Dianne Hales
My love affair with Italian, the world’s most enchanting language.

Ross King
A concise, accessible overview of Italian history, tracing the country’s political, cultural and regional development from antiquity to present day.

Iris Origo
A wartime diary written from the Origo estate in Val d’Orcia, offering an intimate, grounded account of daily life, moral choices, and survival in rural Tuscany during World War II.

Filippo Venturi
A crime novel rooted in Bologna’s food culture and everyday life, unfolding in and around a local trattoria and using the city itself as a central character.

Alberto Minnella
A noir novel set in Siracusa in the 1960s, where a police investigation moves through the city’s streets, silences, and moral ambiguities.

Stefania Auci
A sweeping historical novel set in Palermo that follows the rise of the Florio family and offers a vivid portrait of Sicilian society, ambition, and change in the 19th century.
also a tv series

Gabriella Genisi
A crime novel set in Bari that brings together food, place, and investigation through the voice of Vice Questore Lolita Lobosco, with the city’s everyday life woven directly into the story.
also a tv series

Carlo Fruttero & Franco Lucentini
A classic Italian mystery set in Turin, where a murder investigation reveals the city’s bourgeois world, social codes, and quiet ironies.
also a film

A warm, emotionally generous film about childhood, memory, and cinema in a small Sicilian town; filmed largely in Cefalù and very accessible linguistically.

A contemporary romantic comedy set in Rome, focused on work, friendship, and identity, with clear dialogue and everyday language. Set in Rome.

A relationship-driven film following four friends over several decades, with straightforward language and an easy-to-follow emotional arc. Set in various Italian cities.

A tender modern story about motherhood and connection, told with simple, direct Italian and an emphasis on emotion rather than complexity.

A sharp, funny series about relationships and expectations, with highly accessible contemporary Italian and a light, watchable tone. (Veneto)

A character-driven contemporary drama about family and identity, using natural dialogue and a steady pace. Set in Rome.

Set in southeastern Sicily, this long-running series offers strong sense of place and deliberate, listenable Italian that works well for intermediate learners.

Stanley Tucci returns with a fresh season focusing on Italy’s regional culture, history, and cuisine in immersive and thoughtful ways, this time with updated stories and new destinations.