Welcome to the Southern Italy Books Series – a place to share about all the great books set in southern Italy! If you’re like me and love geting lost in good story set in Italy or read about a new place before traveling, then this series will help you find the perfect book. Let’s kick it off with the region of Campania.
Whether you’re planning your upcoming holiday or looking for a good read to enjoy while soaking up the summer sun on a beach on the Amalfi Coast, here’s a list of novels, travel writing and non-fiction books set in the Campania region to choose from. There’s a little bit of romance as well as mystery, intrigue and historical fiction. Happy reading!
Travel Writing about Campania
Capri and No Longer Capri by Raffaele La Capria
Falling Palace, A Romance of Naples by Dan Hofstadter
Passeggiata: Strolling Through Italy by G.G. Husak
Gelato Sisterhood on the Amalfi Shore by Chantal Kelly
Naples ’44 by Norman Lewis
A Year in the World by Frances Mayes (Writing on Naples, Capri and other spots in Campania)
The Espresso Break: Tours and Nooks of Naples, Italy and Beyond by Barbara Zaragoza
Fiction Set in Campania
The House in Amalfi by Elizabeth Adler
Sailing to Capri by Elizabeth Adler
The Wedding Officer by Anthony Capella
The Botticelli Secret by Marina Fiorato
An Italian Affair by Laura Fraser
The Night Villa by Carol Goodman
Stones of the Madonna by Jan Mazzoni
Last Voyage of the Valentina by Santa Montefiore
The Italian Matchmaker by Santa Montefiore
The Deep Blue Sea for Beginners by Luanne Rice
The Volcano Lover, A Romance by Susan Sontag
Non-Fiction About Campania
The Mystery of the Duchess of Malfi by Barbara Banks Amendola
Gomorrah: Italy’s Other Mafia by Roberto Saviano
Have you read these or other books set in Campania? Please note in the comments!
Stay tuned for the the Southern Italian Book Series to continue with books set in Calabria, Puglia, Basilicata and Sicily!
Are you traveling to Campania? Click here to see how I can help you plan your trip.
Great list — I’m bookmarking for future use! A couple of additions to suggest:
Fiction: Pompeii by Robert Harris
Non-Fiction: Greene on Capri by Shirley Hazaard (recounting the author’s recollections of Graham Greene and his life on Capri).
one of my favorites is ‘That Summer in Sicily’ by Marlena de Blasi
Oh what a great list! I’m always looking for interesting reading about places I love. Thanks so much for sharing – a great idea!
@Anne – Music and Markets Tours, I’m so happy you enjoyed the reading list. Stay tuned for more southern Italian books in this series coming soon! 🙂
@Tosca, That’s a great addition – thanks! If you enjoyed that book, you’ll like our Sicily reading list coming soon.
@auntyk, Thanks for the great additions! My reading list is growing by the day with all these great books. 🙂
I highly recommend See Naples by Douglas Allanbrook, a haunting, lyrical memoir of the composer’s time in Naples during WW2 and in the early ’50s as a music student. A wonderful companion to Naples ’44.
Thank you Cherrye I just updated my reading list with these!!
To add to your list: Judith Harris , “Pompeii Awakened -a story of rediscovery” Tauris 2007. Lots of info on Herculaneum too.
@Mary Jane Cryan,
thanks for the tip, Mary Jane!