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Recommend me a book set in Italy please

50 replies

SaraCrewe06 · 02/06/2026 17:45

Going to Lake Garda in a few weeks and would like to read something set there.
Any ideas?

OP posts:
EineReiseDurchDieZeit · 02/06/2026 17:46

Still Life by Sarah Winman

My Brilliant Friend or any Elena Ferrante

EineReiseDurchDieZeit · 02/06/2026 17:47

Like your username my favourite book as a child

JenaWren · 02/06/2026 17:48

I came on to say Still Life too Eine. One of my favourites and perfect to read on holiday!

MinnieMountain · 02/06/2026 17:53

The Enchanted April.

PermanentTemporary · 02/06/2026 17:56

Specifically the Lakes or Italy?

I used to be a fan of Donna Leon’s whodunnits set in Venice. They got a bit samey but the early ones like Death at La Fenice were enjoyable.

ChessieFL · 02/06/2026 17:59

The Villa In Italy by Elizabeth Edmondson

And another vote for both The Enchanted April and Still Life

This website will have more suggestions: www.tripfiction.com

TreesAtSea · 02/06/2026 18:28

Ditto PP, The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim. Set in Italy but not specifically Lake Garda.
Also, Stone Virgin by Barry Unsworth, which is set in Venice.

Ox136jl · 02/06/2026 18:29

A Room with a View/Where Angels Fear to Tread - neither in the lakes though!

TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross · 02/06/2026 18:31

The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell

OakleyStreetisnotinChelsea · 02/06/2026 18:33

Rachel Joyce The Homemade God.

Lovely book and very good holiday reading.

HelenaWilson · 02/06/2026 18:45

I've just finished re-reading Drina Dances in Italy 😁

The Villa In Italy by Elizabeth Edmondson

I agree. I love this book, and her Selchester mysteries. Sadly Elizabeth Edmondson died before she could write any more.

Stowickthevast · 02/06/2026 18:45

Ripeness by Sarah Moss is half in Italy and half in Ireland.

Room With a View for Florence, and would be a good companion to Still Life.

StJulian2023 · 02/06/2026 18:47

The Glass Maker by Tracy Chevalier

Highonmyownsupply · 02/06/2026 18:59

The Talented Mr Ripley

stripeymonster · 02/06/2026 19:29

Murder on Lake Garda by Tom Hindle. An easy read

WhitegreeNcandle · 02/06/2026 19:31

StJulian2023 · 02/06/2026 18:47

The Glass Maker by Tracy Chevalier

Came on her to say this. One of the best books I’ve read!!

MauriceTheMussel · 02/06/2026 19:31

The Ripley series, of course!

MistyMountainTop · 02/06/2026 19:33

A Quiet Death in Italy by Tom Benjamin, or any other of his books

StJulian2023 · 02/06/2026 20:49

WhitegreeNcandle · 02/06/2026 19:31

Came on her to say this. One of the best books I’ve read!!

Have you read her A Single Thread? I enjoyed that even more ☺️

EmpressaurusKitty · 02/06/2026 20:52

Marcovaldo, by Italo Calvino. Entertaining & whimsical short stories, some with a bite.

www.penguin.co.uk/books/356918/marcovaldo-by-calvino-italo/9780099428541

Reader19 · 02/06/2026 20:59

If I were going to the lakes I would take:

  • The Betrothed
  • The poems of Catullus, who was from that area. There is a huge range of tone from the deeply emotional to the very lighthearted, but it's perhaps worth warning that a few are rather obscene.

If Italy in general, also:

  • A Room with a View
  • The Name of the Rose
  • A Farewell to Arms
  • Death in Venice
Reader19 · 02/06/2026 21:01

EmpressaurusKitty · 02/06/2026 20:52

Marcovaldo, by Italo Calvino. Entertaining & whimsical short stories, some with a bite.

www.penguin.co.uk/books/356918/marcovaldo-by-calvino-italo/9780099428541

Oh yes, how could I forget Calvino? Brilliant author. 'The Baron in the Trees' would be a good one.

Fruitloopcowabunga · 02/06/2026 21:05

Amanda Craig - Love in Idleness (Tuscany)

RaspberryRiddle · 02/06/2026 21:28

Elena Ferrante's novels - the Neapolitan Quartet. And another vote for The Enchanted April - one of my all time favourites - and of course Room with a View. And I know it's set in Switzerland but Anita Brookner's Hotel du Lac will give you appropriate lake-side vibes!

Ventress · 02/06/2026 21:32

I love “A room with a view”. In fact any EM Forster!

Had anyone suggested “The talented mr Ripley” ? Brilliant novel.