A Very Italian Christmas: The Greatest Italian Holiday Stories of All Time
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The third in the very popular Very Christmas series, this volume brings together the best Italian Christmas stories of all time in a vibrant collection featuring classic tales and contemporary works. With writing that dates from the Renaissance to the present day, from Boccaccio to Pirandello, as well as Anna Maria Ortese, Natalia Ginzburg, and Grazia Deledda, these literary gems are filled with ancient churches, trains whistling through the countryside, steaming tureens, plates piled high with pasta, High Mass, dashed hopes, golden crucifixes, flowing wine, shimmering gifts, and plenty of style. Like everything the Italians do, this is Christmas with its very own verve and flair, the perfect literary complement to a Buon Natale italiano.
Includes stories by: Luigi Pirandello ·• Camillo Boito • Matilde Serao • Anna Maria Ortese • Andrea De Carlo • Grazia Deledda • Giovanni Verga • Giovanni Boccaccio • Natalia Ginzburg
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Giovanni Boccaccio was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo in 1313, he was the son of Florentine merchant Boccaccino di Chellino and an unknown woman; he was likely born out of wedlock. His father introduced him to the Neapolitan nobility and the French-influenced court of Robert the Wise (the king of Naples) in the 1330s. At this time, Boccaccio fell in love with a married daughter of the king, who is portrayed as “Fiammetta” in many of his prose romances. From 1350, Boccaccio became closely involved with Italian humanism (although less of a scholar) and also with the Florentine government. His final years were troubled by illnesses, some relating to obesity and what would be described today as congestive heart failure. He died in 1375 in Certaldo, where he is buried. Upon his death, his entire collection was given to the monastery of Santo Spirito, in Florence, where it still resides.
