Natalino Sapegno Book order (chronological)

Il lungo viaggio nella storia della nostra Letteratura prende le mosse dai complessi fenomeni linguistici e letterari che si manifestano nel passaggio dalle ormai declinanti tradizioni latine medievali alle nascenti letterature romanze, fino a giungere alle prime grandi espressioni di poesia e di arte nella penisola italiana. In questo volume si ripercorre il periodo che va dalla nascita del volgare prima dell'anno 1000, all'affermazione dell'italiano letterario fra la fine del XII e l'inizio del XIII secolo: l'affascinante momento aurorale della nostra letteratura nelle canzoni d'amore fiorite alla corte siciliana di Federico II e alla scuola dei siculo-toscani, negli scritti di alta spiritualità dei grandi mistici, negli arguti racconti dell'anonimo Novellino, nella poesia burlesca dei poeti comico-realistici. -JACOPO DA LENTINI CIELO D'ALCAMO GUITTONE D'AREZZO - SAN FRANCESCO D'ASSISI - IACOPO DA VARAGINE - IACOPONE DA TODI -CECCO ANGIOLIERI

Belonging in the immortal company of the works of Homer, Virgil, Milton, and Shakespeare, Dante Alighieri’s poetic masterpiece is a visionary journey that takes readers through the torment of Hell. The first part of Dante’s Divine Comedy is many things: a moving human drama, a supreme expression of the Middle Ages, a glorification of the ways of God, and a magnificent protest against the ways in which men have thwarted the divine plan. One of the few literary works that has enjoyed a fame both immediate and enduring, The Inferno remains powerful after seven centuries. It confronts the most universal values—good and evil, free will and predestination—while remaining intensely personal and ferociously political, for it was born out of the anguish of a man who saw human life blighted by the injustice and corruption of his times. Translated by John Ciardi With an Introduction by Archibald T. MacAllister and an Afterword by Edward M. Cifelli

“The great plague novel.” —The New Yorker Set in Lombardy during the Spanish occupation of the late 1620s, The Betrothed tells the story of two young lovers, Renzo and Lucia, prevented from marrying by the petty tyrant Don Rodrigo, who desires Lucia for himself. Forced to flee, they are then cruelly separated, and must face many dangers including plague, famine and imprisonment, and confront a variety of strange characters—the mysterious Nun of Monza, the fiery Father Cristoforo and the sinister "Unnamed"—in their struggle to be reunited. A vigorous portrayal of enduring passion, The Betrothed's exploration of love, power, and faith presents a whirling panorama of seventeenth-century Italian life and is one of the greatest European historical novels. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.