What do you think?
Rate this book
Pane nero and other stories
6 stories for students: L'amante di gramigna, Cavelleria rusticana, Rosso malpelo, I galantuomini, Pane nero, and L'osteria dei "Buoni Amici". The stories are in the original Italian, with English language introduction, notes and a vocabulary of Italian words.
136 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1962
6 people want to read
About the author
Giovanni Verga
481 books201 followersGiovanni Verga was an Italian realist writer, best known for his depictions of life in Sicily, and especially for the short story Cavalleria Rusticana and the novel I Malavoglia.
The first son of Giovanni Battista Catalano Verga and Caterina Di Mauro, Verga was born into a prosperous family of Catania in Sicily. He began writing in his teens, producing the largely unpublished historical novel Amore e Patria (Love and Country); then, although nominally studying law at the University of Catania, he used money his father had given him to publish his I Carbonari della Montagna (The Carbonari of the Mountain) in 1861 and 1862. This was followed by Sulle Lagune (In the Lagoons) in 1863.
Meanwhile, Verga had been serving in the Catania National Guard (1860-64), after which he travelled to Florence several times, settling there in 1869.
He moved to Milan in 1872, where he developed his new approach, characterized by the use of dialogue to develop character, which resulted in his most significant works. In 1880 his story collection Vita dei Campi (Life in the Fields), (including Fantasticheria, La Lupa, and Pentolacchia) most of which were about rural Sicily, came out; it included the Cavalleria Rusticana, which was adapted for the theatre and later the libretto of the Mascagni opera. Verga's short story, "Malaria", was one of the first literary depictions of the disease.
He then embarked on a projected series of five novels, but only completed two, I Malavoglia and Mastro-Don Gesualdo (1889), the latter of which was the last major work of his literary career. Both are widely recognized as masterpieces.
In 1894 Verga moved back to the house he was born in. In 1920 he was elected a senator. He died of a cerebral thrombosis in 1922.
The Teatro Verga in Catania is named after him.
In the book by Silvia Iannello Le immagini e le parole dei Malavoglia (Sovera, Roma, 2008), the author selects some passages of the Giovanni Verga' novel I Malavoglia, adds original comments and Acitrezza' photographic images, and devotes a chapter to the origins, remarks and frames taken from the immortal movie La terra trema (1948) directed by Luchino Visconti.
The first son of Giovanni Battista Catalano Verga and Caterina Di Mauro, Verga was born into a prosperous family of Catania in Sicily. He began writing in his teens, producing the largely unpublished historical novel Amore e Patria (Love and Country); then, although nominally studying law at the University of Catania, he used money his father had given him to publish his I Carbonari della Montagna (The Carbonari of the Mountain) in 1861 and 1862. This was followed by Sulle Lagune (In the Lagoons) in 1863.
Meanwhile, Verga had been serving in the Catania National Guard (1860-64), after which he travelled to Florence several times, settling there in 1869.
He moved to Milan in 1872, where he developed his new approach, characterized by the use of dialogue to develop character, which resulted in his most significant works. In 1880 his story collection Vita dei Campi (Life in the Fields), (including Fantasticheria, La Lupa, and Pentolacchia) most of which were about rural Sicily, came out; it included the Cavalleria Rusticana, which was adapted for the theatre and later the libretto of the Mascagni opera. Verga's short story, "Malaria", was one of the first literary depictions of the disease.
He then embarked on a projected series of five novels, but only completed two, I Malavoglia and Mastro-Don Gesualdo (1889), the latter of which was the last major work of his literary career. Both are widely recognized as masterpieces.
In 1894 Verga moved back to the house he was born in. In 1920 he was elected a senator. He died of a cerebral thrombosis in 1922.
The Teatro Verga in Catania is named after him.
In the book by Silvia Iannello Le immagini e le parole dei Malavoglia (Sovera, Roma, 2008), the author selects some passages of the Giovanni Verga' novel I Malavoglia, adds original comments and Acitrezza' photographic images, and devotes a chapter to the origins, remarks and frames taken from the immortal movie La terra trema (1948) directed by Luchino Visconti.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 17, 2014
Verga is a difficult author for a non-Italian. His stories are mostly set in Sicily, and occasionally Milan (and possibly other places) and Verga writes in something that approximates the dialects of the places about which he writes. The supporting notes and vocabulary in this text are very useful. I seldom found it necessary to go to a dictionary because just about every word I was unsure of was in the "select vocabulary".
The lives of Verga's characters are for the most part a grim downward spiral. A young woman with good marriage prospects throws it all away for an outlaw she has never met, and ends her days as a drudge in a prison. A dandy is led by his own vanity into a fatal knife fight. A red-haired boy is the victim of superstitious prejudice all his life in a community of miners and quarry-workers. The gentry think that their own experience of destitution and disgrace is somehow unique.
The longest story, and my personal favourite, is Pane Nero, which traces how a small rural family must make adjustments in the face of encroaching poverty. It begins with the death of the old father of the family and ends with the death of the mother. There is kindness and family solidarity in this story that occasionally relieves the bitterness and resentment engendered by unrelenting poverty. For all their festering resentments, I admired the child-ridden Santo and Nena, Santo's red-headed wife, for their goodwill and determination to hold the family together. The youngest, Lucia, must be content with the appearance but not the substance of honour for the sake of a husband and a small financial start in life, and the family accepts her situation as they have been accepting her tainted money to pay the old woman's doctors. I think Jane Austen would have understood the dynamics of Verga's stories very well. The last story is of four impecunious young men in Milan whose attempts to live a little larger than their incomes allow attracts the attention of the forces of the law.
I cannot recommend this too highly as an introduction to the fiction of Giovanni Verga. Maybe this year I'll be brave enough to tackle one of the novels.
The lives of Verga's characters are for the most part a grim downward spiral. A young woman with good marriage prospects throws it all away for an outlaw she has never met, and ends her days as a drudge in a prison. A dandy is led by his own vanity into a fatal knife fight. A red-haired boy is the victim of superstitious prejudice all his life in a community of miners and quarry-workers. The gentry think that their own experience of destitution and disgrace is somehow unique.
The longest story, and my personal favourite, is Pane Nero, which traces how a small rural family must make adjustments in the face of encroaching poverty. It begins with the death of the old father of the family and ends with the death of the mother. There is kindness and family solidarity in this story that occasionally relieves the bitterness and resentment engendered by unrelenting poverty. For all their festering resentments, I admired the child-ridden Santo and Nena, Santo's red-headed wife, for their goodwill and determination to hold the family together. The youngest, Lucia, must be content with the appearance but not the substance of honour for the sake of a husband and a small financial start in life, and the family accepts her situation as they have been accepting her tainted money to pay the old woman's doctors. I think Jane Austen would have understood the dynamics of Verga's stories very well. The last story is of four impecunious young men in Milan whose attempts to live a little larger than their incomes allow attracts the attention of the forces of the law.
I cannot recommend this too highly as an introduction to the fiction of Giovanni Verga. Maybe this year I'll be brave enough to tackle one of the novels.
Displaying 1 of 1 review