If a picture is worth a thousand words, then what is the worth of a book? Books are valuable in that they help us escape from our everyday lives and open up new worlds where we can learn about new things, people, and cultures. Italy has produced a plethora of writers who have penned novels which range from the classics to more contemporary authors who touch on many aspects of life in Italy.

From classics by Dante Alighieri, Francesco Petrarca, Giovanni Boccaccio, and Niccoló Machiavelli to more contemporary authors such as Elena Ferrante, Roberto Saviano, Alberto Moravia, Italo Svevo and Paolo Giordano, Italian authors have touched on a multitude of subjects which open windows into the history, art, science, and culture of Italy. Many of these works have been adapted for cinema and translated into English.