Holiday reading to match the destination - Italy

[whingeyarse]

Does anyone else do this?

I'd really like to have a holiday read set where we're going so I can feel kind of immersed in it. We're heading to Verona shortly, so do any of you know any lightish reads that will match our trip? (other than the obvious Romeo and Juliette which I don't consider lightish!)

A room with a view.

One of the Dan Brown books is set in Northern Italy. I think it's Inferno. Not sure any is in Verona but they go to Florence and Venice. And it's definitely "light" 😆

A few recommendations for Verona from the Trip Fiction website:

www.tripfiction.com/find-a-book/?location=Verona&btitle=&bauthor=&genre=Genre...

❤️ Room With View and if I hadn't read it a hundred times it would be perfect!

Dan Brown could actually be perfect for reading in five minute gaps between the cat herding of a family holiday

Oh yes, I definitely do this :) I was going to suggest Room with a View as well!

How about Elena Ferrante? Or there are various good series of Italian police/detective stories: Michele Ferrara, Montalbano etc.

I do this. I went to lake Como last year and read ‘summer at the lake’ by Erica James.

Not Quite Nice and Nice Work by Cecelia Imrie. The Olive Branch by Lucinda Riley.

The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim
Siracusa by Delia Ephron

I know they are supposed to be good , but I just cant bring my self to read Elena Ferrante.. All the overblown hype and then it turned out she was a journalist anyway .. so what was the point of all the supposed secrecy? A marketing ploy? .

The Food of Love by Anthony Capella was very light and frothy but fun. I read it years ago as one of those Richard and Judy choices thing. Lots of Italian food and romcom-style humour.

Juliet by Anne Fortier

thanks so much for all of these suggestions! I'm in danger of buying too many of them now, which is a nice problem to have

Well Romeo & Juliet obviously but if that’s a bit too heavy for a holiday (not exactly renowned as being a cheerful holiday read) have a look at the Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunnant.

Talented Mr Ripley.

Enchanted April and I'm not Scared by Niccolo Ammaniti. Both very different and both good reads. Never understood the appeal of Ferrante.

Oh yes, I forgot I'm not Scared . really good

Not Verona, but I LOVE Daphne du Maurier's Flight of the Falcon. It's set in a medieval university town somewhere a couple of hours from Rome.

Definitely try Summer's Lease by John Mortimer!

Great idea to match books to location, I do it all the time and choose to read novels with a strong sense of place.
Here are books specifically set in Verona: www.tripfiction.com/find-a-book/?location=Verona&btitle=&bauthor=&genre=Genre... and here is Italy more generally: www.tripfiction.com/find-a-book/?location=Italy&btitle=&bauthor=&genre=Genre...
Enjoy choosing!!!

Summers Lease by John Mortimer. An english woman takes her family to a rented villa in Tuscany and gets caught up in the shenanigans of the local ex-pat community. Some lovely descriptions of the countryside and renaissance art.

Oops! Just saw a previous poster already recommended this one.

Miss Garnets Angel although it is set in Venice.

Tripfiction - that's a great site - is it yours? I recommend it all the time. Currently working my way through the Cretan list.