Italian short stories

Easy Italian Graded Readers

17 Easy Readers To Take Your Italian To The Next Level

Due Amiche e Un Album di Fotografie

for beginners to lower-intermediate Italian learners (A1-A2)

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. Not sure if Due Amiche is the right level for you? Download the PDF of chapter 1 for free here.

Due Amiche – Chapter 1 [FREE download]

Le Avventure di Paul a Roma

for advanced beginners to intermediate Italian learners (A1-A2-B1)

Do you know that Rome is a jigsaw puzzle of different neighborhoods, each with its own identity and history? Follow Paul’s adventures in the numerous neighborhoods of Rome, learn more about the Eternal City, and improve your Italian understanding through simple Italian dialogues and stories.

This book is ideal for advanced beginners and intermediate Italian learners. Each chapter is short enough that you can read it in minutes and is followed by a bilingual word list (ENG-IT)

A free audio recording of the story is included with the book. Not sure Le Avventure di Paul is the right level for you? Download the PDF of chapter 1 for free here.

Le Avventure di Paul a Roma – Chapter 1 [FREE download]

Amore e Cappuccino

for beginner Italian learners (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.

Incontri in Sicilia

for lower-intermediate to intermediate Italian learners (A2-B1)

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. Not sure Incontri in Sicilia is the right level for you? Download the PDF of chapter 1 for free here.

Incontri in Sicilia – Chapter 1 [FREE download]

Le città impossibili

for beginners to lower-intermediate Italian learners (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.

Il Gatto scomparso

for lower-intermediate to intermediate learners (A2-B1)

Although the editor claims Il Gatto Scomparso is an A1 book, I think is the best suited for A2-B1 Italian learners. The grammar is pretty simple (lower-intermediate level), but the vocabulary is varied and well beyong beginning level. requires more than a beginner knowledge. Having said that, this is a lighthearted tale about the cat “Gippi” being missing and the several amusing measures his family takes to track him out. The book is also available in a digital version where you may access the free audio, in addition to a paperback edition.

Storie per i giorni di festa

for beginners to lower-intermediate Italian learners (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.

Dolomiti

for beginners to lower-intermediate Italian learners (A1-A2)

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?

for beginners to lower-intermediate Italian learners (A1-A2)

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.

Pasta per due

for beginners to lower-intermediate Italian learners (A1-A2)

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.

Modelle, pistole e mozzarelle

for lower-intermediate to intermediate Italian learners (A2-B1)

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.

Le favole di Esopo

for advanced beginners to lower-intermediate Italian learners (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.

Storie di italiani famosi

for lower-intermediate to intermediate Italian learners (A2-B1)

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

for intermediate Italian learners (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

for lower-intermediate to intermediate Italian learners (A2-B1)

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

for Intermediate Italian learners (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

for intermediate Italian learners (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.

4 smart tips to learn Italian better with stories

Writing is speaking in slow motion. Be proactive! don’t limit yourself to reading the stories. Use them with your Italian teacher or language exchange partner. A good exercises to summarize the chapters in a few written sentences. Writing will help you consolidate the new vocabulary and grammar patterns , while also improve your ability to construct Italian sentences.
Talk about it: tired of talking about the weather or the latest news? Talk about the stories with your tutors, teachers or language partners. You won’t learn really something, unless you don’t use it. Using in conversation the vocabulary and grammar patterns will go a long way in helping expanding your vocabulary and cementing your grammar.
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.

Use it or loose it! Maximize your Italian speaking time on Preply where you can find affordable language tutors from all over the world, inducing Italy.

Italian Short Stories for Intermediate Learners

8 Easy Readers in Italian for Intermediate Learners (A2-B1)

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 in Sicilia (A2-B1)

Incontri in Sicilia – Chapter 1 [FREE download]

Incontri in Sicilia 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 the B1(intermediate) level too.

Le Avventure di Paul a Roma (A1-A2-B1)

Le Avventure di Paul a Roma – Chapter 1 [FREE download]

This book is ideal for advanced beginners and intermediate Italian learners. Each chapter is short enough that you can read it in minutes and is followed by a bilingual word list (ENG-IT)

A free audio recording of the story is included with the book. Not sure Le Avventure di Paul is the right level for you? Download the PDF of chapter 1 for free here.

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 (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.

How To Speak And Understand Italian Better With Short Stories

Why Using Short Stories To Speak Italian Better

Our brain doesn’t learn words in isolation. We need to attach a memory or a feeling to a new word or fit in a context. Stories will provide you with a visual to relate to new words or idioms, making it easier to retain new information.
They are short: it means they are easy to use and digest. You won’t stick around the same content for months or weeks. You can read it in a week or less!.
Most available short stories have a slow audio recording included too, which is the best way to improve your Italian listening skills.
You can start reading and listening in Italian even as a beginner Italian learner.

Why Reading?

Reading is one of the ways to go when it comes to acquiring vocabulary and grammar naturally. Why? When reading, you will re-see words that you have already listened to or studied, but you didn’t have a chance to use. Reading will go a long way as it will both reactivate and strengthen your passive grammar and vocabulary.

Additionally, when reading, you will encounter naturally flowing, accurate Italian sentences. Think of p

repositions as an example. It can be challenging to understand how they should be used or ordered in a sentence.

You will, however, gradually but surely internalize the proper use of propositions or other challenging Italian grammar patterns if you read the natural and correct Italian sentences over and over again.

How To Use A Short Story In The Most Efficient Manner?

Read out loud (especially if you’re a beginner): this exercise will help you to practice your pronunciation and gain confidence in using the Italian sounds.
Read and listen to the story simultaneously. If you are a beginner or intermediate learner: don’t get frustrated if you don’t get most of what is said. The purpose of listening and reading at the same time is to familiarize with the sounds and learn how to recognize them.
Write down a few sentences to summarize each chapter. Make the sentences simple. Try to use the same words and verbs that you have encountered in the story. Using the google translator won’t take you very far; instead, it will sabotage your learning process. I always recommend that my students use WordReference to look up words you don’t know and figure out their way to put them together. When writing your sentences, you should also practice the grammar you have been studying more recently. For instance, if you are learning how to talk in the past in Italian, a great idea would be to rewrite a few sentences or a chapter in the past tense. Remember, writing is like speaking in slow motion.
Have your summaries corrected by your teacher and ask her or him to prompt you about the story. Remember, use it or lose it!
Repetition is the key. When you are done with your short story, don’t put it aside. The learning curve shows that most of the information we receive gets lost if we don’t revisit it regularly. Re-read your short stories, your flashcards, or your sentences a couple of weeks/months later.

Smart Tip

In this post you’ll come a cross a few times the word “chunks” – if you are not familiar with it yet, you should know that learning a language by chunks will help you construct your sentences coherently and sound more natural faster than learning vocabulary in any other different way.

Chunks are high-frequency combinations of words, verbs and nouns or nouns and adjectives. As I stated at the beginning of this post – words can’t be learned efficiently in isolation. When speaking, we speak in sentences and we often use the same combinations: that’s why learning chunks or small sentences will go a long way.

Not sure what a chunk is yet? Let’s a have a look at some examples.

Chunks for a beginner learners of Italian, pulled out from the short my short story in simple Italian for beginners “Due Amiche e Un Album di Fotografie”

comprare un biglietto di andata e ritorno – to buy a round trip ticket
noleggiare una macchina – to rent a car
pagare in contanti – to pay cash

Chunks for a beginner learners of Italian, pulled out from the short my short story in simple Italian for beginners “Incontri in Sicilia”

Ho origini italiane – I’m of Italian descent
Non proprio – not really
Ti va..? – Would you like to…?

Chunks can be learned at any level. If you are a beginner Italian learner you should consider adding to your flashcards the chunks that you need to use in your basic conversation. As an advanced learner you can consider learning chunks in the shape of idioms or flowery language.

How To Use An Italian Short Story as A Beginner Learner

If you have access to the audiobook, don’t expect to understand the whole narration without reading the story. The best way to use audio tracks at your level is by reading and listening to the content simultaneously. Like that, you will soon familiarize yourself with the sounds of Italian and the correct pronunciation of words.
Don’t look up every second word. And, learn words within a context (short sentences, or simple chunks). A great idea is pulling out the most relevant ones and putting them on Quizlet. Quizlet is an excellent free tool that you can use to organize and review your Italian work.
Highlight chunks or sentences that looks interesting to you and you want to try to use in your next Italian conversation. Leave aside all the words or chunks that won’t have particle use in your Italian talks in the short span. If you don’t know what words or chunks to prioritize, ask your teacher.
Summarize the chapters in short and coherent sentences. Each sentence should have from three two six elements.
Readout loud.

How To Use An Italian Short Story as an Intermediate or Advanced Learner

Read first and then listen to the audiobook, if you have access to it.
Highlight chunks of sentences that sound more natural or involve new worlds. It would be best if you used Quizlet as the main platform to gather all the new chunks (recurring or coherent combinations)
Memory is selective, not inclusive. Don’t include everything in your flashcards or notebook. Be aware that you need to know it all at your level and that the best way to memorize and learn is to prioritize and summarize the relevant information. If you don’t know how to prioritize the information, ask your teacher.
Write a summary of the chapters. A smart practice is to stick around to the words that you already know. Using a translator will sabotage your learning experience because it will prevent you from “producing” the language and making those mistakes vital to enhance your comprehension.
Integrate the new chunks in your conversation or sentences.
Talk about the story with your teacher or language partner. You can ask your teacher to prompt you on the story or lead the conversation and bring your content to the table. Don’t forget to give time to your observations or opinions!

My list of favorite short stories for beginner to lower-intermediate Italian learners

Best Italian short stories

Why Using This Short Stories Will Go A Long Way In Making Your Sound More Natural?

In a typical classroom setting, you are often asked direct or impromptu questions. This means that most of the times, you’re ending up talking about what’s going on in your life or in the news. That’s great, but it won’t transform you into a stellar speaker of Italian in a short time. Real language touches on a ton of different topics, and most of the time involves speaking about something else other than you, your life and current events.

Instead, when reading about different stories will become familiar with different sets of vocabulary, themes and ultimately verb tenses. Not to mention that, re-telling the stories in your own words will help you cement and internalize the phrases, verbs and words you’ve previously read or listened to [use or lose it, remember!]

Talking about something else might sound hard initially, but I guarantee this approach will stretch your Italian like never before and improve your overall conversational skills.

By learning to talk about a story or a third person or an event, you will learn how to comment on events, express opinions, describe settings and circumstances. That’s the fastest way to learn to speak Italian naturally and consciously , especially at a beginner or intermediate stage.

Smart Tip

How to use QUIZLET

For organizing your new words and chunks, I recommend my students use Quizlet. Quizlet is a free platform that helps language learners make flashcards and play with them (there a few linguistic games that you can play with your flashcards).

To make the most out of your Quizlet cards, your sets of words should have a date and a limited number.

Why a date? So that you can organize your review by date. You should always make sure that you review your “old flashcards.”

Why a limited number? A flashcard of 10-15 cards is more than enough. Know the limit will help you to prioritize the chunks or words you decide to retain. Trying to memorize every new word/sentence that you like is not an efficient way to learn.

This is an example of the set of flashcards I pulled out for my students on the story for beginner learners “Le città impossibili.“

See the whole set here