping historical story follows Prince Fabrizio Salina in nineteenth-century Sicily as he watches the aristocratic world he has always known slowly begin to disappear. As Italy moves toward unification, old traditions fade, and new ambitions rise to take their place. With elegant prose and unforgettable characters, the novel captures a society standing at the edge of transformation and the quiet melancholy of a changing era.
The Children’s Train
by Viola Ardone
In the difficult years following World War II, seven-year-old Amerigo leaves the poverty of Naples to spend several months with a family in northern Italy as part of a program designed to help children survive the hardships of the south. Far from home, he encounters unfamiliar comforts and opportunities that challenge everything he knows. Through Amerigo’s eyes, the novel explores childhood, identity, and the deep cultural divide between northern and southern Italy.
A Girl Returned
by Donatella Di Pietrantonio
A thirteen-year-old girl is suddenly returned to the poor rural family she barely remembers after being raised by relatives who once took her in. Forced to adapt to a new life in the Abruzzo countryside, she struggles to understand where she truly belongs. Through hardship, family tensions, and unexpected bonds, the girl slowly begins to find her place. This powerful Italian novel captures the fragility of childhood and the search for identity.
The Florios of Sicily
by Stefania Auci
Stefania Auci’s sweeping historical saga brings to life the passion, struggles, and determination behind one of Italy’s most fascinating families. In nineteenth-century Palermo, the Florio family rises from humble beginnings to become one of the most powerful dynasties in Sicily. Determined to build a future beyond poverty, brothers Paolo and Ignazio Florio open a small spice shop that slowly grows into a thriving commercial empire. As the family gains wealth and influence, they must navigate ambition, rivalry, and a society that still views them as outsiders.
More Books Set in Italy
The Amalfi Curse
by Sarah Penner
When a modern-day historian travels to the Amalfi Coast to investigate a centuries-old mystery, she uncovers a story tied to powerful women, forbidden knowledge, and long-buried secrets. As the narrative moves between past and present, the dramatic cliffs and hidden coves of the Amalfi Coast become the backdrop for a tale of ambition, revenge, and resilience.
Playing for Pizza
by John Grisham
After a disastrous performance in an NFL game, third-string quarterback Rick Dockery suddenly finds himself without a career in the United States. With few options left, he accepts an offer to play football in Parma, Italy. What begins as a temporary escape soon turns into an unexpected adventure as Rick discovers the pleasures of Italian life—long meals, passionate fans, and the slower rhythm of a new culture. Along the way, he begins to reconsider what success really means.
Eat Pray Love
by Elizabeth Gilbert
After a painful divorce and a period of deep uncertainty, Elizabeth Gilbert sets out on a journey to rebuild her life. Her adventure begins in Italy, where she immerses herself in the pleasures of language, food, and the simple joy of living in the moment. From Roman trattorias to long afternoons learning Italian, she slowly rediscovers happiness and balance.
The Talented Mr. Ripley
by Patricia Highsmith
When Tom Ripley travels to Italy to convince a wealthy young man to return home, he quickly becomes fascinated by Dickie Greenleaf’s glamorous life along the Mediterranean coast. But admiration soon turns into obsession as Tom imagines what it would be like to live Dickie’s life himself. Set against sunlit beaches, elegant villas, and the carefree atmosphere of the Italian Riviera, this psychological thriller explores ambition, identity, and the dangerous consequences of envy.
The Enchanted April
by Elizabeth von Arnim
Four very different English women decide to escape the gray skies of London by renting a small castle on the Italian Riviera for the month of April. Surrounded by blooming gardens, sunshine, and breathtaking sea views, they slowly begin to rediscover joy, friendship, and independence. What begins as a simple holiday soon becomes a transformative experience for each of them.
That Month in Tuscany
by Inglath Cooper
After the sudden loss of her husband, Lizzy Harper travels to Tuscany hoping that distance might help her heal. Renting a quiet villa surrounded by vineyards and rolling hills, she begins to reconnect with music, friendship, and the beauty of everyday life. As she spends time with a small circle of locals and fellow travelers, Lizzy slowly starts to imagine a future she once believed impossible.
From Tuscany’s rolling hills to the dramatic cliffs of the Amalfi Coast, these books set in Italy offer the perfect kind of literary travel. Whether you love historical fiction, romance, or literary stories, there’s something here to transport you straight to Italy. Which of these novels is going on your reading list?
