Part of the Armchair Travel series — books to read before you go, while you’re there, or just to escape for a while.
When I think about Italy and books, there’s a moment I see clearly in my mind’s eye — sitting on a train somewhere in Italy, completely engrossed in a book, then peeking up to find the Italian countryside rolling by. Green hills, vineyards, terracotta rooftops, the occasional glimpse of something ancient. That moment — glancing between the pages and the window. Both felt equally real. That’s what Italy does. And that’s what the right book does too.
Armchair Travel: Books About Italy
Part of the fun when prepping for a trip is choosing what to read for the journey. Whether you have that trip to Italy booked or you simply want to be transported there in your imagination — books about Italy will help either way. Armchair travel is a real thing.
Here is a short list worth picking up from your local bookshop, ordering online, or downloading through your library app.
📚 9 b o o k s to read to transport you to ITALY :
☰ Romeo and Juliet ~ Shakespeare
☰ The Merchant of Venice ~Shakespeare
☰ Eat Pray Love ~ Elizabeth Gilbert
☰ Under the Tuscan Sun ~ Frances Mayes
☰ A Farewell to Arms ~ Ernest Hemingway
☰ A Room With A View ~ E.M. Forster
☰ The Enchanted April ~ Elizabeth von Arnim
☰ Pompeii ~ Robert Harris
☰ The Betrothed ~ Alessandro Manzoni
However you read — physical pages, downloaded to Libby, or something tucked into your bag for the journey — I hope one of these finds its way into your hands. If you’re traveling with a paperback you’ve already finished, consider leaving it behind. A hotel lobby, a café shelf, an apartment for the next guest. Books travel well that way.
