Vecchie Storie

De Marchi, Emilio, 1851-1901Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 132K words
Chapters: 14

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Vecchie Storie by Emilio De MarchiAuthor: De Marchi, Emilio, 1851-1901,Language: Italian, Class: PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Release Date: Dec 1, 2003

Editor's review

Vecchie Storie is a collection of short stories by the Italian writer Emilio De Marchi, belonging to the tradition of Italian literature that focuses on everyday human feelings and local life. De Marchi worked for many years in education and writing; his language is plain, and he is skilled at drawing fragments of warmth and moral observation from ordinary people's situations. Written in Italian, the book is suitable for reading in sections and can serve both as a sample of late nineteenth-century Italian narrative literature and as advanced reading material for Italian learners. As a public-domain ebook, it preserves the language of the original, allowing readers to experience the syntax and vocabulary of written Italian of the time. Note that the stories' settings and values bear the mark of their era; they should be understood in historical context rather than judged simply by contemporary standards.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Learners with some Italian who want to practice reading original texts
Readers interested in late nineteenth-century Italian literature and short narrative
General readers who enjoy short stories about everyday human feelings
Enthusiasts studying Italian local-life writing and popular literature

Not a good fit for

Readers with no Italian at all who need a Chinese translation
Readers who prefer long plots and strong dramatic conflict
Readers expecting contemporary urban themes or modern narrative techniques

Reading tips

Start with the shorter stories to become familiar with the author's language rhythm.
After each story, write two or three sentences in Italian summarizing it to reinforce vocabulary and sentence patterns.
Mark dialect or period expressions first and look them up together after finishing, so as not to interrupt reading.
Read by theme and compare characters' situations and moral observations across stories.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is there a Chinese translation of this book?

This is a public-domain Italian ebook from Project Gutenberg; the main text is the original Italian with no Chinese translation. Chinese readers need some Italian reading ability or should use dictionaries and辅助 tools.

What level of Italian is needed to read it?

An intermediate reading level is recommended, enough to handle common narrative tenses and longer sentences. The book contains period expressions and local color, so beginners will find it difficult; start with the shorter stories and work through with a dictionary.

Are these stories suitable for reading all at once?

This is a short story collection, better read story by story. Each is relatively independent, and readers can choose the order by time or interest; reading one or two at a time with brief notes makes it easier to grasp the language and themes than reading straight through.

What background knowledge should I keep in mind while reading?

The stories are set roughly in late nineteenth-century Italy and involve local society and daily life of the time. A little knowledge of post-unification Italian society helps, but systematic historical study beforehand is unnecessary; look up specific background as you read.

Comments

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About the author

De Marchi, Emilio, 1851-1901 Author

Emilio De Marchi (1851-1901) was a nineteenth-century Italian writer. Public information about his life and nationality is limited, and only four of his works are held in this collection. Judging from titles such as Col fuoco non si scherza, Vecchie cadenze e nuove, Nuove storie d'ogni colore and Vecchie Storie, he wrote both fiction and narrative prose, drawing on everyday life, old customs and observations of human nature; the contrast between "vecchie" and "nuove" in his titles also suggests a sustained interest in traditional and modern experience. His style tends toward realism, with attention to plot and character, and his language is plain and full of the flavor of ordinary life. Although relevant material is scarce, these works still offer a glimpse of one aspect of nineteenth-century Italian narrative literature.