Carlo Goldoni – I Rusteghi

Let’s start our review starting from a great Venetian author of the eighteenth century, namely Carlo Goldoni. Born in 1707 in Venice, he became passionate about the theatre from an early age, so much so that he joined the comic company of Florindo de’ Maccheroni. Later, he undertook interrupted periods of study and travel around Italy, constantly seeking to establish himself in the world of theatre. On the sudden death of his father, he completed his law studies and settled in Milan where he continued to devote himself to his passion, albeit discreetly. Other movements followed and the publication of the first writings. One of the comedies that Goldoni set in Veneto, in Venice to be precise, is called “I Rusteghi”. The story takes place during the four days of the Carnival, and sees 10 characters as the main protagonists. Lunardo, Canciano, Simone and Maurizio are the four “rusteghi”, essentially the roughest characters attached to traditions, who eschew the fashions and pleasures of their time. Then there are other characters who complete the play, and these are Margherita, Lunardo’s wife; Lucietta, daughter of Lunardo; Felice, wife of Canciano; Marina, Simone’s wife; Felippetto, son of Maurizio and betrothed of Lucietta; and Count Riccardo who is a friend of Felice. The plot sees Lunardo and Maurizio agree to marry Felippetto with Lucietta, although the two have never met. Knowing this, Margherita and Marina organise a meeting between the two young people in which Felippetto disguises himself as a woman in order not to be recognised. The two young men see each other and fall in love, but the four rusteghi, having discovered the deception, intended to take revenge on their wives. It is only thanks to the intervention of “siora” Felice that the men give up their revenge and celebrate the marriage of Felippetto and Lucietta. The play is written in the Venetian dialect and the language used is genuinely popular. Goldoni, with this work, sought to represent the era in which he lived and to support the new ideals that were emerging even in a conservative society such as that of Venice. He does not limit himself to describing reality, but enhances it with naturalness, painting a picture of his Venice and of the bourgeois reality with interest and admiration but also with detachment and irony.

Dino Buzzati – Bàrnabo delle Montagne

Another well-known Venetian writer is Dino Buzzati, born in Belluno in 1906. Despite his law degree, he soon devoted himself to his passion for writing, and between 1933 and 1935 he published his first novels: Barnabo delle Montagne [Barnabus of the Mountains] and Il Segreto del Bosco Vecchio [the Secret of the Old Wood].

At the outbreak of the Second World War, in 1940, he published Il Deserto dei Tartari [The Desert of the Tartars], his most famous novel, which has become a milestone in Italian literature. His activity as a writer always went hand in hand with that of a journalist. Among his latest writings it is worth mentioning I Miracoli di Val Morel [The Miracles of Val Morel], written in 1971. His first novel, Bàrnabo delle Montagne, is set in the Dolomites, a place of great sentimentality for Buzzati. Alpine forests and glaciers are the setting for this novel that deals with the story of Bàrnabo, a young forester who lives with his companions in a house in the mountains. One of their tasks is to supervise the “Polveriera” or a depot of ammunition and explosives. One day brigands attacked the powder magazine and killed the commander. Bàrnabo, who was in hiding out of fear, was fired and forced to go and live with his cousin in the countryside, working as a farmer. But he was so homesick for the mountains and for his past life that he found a way to go back and reclaim the life he had always wanted. The theme of the mountain recurs in Buzzati’s works, which represents them as steep, high and instilling a vague sense of fear. His first important peak was one of the Belluno Dolomites, which could be seen from his home in San Pellegrino. The mountains are the subject not only of his writings, such as “L’amico Schiara” published in 1964, in which he recalls youth climbing with his friends, but also of some of his paintings. One of the best known is the representation of the Milan Cathedral as a Dolomite peak, to symbolise the continuity of emotions between mountains and city. For this painting he was inspired by Cima Canali, one of the most beautiful in the Dolomites. His passion for his homeland was such that on his death his ashes were scattered in his beloved Dolomites.

Sabino Acquaviva – La Ragazza del Ghetto [The girl from the Ghetto]

Sabino Acquaviva, born in Padua in 1927, was a sociologist, professor and writer. He wrote numerous novels, published between 1979 and 2014.

La ragazza del ghetto, published in 1995, is set in Veneto at the end of the sixteenth century. Various places form the background to this novel: the streets and squares of Padua, the streets of Venice and the landscapes of the Euganean Hills. This is where the love story between a Venetian nobleman and a Jewish girl from the Padua ghetto comes to life. The story, alternating with idyllic events, is hampered not only by the circumstances of the two lovers but also by the Inquisition and by a plague epidemic that affected all the people who lived in those lands.

The most important aspect of the work is its historical precision, which allows readers to identify with the political, social and cultural reality of the time. The author’s descriptions of Padua and Venice, the two main cities in which the novel takes place, are also noteworthy.

Fulvio Ervas – Le commesse di Treviso [The orders from Treviso]

Fulvio Ervas was born in Musile di Piave, in the province of Venice, in 1955. After graduating in Agricultural Sciences, he began working as a teacher. Commesse di Treviso (2006) is one of his first novels, and Inspector Stucky’s first investigation. The story is about the murder of a saleswoman and Inspector Stucky’s attempt to solve the case.

The character is affable and integrates well into the territory, which is described with such detail as to transport the reader to Treviso. The book describes the contradictions and hypocrisies of a part of society, all encapsulated in an aura of suspense and mystery.

Matteo Righetto – Savana Padana

Matteo Righetto, born in Padua in 1972, teaches literature and narrative writing at the Pietro Selvatico Art School in Padua. Savana Padana was his first book, which received very good critical acclaim, and which was followed by numerous other novels.

Savana Padana is set in a village located between the Brenta river and the Piovego, in a flat and humid land which becomes very hot in summer. San Vito, this is the name of the town, consists of a few houses, two bars and a church. Chinese, gypsies, a group of local criminals, a statue of St. Anthony and a police man are part of the plot. Savana padana is a novel with a “noir” soul, set in a lost land of today’s Northeast, in which the author plays with the dialects, colours, human and social characteristics of this epic area.

Notable Venetian and foreign authors

Some Venetian authors who have not set their novels in their “homeland”, but who have contributed significantly to Italian literature, also deserve a special mention. These include Ippolito Nievo and Emilio Salgari. The first, born in Padua in 1831, is known for his book “Le confessioni di un Italiano” [The confessions of an Italian], a historical novel in which the protagonist recounts the events of his life, intertwining them with the historical events of the Risorgimento. The second, born in Verona in 1862, was a writer of very popular adventure novels. He wrote many books, and owes his fame above all to the character of “Sandokan”, protagonist of the saga of  “I Pirati della Malesia” [The Pirates of Malaysia]. Although most of his novels were set between Malaysia and India, the author never actually visited these places. It is even thought that he was inspired by the Boschetto island, a stretch of the Adige south of Verona, to describe the Ganges delta mentioned in his novels. It should also be remembered that there were many foreign authors who chose to set their works in Veneto. Just think of William Shakespeare who set his best known opera, Romeo and Juliet, in Verona. But that’s not all! The English playwright chose Verona to set “The Gentlemen of Verona”, one of his early comedies, while he set “The Merchant of Venice” in the capital of Veneto.  Thomas Mann and Henry James also made Venice the backdrop for some of their most famous short stories: “Death in Venice”, the first, and “The Aspern Papers”, the second.

In short, there is an infinity of books set in Veneto. Simply choose your favourite and set out on the road, following in the footsteps of the great writers who have most allowed you to travel with your mind.