Italian Short Stories

15 Short Stories To Take Your Italian To The Next Level

But first, four smart tips to learn Italian better with the short story method.

Be proactive; don’t limit yourself to reading the stories. Use them with your Italian teacher or language exchange partner. Summing up each chapter in 6-8 sentences (better if in written form) or discussing it with your teacher is a brilliant way to cement the new vocabulary and fix the grammar patterns.
Don’t underestimate reading at any level. Why? When you read, you naturally absorb things like the correct order of the different parts of speech, the correct conjugations, or the use of prepositions.
Re-read your story, two or three times. When you are done with one of these short story books in Italian, don’t put them away for ever. Set them aside for a couple of months and go back to re-read them a second or third time; that’s how you will learn efficiently (retain) your vocabulary.
Finally, make sure you create a learning environment that makes it possible to internalize the information rather than just consume it.

Due amiche e un album di fotografie – beginners A1/A2

Sneak a peek of chapter one here.

This is an easy-to-read Italian short story ebook, with each unit taking no more than 10–20 minutes to complete.

This book course, designed for English-speaking students, is intended for both newcomers to Italian and intermediate students looking to brush up on their skills.

The story is set in one of Italy’s most beautiful regions, South Tyrol (or Alto Adige, in Italian), and revolves around the life of Costanza, who embarks on a summer adventure in the Dolomites with her friend Anna. The book is divided into 16 short units and is finished with useful vocabulary and explanations in English. This short story series is ideal for those who want to learn more than just the language, but also about the culture, food, and way of life in various Italian regions. The e-book is completed with an audio book narrated by the author.

A 30-day challenge version of “Due Amiche” (book + one-on-one coaching) is also available. Take a look at it here.

Incontri – lower-intermediate (A2 and above)

Sneak a peek into chapter 1 here

Incontri is the second episode of my short story collection which help you understand Italian and Italy better through real-life dialogues. The protagonist is Fiona, the first in her Italian-American family to learn her ancestors’ language. At university in the US, she earned a scholarship and moved to Rome to improve her Italian for a semester. But there’s more to the story. To complete an Italian citizenship application, she must obtain a copy of her great-grandfather’s birth certificate. This brings her to Sicily. In Sicily, she has several encounters that will forever alter her future.This short story is appropriate for all Italian learners who have at least a pre-intermediate level of proficiency in the language (A2). This book might be useful for advanced beginners as well.

Amore e Cappuccino – beginners A0/A1

If you have learned Italian for a month or two, Amore and Cappuccino is the first short story you should read. This is an Italian short storybook for the A0-A1 level. If you are an advanced beginner, you will find this book way too easy, so scroll below for the other ones :). The language used is simple and tailored for a real beginner Italian learner. Each chapter consists of short dialogues between the two main characters: a German girl visiting Rome and her date, Claudio, a man who hides a few mysteries. The setting is the eternal city of Rome. The best thing about Amore and Cappuccino is that it takes place in Rome’s most iconic areas, and other than the language, it teaches you a few elements of Roman art and culture. This is an excellent introductory course to the eternal city if you are planning to visit Rome one day.

Modelle, Pistole e Mozzarelle – advanced beginners A2

We are in Milan, Italy’s fashion and financial capital.

A blonde woman walks into detective Antonio Esposito’s office one October morning.

Margaret, her daughter, who is a model, is missing, and she’s on the lookout for her. This is a lovely mystery book for advanced beginners or intermediate students who want to improve their Italian language skills while expanding their vocabulary by reading a brilliant short story in Italian tailored to their level.

Dolomiti – beginners A1

I love this short story because it takes you to one of my favorite areas in Northern Italy—the Dolomites!

This storybook is written in the present tense. It revolves around Emanuela, a young woman who lives in Dobbiaco (a picturesque mountain village immersed in the Dolomites) and is still not very happy with her life… until she finds a way to change it.

The story uses a great deal of useful Italian vocabulary for work, transport, and the mountains. At the end of the book, you will find a cultural section where you can read in simple Italian all about the culture, the language, and the food of Aldo Adige (Sudtirol), the region where the Dolomites belong.

The book’s level is for Italian learners who have learned the language for 3–4 months and are familiar with the basic Italian grammar and most recurring Italian everyday vocabulary.

Come hai detto che ti chiami – advanced beginners / A1-A2.1

Have you already laid the foundations for your basic Italian grammar and vocabulary? If you have learned the Italian present perfect (passato prossimo), the common irregular verbs, and the basic pronouns, this story is for you. The setting is the beautiful city of Como in Northern Italy. It’s a story about a young German woman learning Italian in Germany and an Italian young man learning German in Italy. They meet online for a language exchange; their friendship is based on a misunderstanding, though! This book is a fun story that won’t only reinforce your basic Italian grammar but also help you internalize a lot of relevant Italian vocabulary through the power of reading in context. And if you haven’t been to Como yet, you will learn a lot about the city too.

Le città impossibili – advanced beginners A1/A2

This is a great short storybook for those who explore the major Italian cities through their cliches. The book contains 12 chapters: each chapter focuses on a different town, from Palermo to Turin. Every chapter isn’t longer than two pages and follows the steps of a first-time visitor to the cities. At the end of the book, you will find some useful vocabulary, exercises, and cultural insights about each town. This resource helps advanced beginners, and it focuses more on vocabulary (lots of adjectives, vocabulary related to cities) than grammar.

Storie per i giorni di festa – advanced beginners A1/A2

Have you ever heard of Carnevale? Or Ferragosto? Or do you know how Italians love to spend their Saturday nights? This Italian short story book for advanced beginners is culture-based. Each chapter tells you a story related to a significant Italian holiday and the Italian habits that go with it. This is a brilliant book if you want to expand your Italian vocabulary and strengthen your beginner grammar. As usual for the Alma Italian Short Stories book, you will find grammar and vocabulary exercises and extra cultural insights.

Le favole di Esopo (A1/A2)

This Italian short story book contains fourteen of Aesop’s fables translated and adapted for a beginner level: the first seven are in the present tense, the last seven in the past tense.Each chapter (fable) comes with a vocabulary list of the story’s essential words and some simple exercises. You will also have the option to listen to the audio tracks by downloading the audiobook for free by following the last page’s instructions. The fables are profound and straightforward, with a final moral to discover. This short story series in Italian is ideal for those learning Italian at A1 or A2 level.

Pasta per due – false beginners (A1)

What happens when we are in a foreign country and we don’t understand the language well? Many misunderstandings, of course. Like those that occur to Minni, an Asian girl, when arriving in Italy for the first time to meet her Italian friend Libero in Rome. A fun story that not only reinforces your beginner grammar but also teaches you frequent Italian popular expressions, especially those involving the verb fare.

Storie di Italiani famosi – beginners (A1-A2)

This is a delightful Italian short storybook for beginners about nine great Italian historical and cultural personalities: Leonardo da Vinci and Federico Fellini, Michelangelo, and Gianni Versace. All the stories recount a real or imaginary episode in the protagonists’ lives, while also highlighting their world and their time. As icing on the cake, every chapter comes with vocabulary and grammar activities and short texts about cultural aspects. In a nutshell, one of the best short story books available on the market is not just about Italian, but about Italian history and Italian culture.

La vicina di casa (intermediate, A2/ B1)

This is a short story aimed at intermediate students. The story takes place in Piedmont, a mountainous region of Italy bordering France and Switzerland. This ebook is available on Amazon and tells the story of a young Italian writer who relocates to a picturesque village in the heart of Piedmont for a change of scenery. There, she experiences a different pace of life, makes new friends, and learns about different cultures and traditions of the territory.

Mafia, amore e polizia (advanced beginners A2+)

A short mystery novel that combines love and crime for lower-intermediate Italian students. An insight into the Italian mafia (written in simplified Italian) stands out, especially at the end of the book. This ebook, which includes audio, uses the present simple, imperfect, and past tense. This is a fantastic story for Italian students at the lower intermediate level.

In other words – Jhumpa Lahiri (intermediate, B1)

In other words, this is an unusual book about the author’s fascination with the Italian language and the tenacity with which she pursued her goal for more than two decades, to the point where she wrote an Italian book about how and a little less about why she made this life choice. This version of the book is especially useful for English-native speakers because it includes a page-by-page English translation. The book is aimed at advanced or upper-intermediate Italian students.

Piccole storie d’Amore (intermediate, B1)

This is a short story for intermediate Italian learners. The book is made up of nine different love stories. Each story is unique and contains new and exciting vocabulary. Several different verb tenses, pronouns, and prepositions are discussed in the book. It is necessary to have a solid grasp of intermediate grammar. The audiobook is included.

Before you start, check my guide on how to learn Italian effectively with short stories

How to proactively use a short story to speak better Italian at any level

Italian Short Stories for Intermediate Learners

8 Italian Short Stories for Intermediate Learners

If reading in Italian has become too much for you, you may not have been using the right content and should think about changing it.

There are countless ways to learn new vocabulary and grammar at an intermediate level of Italian, but the most important thing you need to keep in mind is this fundamental principle: reading the right content at the right level.

Don’t worry. You will not need to have an excellent command of the Italian language. You won’t have to sit and look up every second word in the dictionary. If you choose the right material, reading can be a fun way to learn Italian at any level.

Remember that the learning content you use doesn’t have to be authentic in order for you to make steady progress in your Italian studies. The appropriate level for you should be slightly higher than your current one, challenging but not excessively so. Overwhelming takes the fun out of things!

Why are short stories an effective learning tool?

I understand if you’ve tried and failed to learn new vocabulary using endless vocab lists or flashcards. It has happened to me as well.

We can’t learn words in isolation.

We must associate them with meaningful content, a memory, or a story. You’ll find words that fit with the context in a short story, and that’s how you’ll end up memorizing a ton of new vocabulary and naturally perfecting your grammar.

Learning words in isolation won’t get you very far if you don’t associate them with any memory. Immersing yourself in a short story will help you learn proper grammar, learn words and expressions in context, and come up with a good strategy for repeating words and phrases.

Because a short story rarely exceeds 20-30 pages, re-reading the content is a simple task. And the key to learning almost anything is repetition.

If you’re an intermediate Italian learner, you’ll find a collection of fantastic short stories in this post to help you improve your language skills in a fun way.

All of them have proven to be a quick and easy way for my students to improve their conversational skills in a short amount of time.

Incontri – lower-intermediate

Sneak a peek into chapter 1 here

Due Amiche e Un Album di Fotografie (A2)

Sneak a peek into chapter one here

This is an easy-to-read Italian short story ebook, with each unit taking no more than 10-20 minutes to complete. This book course, designed for English speakers, is intended for both false beginners as well as intermediate students looking to brush up on their skills. The story takes place in one of Italy’s most beautiful regions, South Tyrol (or Alto Adige), and revolves around Costanza, who goes on a summer adventure in the Dolomites with her friend Anna.

The book is divided into 16 short units, with useful vocabulary and explanations in English at the end. This short story series is ideal for those who want to learn about the culture, food, and way of life in various Italian regions as well as the language. This ebooks is completed with an audiobook narrated by the author. This ebook is completed with an audiobook read by the author.

La Vicina di Casa (A2-B1)

This short storybook is an easy read for intermediate learners who want to also learn about the

beautiful regions of Northern Italy: Piedmont. The story revolves around a young writer who leaves the bustling city of Turin to find peace in the calm and of the Italian Alps, in a small village called Morinesio. There, she will learn to live at a slow pace and make new friends. The book comes with a CD audio version and plenty of excellent drills at the end of the book to help you memorize the new vocabulary and reinforce the main Italian grammar topics at an intermediate level.

Storie Italiane (A2-B1)

This is an exquisite short storybook for those who want to learn about the most important Italian historical events/ages. Each chapter is a short story set in a specific historical time, like the Renaissance, the Fasciscim, or the Italian Unification. The book comes with an exercise section and supplementary information boxes to understand better the time discussed for the story.
The vocabulary and grammar used to suit a good intermediate level.

Piccole Storie d’Amore (B1)

A collection of fun short stories where the main topic is love! Each chapter corresponds to a different mini love story and consists of two to five pages. The vocabulary and grammar used are suitable for lower-intermediate and upper-intermediate Italian learners. This short story book has an audio version and comes with a dedicated exercises section at the end of the book.

Il Mistero di Veronica (A2+ / B1)

This is an easy read for the lower-intermediate level. Veronica is a young woman living in Milan. Her life rotates around her career until she meets on a train a young artist that will turn her life upside down. The two fall in love, but Veronica has a well-kept secret that Massimo will try to uncover.

The book has an audio version. Each chapter ends with a worksheet with vocab and grammar exercises pertinent to the chapter.

Le Avventure di Pinocchio (B1-B2)

This short storybook is the original version of Carlo Collodi’s masterpiece “Le avventure di Pinocchio,” written in Florence in 1881. This version has been re-written in a simplified version for intermediate Italian learners as a second language by Jacopo Gorini. The author made sure the text’s musicality and beauty remained the same, as did the totality of the chapters. You can also download the audio-book by following the instructions at the end of the book. A separate exercise workbook will help you to internalize the new vocabulary and grammar at an intermediate level. This book has a kindle version.

Davvero (A2-C1)

This short story book is slightly different from the other ones. It is a collection of comics. Each comic revolves around an aspect of modern Italian society. For example, the way Italians greet by kissing each other on the cheeks or their hatred towards the rain!

If you haven’t used comics to learn Italian so far, you should give it a try. This form of learning will take your Italian a long way as it will help you familiarize yourself with the language in the shape of dialogues. This book is for all levels, from beginners to upper-intermediate. Each chapter ends with a supplementary worksheet about the Italian culture, idioms, vocabulary, and grammar pertinent to the comic you have just read.

Smart tip

Passive learning: read it and listen to the content once.

Active learning:

Read it.
Listen to the content repeatedly.
Seek new words or sentences.
Create your flashcards.

Proactive learning: use or lose it! Make a written summary of each chapter, ensuring you are using the new set of words and sentences. Talk about it: bring it up in your conversions with your teachers or language partners.

Italian short stories