The first in a series of books which aims to help students of Italian as a foreign language gain a better cultural understanding of Italy. This volume presents a history of Italian literature, a collection of literary texts from its origins in the 13th century through to the present day. The texts are accompanied by information to guide the reader, analysis and points for reflection.

The volume is organised into 8 chapters - 8 modules - each of which presents a literary period and highlights selected authors and their works. Also provided are additional information sheets on art, music and, from the 20th century, information about cinema and singer-songwriters.

The volume is complemented by free online resources:

- Supplementary texts and analysis on featured authors and their works

- Texts for further study of authors, historical periods and literary movements

- Self-assessment tests, one for each chapter, for students to check how much they have learned at the end of each module

- 25 audio tracks of professional actors reciting a few of the famous pieces that feature in the book. The same tracks are included on the accompanying CD but can also be downloaded for free in MP3 format if preferred.