Must-Read Books for Your Italian Vacation

Heading to Italy for a summer vacation? If so, I am jealous! I’m still dying to make it to Sicily. And Cinque Terre. And Lake Garda. And to walk part of the Appian Way. All hopefully someday….

Me hiking the Path of the Gods on the Amalfi Peninsula a few years ago

One way I like to immerse myself in a trip is to read a book with that setting. Preferably historical fiction of course. Thus, for anyone taking a trip to Italy in the coming months, or a staycation where you’d like to pretend you’re in Italy, here are my recommendations, in no particular order.

In the Company of the Courtesan – Sarah Dunant – a classic of the genre about a courtesan who flees the Sack of Rome to begin her business anew in Venice
The Painter’s Apprentice – Laura Morelli – I often think of this haunting novel set during the 1510 Venetian plague told from the viewpoint of painter’s apprentice who would rather follow in her father’s gilding footsteps
Oil and Marble – Stephanie Storey – a wonderful narrative set in Florence about the rivalry between Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo (I interviewed Stephanie for the blog about her subsequent novel, Raphael: Painter in Rome, which is a bonus suggestion)
The Midwife of Venice – Roberta Rich – another one that haunts me still, this novel follows the life of a Jewish midwife living in Venice’s Ghetto
The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence – Alyssa Palombo – set in Florence during the apex of Medici rule, Botticelli finds inspiration in painting a singular young woman
The Name of the Rose – Umberto Eco – an erudite medieval mystery set in an Italian Alpine monastery by one of Italy’s most famous and important writers
The Passion of Artemisia – Susan Vreeland – I vividly remember reading this novel and learning for the first time the sad story of one of the most important female painters of the era
The Marriage Portrait – Maggie O’Farrell – the author of Hamnet followed that success with an evocative novel about a very young duchess from Ferrara who fears for her life at the hands of her powerful new husband
Juliet’s Nurse – Lois Leveen – I came across this novel set in Verona in a Little Free Library and took it because it was told from the viewpoint of the nurse from Romeo and Juliet – I had zero expectations and loved it!
The Virgins of Venice – Gina Buonaguro – how could I resist? 🙂 I’m very proud of this novel about two young noble sisters who must follow the paths laid out for them by their impoverished father: marriage and convent