Best Books Set in Italy: Memoirs, Novels & Tuscan Classics
STORIES THAT BRING LA DOLCE VITA TO LIFE
There’s something magical about reading a book set in Italy, especially when you’re already in love with the cobbled lanes, wild hillsides, and quiet little towns that make this country feel like home.
Some books don’t just tell a story… they evoke a whole landscape. They breathe in the scent of lemon trees, hear the cicadas humming at dusk, and carry the warmth of terracotta walls long after the final page has been turned.
These are the books that have inspired my own travels — the ones that capture the hidden corners of Italy we dream about, and the slow, tender way this country takes hold of your heart.
Indulgent reads that evoke the true essence of Italy
Love and War in the Apennines by Eric Newby
An incredible true story, of love and courage in WWII
(Image courtesy of the publisher.)
Part memoir, part adventure, and part love letter to Italy, Eric Newby’s story follows his escape through the Apennine mountains during WWII.
But this isn’t just a war book. It’s a portrait of courage, kindness, and the everyday Italians who hid him at enormous personal risk.
What draws me back to it is the humanity. The way Newby describes the remote mountain villages feels familiar to anyone who’s ever found themselves in Italy’s quieter, untouched places. It’s a reminder that beauty isn’t always soft; sometimes it’s rugged, wild, and fiercely protective.
Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes
A classic for good reason. And the book that turned Cortona into one of the most visited towns in Tuscany
(Image courtesy of the publisher.)
Frances Mayes captures something that so many of us feel but struggle to articulate. That irresistible pull toward Tuscany.
Her descriptions of peach-coloured houses, olive groves, and long lunches under vine covered pergolas are enough to make you reach for Skyscanner.
But what I love most is the transformation: a woman rebuilding a house while gently rebuilding herself. It’s slow living at its most romantic. Tuscany at its most golden.
Exploring Cortona in Tuscany
The setting and inspiration for Under the Tuscan Sun
Diary of a Tuscan Bookshop by Alba Donati
The book that inspired me to book my first trip to Tuscany and drive up a mountain to find the bookshop
(Image courtesy of the publisher.)
A memoir that feels like stepping into a tiny, fragrant bookshop perched on a Tuscan hillside.
Alba Donati writes about leaving her fast paced literary career in Florence to open a miniature bookshop in her hometown of Lucignana, a place so small it almost feels suspended in time.
It’s a celebration of community, courage, and the belief that small places can hold big dreams.
This book speaks to the part of me that adores Italy’s hidden villages. The ones you find by accident, the ones that end up owning a little piece of your heart.
It was the book that inspired me to book my first solo trip to Tuscany (just 3 weeks after I finished reading it!). You can learn more about that adventure here
La Libreria Sopra la penna.
Still Life by Sarah Winman
Just sublime! A perfect book to cosy up with on a winter’s afternoon and dream about Florence
(Image courtesy of the publisher.)
Oh, this book.
It’s tender, lyrical, whimsical, and woven with the kind of magic that feels unmistakably Italian.
Set partly in Florence, Still Life is a story about friendship, art, found family, and the quiet miracles that shape a life. Sarah Winman captures the city’s soul. Its light, its history, the way every stone seems to hold a story.
If Florence had a heartbeat, it would sound like this novel. It’s one of my favourite books ever, and I hope she writes a sequel.
Florence, Tuscany.
Bella Figura by Kamin Mohammadi
Bella Figura
The perfect antidote to a broken heart
(Image courtesy of the publisher.)
A memoir soaked in sunshine, food, and the art of living well.
Kamin Mohammadi moves to Florence burnt out and exhausted… and slowly rediscovers joy in the simplest, most Italian ways: cooking, connection, beauty, and presence.
What I adore about this book is the reminder that Italy doesn’t just change where you live , it changes how you live.
It's nourishment for anyone craving a reset, a gentler pace, or a life that feels more like their own.
The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim
A pure classic. It will make you want to book a trip to the Italian Riviera.
(Image courtesy of the publisher.)
Published in the 1920s and still utterly charming.
Inspired by author Elizabeth von Arnim's own stay at the real-life Castello Brown in Portofino, Italy, which was also used as a location for the film adaption along with Genoa, and Liguria.
Four women escape the grey drizzle of England for a sun-drenched Italian castle on the Italian Riviera… and everything begins to shift.
It’s gentle, soothing, and filled with that transformative, golden warmth that only Italy seems able to deliver.
There’s a line in this story —
“…the Mediterranean, the magic, the quiet, the light, the air…”
— and honestly, that might be the most perfect description of Italy ever written.
How I imagine the view from San Salvatore, the fictional castle depicted in the book.
Why These Books Matter to Me
Each of these stories has taught me something about Italy and inspired me to seek out the locations depicted in the novels on my solo adventures.
They revealed the landscapes I now adore. The Apennines, the Tuscan hills, the secret villages clinging to the mountains.
They whispered the truth I now know for certain.
Italy isn’t just a place you visit. It’s a place you feel.
And every one of these books captures a different shade of that feeling.
If you’re planning a trip, dreaming of one, or simply craving a little escapism curled up on your sofa, these titles are the loveliest way to travel without moving an inch.
Have you got a favourite book set in Italy? Let me know in the comments.
✨ Happy reading, 🇮🇹📚
Beara x