The Greatest Italian Literature
This selection encompasses Italian literature in all literary forms, genres and periods. It includes works acclaimed by readers, writers, critics and scholars in Italy and around the world.
Italian literature here is taken to mean works by authors in the country of Italy and its predecessor states, not including Roman or other ancient states.
The Greatest Italian Literature focuses on the country's major creative works—such as novels, novellas, plays, long poetry and collections. You amy also be interested in The Greatest Roman Literature, The Greatest France Literature or The Greatest Swiss Literature.
This list is updated as new works are discovered and appreciation of older works evolves. Please note the revision date when citing the list.
Latest update: October 26, 2025
The 77 greatest works of Italian literature
1294
The New Life
by Alighieri Dante, Italy
Prose and poetry collection
1307
The Divine Comedy
by Alighieri Dante, Italy
Epic poem
1327–1368
Il Canzoniere
by Francesco Petrarch, Italy
Poetry collection, also known as Rerum vulgarium fragmenta or Le Rime Sparse
1348
The Decameron
by Giovanni Boccaccio, Italy
Story collection
1516–1532
Orlando Furioso
by Ludovico Ariosto, Italy
Epic poem
1827–1842
The Betrothed
by Alessandro Manzoni, Italy
Novel
1835
Canti
by Giacomo Leopardi, Italy
Poetry collection
1858
The Confessions of an Italian
by Ippolito Nievo, Italy
Novel
1881
The House by the Medlar Tree
by Giovanni Verga, Italy
Novel
1883
The Adventures of Pinocchio
by Carlo Collodi, Italy
Novel
1895–1913
Sandokan
by Emilio Salgari, Italy
Novel series
1898
As a Man Grows Older
by Italo Svevo, Italy
Novel
1904
The Late Mattia Pascal
by Luigi Pirandello, Italy
Novel
1913
Reeds in the Wind
by Grazia Deledda, Italy
Novel
1921
Six Characters in Search of an Author
by Luigi Pirandello, Italy
Play, originally Sei personaggi in cerca d'autore
Scaramouche
by Rafael Sabatini, Italy
Novel
1922
Henry IV
by Luigi Pirandello, Italy
Play
Captain Blood
by Rafael Sabatini, Italy
Novel, subtitled His Odyssey
1923
The Confessions of Zeno
by Italo Svevo, Italy
Novel, also known as Zeno's Conscience, originally La coscienza di Zeno
1926
One, No One and One Hundred Thousand
by Luigi Pirandello, Italy
Novel
1927
The Devil at the Long Point
by Riccardo Bacchelli, Italy
Novel
1929
The Time of Indifference
by Alberto Moravia, Italy
Novel
1938–1940
The Mill on the Po
by Riccardo Bacchelli, Italy
Novel
1940
The Tartar Steppe
by Dino Buzzati, Italy
Novel
1941
The Harvesters
by Cesare Pavese, Italy
Novel, originally Paesi Tuoi (Your Villages)
Conversations in Sicily
by Elio Vittorini, Italy
Novel
1942
Lady Ava
by Francesco Jovine, Italy
Novel
1946
The Best House in Naples
by Eduardo De Filippo, Italy
Play
1947
The Path to the Spiders' Nest
by Italo Calvino, Italy
Novel
1950
The Little World of Don Camillo
by Giovannino Guareschi, Italy
Story collection
The Moon and the Bonfires
by Cesare Pavese, Italy
Novel, originally La luna e i falò
1951
The Conformist
by Alberto Moravia, Italy
Novel
1952–1959
Our Ancestors
by Italo Calvino, Italy
Novel series, originally I nostri antenati, includes The Cloven Viscount, The Baron in the Trees and The Non-Existent Knight.
1954
Contempt
by Alberto Moravia, Italy
Novel
1955
The Ragazzi
by Pier Paulo Pasolini, Italy
Novel
Metello
by Vasco Pratolini, Italy
Novel
1957
The Baron in the Trees
by Italo Calvino, Italy
Novel
Arturo's Island
by Elsa Morante, Italy
Novel
1958
The Leopard
by Giusseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, Italy
Novel, originally Il Gattopardo
1960
Bebo's Girl
by CArlo Cassola, Italy
Novel, originally La ragazza di Bube
1959
The Cloven Viscount
by Italo Calvino, Italy
Novel
1962
The Garden of the Finzi-Continis
by Giorgio Bassani, Italy
Novel
1963
The Heritage of the Prioress
by Carlo Alianello, Italy
Novel
Family Sayings
by Natalia Ginzburg, Italy
Novel
1965
Cosmicomics
by Italo Calvino, Italy
Story collection
1967
The Day of the Owl
by Leonardo Sciascia, Italy
Novel
1968
To Each His Own
by Leonardo Sciascia, Italy
Novel
1969
The Castle of Crossed Destinies
by Italo Calvino, Italy
Novel
1970
Accidental Death of an Anarchist
by Dario Fo, Italy
Play
1972
Invisible Cities
by Italo Calvino, Italy
Novella
1973
No Way
by Natalia Ginzburg, Italy
Novel, originally Caro Michele
1974
History
by Elsa Morante, Italy
Novel, originally La storia
1979
If on a Winter's Night a Traveler
by Italo Calvino, Italy
Novel, originally Se una notte d'inverno un viaggiatore
1980
The Name of the Rose
by Umberto Eco, Italy
Novel, originally Il nome della rosa
1982
If Not Now, When?
by Primo Levi, Italy
Novel
1983
Mr Palomar
by Italo Calvino, Italy
Novel
1984
The Evil Coming North
by Fulvio Tomizza, Italy
Novel
1988
Foucault's Pendulum
by Umberto Eco, Italy
Novel
Curriculum
by Grażyna Miller, Italy
Poetry collection
1990
The Silent Duchess
by Dacia Maraini, Italy
Novel
The Chimera
by Sebastiano Vassalli, Italy
Novel
1992
Troubling Love
by Elena Ferrante, Italy
Novel, originally L'amore molesto
1993
Ocean Sea
by Alessandro Baricco, Italy
Novel
1994
Novecento. Un monologo
by Alessandro Baricco, Italy
Novel
The Shape of Water
by Andrea Camilleri, Italy
Novel
Pereira Maintains
by Antonio Tabucchi, Italy
Novel, also known as Declares Pereira
1995
The Preston Brewer
by Andrea Camilleri, Italy
Novel
1996
Silk
by Alessandro Baricco, Italy
Novel
1999
N
by Ernesto Ferrero, Italy
Novel
2001
I'm Not Scared
by Niccolo Ammaniti, Italy
Novel
2002
The Days of Abandonment
by Elena Ferrante, Italy
Novel
The Last Legion
by Valerio Manfredi, Italy
Novel
2008
The Solitude of Prime Numbers
by Paolo Giordano, Italy
Novel
2011
My Brilliant Friend
by Elena Ferrante, Italy
Novel, originally L'amica geniale
2013
The Story of a New Name
by Elena Ferrante, Italy
Novel
2014
Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay
by Elena Ferrante, Italy
Novel
2015
The Story of the Lost Child
by Elena Ferrante, Italy
Novel
