I Viceré: an Italian graded reader at level C1
Federico De Roberto · adapted by Alessio Insegnante · CEFR level C1
Federico De Roberto's classic (1894), rewritten for learners of Italian at level C1: calibrated sentences, footnotes, a final glossary and comprehension questions in every chapter.
Available on Amazon, in paperback and on Kindle
Look inside: the first page
CAPITOLO 1
La notizia
The News
Giuseppe, il portinaio, trastullava il suo bambino davanti al portone, mostrandogli lo scudo di marmo infisso in cima all'arco: il blasone dei Francalanza, con le sue insegne consumate dal tempo: e la rastrelliera inchiodata al muro del vestibolo dove, ai tempi antichi, i soldati del principe appendevano le armi.1
Fu allora che si udì, e crebbe rapidamente, il rumore di una carrozza lanciata a tutta velocità. Prima ancora che l'uomo avesse il tempo di voltarsi, un legnetto sul quale pareva fosse nevicato, tanta era la polvere, entrò nel cortile con un fracasso assordante. Il cavallo era coperto di sudore; dall'arco del secondo cortile si affacciarono servi e famigli, mentre Salvatore Cerra si precipitava giù dalla carrozzella con una lettera in mano.
blasone = coat of arms
1 Il romanzo non comincia da una persona: comincia dallo stemma. Prima ancora dei nomi, De Roberto mostra il simbolo: perché il vero protagonista del libro non è nessuno dei personaggi, ma la casata che li possiede tutti.
Chapter 1 · CEFR C1 · 32 words of the real text
The plot of I Viceré
Catania, nineteenth century. On the death of the old princess, the Uzeda di Francalanza family (descendants of the Spanish viceroys of Sicily) hurl themselves into a ferocious war over the inheritance. Ambitious monks, calculated marriages, hatreds handed down from father to son.
As Italy achieves unification, the Uzeda change flags without changing nature: power stays in the family, under any government. A merciless, magnificent novel about the continuity of power, anticipating The Leopard by sixty years.
Why read I Viceré to learn Italian
The family saga keeps your memory in training: names, kinships and alliances intertwine like a nineteenth-century TV series. De Roberto's irony must be caught between the lines: the most valuable reading exercise there is at B2.
Inside the glossary
Glossary
- adulazione · flattery ((sin. lusinga, piaggeria))
- Le lodi esagerate e interessate rivolte a chi ha potere.
- Excessive, self-interested praise offered to the powerful.
- Around the Uzeda buzzes a little world of poor relations, priests and fixers who live on flattery. The prince despises them and uses them: he knows that a flatterer is the cheapest servant there is.
- adulterio · adultery ((sin. infedeltà, tradimento))
- La relazione amorosa di una persona sposata fuori dal matrimonio.
- Betrayal between husband and wife.
- Raimondo's adultery is public and unpunished; Isabella's ruins her. The novel's scales weigh twice: once for princes, once for everyone else, and a third time, heaviest of all, for women.
- alterigia · haughtiness ((sin. superbia, boria))
- La superbia fredda di chi si considera superiore per nascita.
- The cold pride of those who think themselves superior by birth.
- It isn't vanity: it is certainty. An Uzeda has nothing to prove to anyone: the world divides into the family and the rest, and the rest hardly counts.
- ambizione · ambition ((sin. brama, aspirazione))
- Il desiderio ardente di potere, successo e gloria.
- A burning desire for power, success and glory.
- Consalvo doesn't love money like his father or the blazon like his aunt: he loves command itself. His ambition is the most modern and the purest in the novel: it needs no excuses, no ideals, no affections.
- annullamento · annulment ((sin. scioglimento, invalidazione))
- La dichiarazione che un matrimonio non è mai stato valido.
- A declaration that a marriage was never valid.
- To unite Raimondo and Isabella, two annulments are needed, and the family obtains them by buying witnesses, judges and consciences. It is the book's most ferocious chapter: God's law bent like a promissory note.
- avarizia · avarice ((sin. taccagneria, spilorceria))
- L'attaccamento eccessivo al denaro, che impedisce di spenderlo e di darlo.
- Attachment to money so strong it prevents spending or giving.
- Donna Ferdinanda hoards and never spends; Giacomo counts and counts again. Avarice here isn't a flaw: it is a whole passion, the only form of love certain Uzeda are capable of.
- beata · blessed woman ((sin. venerabile, santa))
- Una persona morta in fama di santità, venerata dalla Chiesa.
- A woman who died in the odour of sanctity and is venerated by the Church.
- The family has a blessed of its own, the venerable Ximena, and her portrait watches over them all. Every generation of Uzeda produces saints and bullies with equal ease: and sometimes, says De Roberto, in the same person.
The glossary contains 52 entries in all
Inside this reader
CEFR adaptation
The text is fully rewritten for level C1, with controlled vocabulary and syntax, while staying faithful to the original plot.
Footnotes and glossary
Footnotes on difficult words and a final glossary, so you can read independently without a dictionary.
Comprehension questions
Every chapter ends with questions to check understanding, just like in class.
Paperback and ebook
6×9 paperback on cream paper, or Kindle ebook. The same text also lives in the ti app.
Language focus: what you practise
In this level-C1 edition you mainly practise the passato remoto, gerunds and participles, literary vocabulary, shades of register and rhetorical figures. The vocabulary revolves around power, church and politics: the key words, with translations, are in the glossary below and recur throughout the text, so you learn them in context.
About the author: Federico De Roberto
Federico De Roberto (1861–1927), a disciple of Verga and Capuana, carried verismo inside the palaces of the aristocracy. I Viceré, little understood on publication, is now recognised as one of the greatest Italian novels of the nineteenth century.
Details and difficulty level
C1 stays close to the original language: structure and style remain near the author's text, with footnotes and a glossary for literary vocabulary. This reader suits advanced students, teachers and lovers of Italian literature. Format: 6×9 paperback on cream paper or Kindle ebook; 20 chapters with footnotes, a final glossary and comprehension questions. All level C1 books →︎
Essential glossary (Italian · English · Dutch)
| Italian | English | Dutch |
|---|---|---|
| l'eredità | inheritance | de erfenis |
| il principe | prince | de prins |
| il monaco | monk | de monnik |
| la famiglia | family | de familie |
| il potere | power | de macht |
| il deputato | member of parliament | de afgevaardigde |
| l'odio | hatred | de haat |
| il testamento | will | het testament |
Frequently asked questions
What level of Italian do I need to read I Viceré?
This edition of I Viceré is rewritten for CEFR level C1. C1 stays close to the original language: structure and style remain near the author's text, with footnotes and a glossary for literary vocabulary. This reader suits advanced students, teachers and lovers of Italian literature.
Is this Federico De Roberto's original text?
No, it is an adaptation: the plot and spirit of Federico De Roberto's original remain, but vocabulary and syntax are rewritten for level C1, with footnotes, a final glossary and comprehension questions at the end of every chapter.
Where can I buy it?
On Amazon, as a paperback or Kindle ebook: you'll find this and every other title in the series on Alessio Insegnante's author page.
If you liked I Viceré, read next
Prefer to read with a teacher?
A graded reader takes you a long way, but speaking is something you learn with someone. I teach Italian online worldwide and on location between Ede and Amsterdam: see online lessons, Italian for beginners and the pricing.
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I Viceré also lives inside the ti app, with tap-to-translate vocabulary in 17 languages and animated scenes. On the site you'll also find 700+ free Italian exercises and the blog for Italian learners.
amo Italian, with a tap dictionary and notes for your level.