Castellamare is an island far enough away from the mainland to be forgotten, but not far enough to escape from the world's troubles. At the center of the island's life is a cafe draped with bougainvillea called the House at the Edge of Night, where the community gathers to gossip and talk. Amedeo Esposito, a foundling from Florence, finds his destiny on the island with his beautiful wife, Pina, whose fierce intelligence, grace, and unwavering love...

"Based on true events, a heartbreaking story of love, family, hope, and survival set in post-World War II Italy-written with the heart of Orphan Train and Before We Were Yours-about poor children from the south sent to live with families in the north to survive deprivation and the harsh winters. Though Mussolini and the fascists have been defeated, the war has devastated Italy, especially the south. Seven-year-old Amerigo lives with his mother Antonietta...

Two star-crossed lovers--Enzo and Ciro--meet and separate, until, finally, the power of their love changes both of their lives forever. Set during the years preceding and during World War I.

"Inspired by true events, Lia levi's prize-winning novel tells the story of a Jewish family and their community during the Fascist regime in Italy, when Benito Mussolini introduced his draconian race laws. Culminating with the tragic outbreak of World War II, Levi's novel of loss and courage recounts the history of mid-century Europe through the eyes and lives of ordinary people living in extraordinary times."--Back cover.

"In this moving family saga, a teenage woman uncovers the hushed history of sexual violence that shattered her grandmother's life. San Mart̕n, Argentina, 2001. Upon her estranged grandmother Vilma's death, 19-year-old Roc̕o moves into a house haunted by memories. Seeking a deeper understanding, Ro delves into her family history and uncovers the episodes of violence and betrayal that shattered Vilma's dreams. All the while, the familiar scent of...

Using the records of several Venetian courts that dealt with sex crimes, the author traces the evolution of both licit and illicit sexuality during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. By studying illicit sexuality, Professor Ruggiero anllows the reader to understand more fully the institutions, languages, social life, and values not only of this shadow-culture, but also of Venetian society and, ultimately the Renaissance itself.

Set in Italy in 1938, when Mussolini's anti-Semitic edicts began to isolate the Jews from their communities. Among them were the Finzi-Continis, an aristocratic Jewish family forced for the first time to acknowledge the world beyond its fenced garden.

Something as simple as a herring roasting on a hearth, or a meal of bread, wine and winter melon, takes on the humble aura of a Caravaggio painting in this masterful film. A tragicomedy involving an orange peddler, an Italian recently returned from America, two 'stinky' police officers, a guilt-stricken landowner, a traveling knife sharpener and, perhaps most unforgettably, an indomitable peasant mother who reminisces about meals of snails and wild...

A painterly and sensual immersion in late nineteenth-century Italian farm life that lovingly focuses on four families working for one landowner on an isolated estate in the province of Bergamo.

English translations of the author's most important articles.