La città del Sole: an Italian graded reader at level B2
Tommaso Campanella · adapted by Alessio Insegnante · CEFR level B2
Tommaso Campanella's classic (1602), rewritten for learners of Italian at level B2: calibrated sentences, footnotes, a final glossary and comprehension questions in every chapter.
In production · soon in 6×9 paperback and on Kindle
Look inside: the first page
CAPITOLO 1
Il marinaio genovese
The Genoese sailor
Nel grande porto arrivavano navi da ogni parte del mondo. Fra la folla, un cavaliere dell'ordine di Malta: un Ospitalario1: notò un uomo anziano seduto su una corda arrotolata. Aveva la pelle scura di sole e di sale, le mani larghe di chi ha tirato vele per tutta la vita.
«Sei un marinaio?» chiese il cavaliere.
«Sono genovese», rispose l'uomo, come se questo bastasse a spiegare tutto2. «Ho fatto il giro del mondo con le navi del mio paese. Ho visto coste che non hanno nome sulle vostre carte.»
◆
Il cavaliere sedette accanto a lui. Gli uomini di mare, si sa, portano storie come le navi portano merci.
cavaliere = knight · marinaio = sailor
1 Gli Ospitalari erano i cavalieri dell'ordine di Malta: monaci e guerrieri insieme. Campanella sceglie come ascoltatore un uomo di fede e di spada: proprio il tipo di lettore che voleva convincere.
2 Genova era una delle grandi repubbliche marinare: dire "sono genovese" nel Cinquecento era come dire "il mare è il mio mestiere". Anche Colombo era genovese, e non è un caso.
Chapter 1 · CEFR B2 · 32 words of the real text
The plot of La città del Sole
In a harbour tavern, one night, a Genoese sailor tells a Knight of Malta about the strangest place he has ever seen: a city built in seven circles on a hill, where the word «mine» does not exist, where everyone works four hours a day and the walls are a painted encyclopedia that children learn from as they walk.
It sounds like paradise. Then the Knight starts asking questions (about freedom, family, obedience) and the perfect city begins to show its shadows. The utopia Campanella wrote in prison, by candlelight, fully retold as a living night-long dialogue.
Why read La città del Sole to learn Italian
The dialogue form (question and answer all night long) is a perfect model of argumentative Italian: how to ask, how to object, how to defend an idea. And every chapter opens a theme (work, family, science) to discuss in class or with your language partner.
Inside the glossary
Glossary
- altare · altar ((sin. ara, mensa sacra))
- tavolo sacro sul quale si celebrano i riti religiosi.
- a sacred table on which religious rites are celebrated.
- Instead of statues, two globes, heaven and earth: nature itself is the object of worship.
- anima · soul ((sin. spirito, essenza))
- parte spirituale dell'uomo, sede dei pensieri e dei sentimenti.
- the spiritual part of a person, the seat of thoughts and feelings.
- The soul comes from heaven and returns to it: life, for the Solarians, is a voyage, a metaphor the sailor understands.
- aratro · plough ((sin. strumento agricolo, vomere))
- strumento agricolo che apre e rivolta la terra per la semina.
- a farm tool that opens and turns the soil for sowing.
- Even the rulers can drive a plough: no hand in the city is too noble for the earth.
- assedio · siege ((sin. accerchiamento, blocco))
- accerchiamento di una città per costringerla ad arrendersi.
- the surrounding of a city to force it to surrender.
- Seven walls mean seven sieges: the city's shape makes conquest an exhausted enemy's dream.
- astro · heavenly body ((sin. stella, corpo celeste))
- corpo celeste: stella, pianeta o altro oggetto del cielo.
- a celestial body: a star, a planet or another object in the sky.
- The heavenly bodies regulate feasts and sowings: the sky is the city's public clock.
- astrologia · astrology ((sin. scienza degli astri, lettura del cielo))
- studio antico degli astri e della loro influenza sugli uomini.
- the ancient study of the stars and their influence on people.
- For the Solarians astrology is a science of right moments: a calendar, never a chain.
- carestia · famine ((sin. fame, penuria))
- grave mancanza di cibo che colpisce un intero paese.
- a serious lack of food that strikes an entire country.
- Famine (a real terror of the 1600s) survives in the city only as a picture on the walls, among ancient misfortunes.
- carro · cart ((sin. veicolo, carrozza))
- veicolo con ruote trainato da animali o mosso dal vento.
- a wheeled vehicle pulled by animals or moved by the wind.
- The wind-driven carts really existed as experiments in Campanella's time; here they are everyday transport.
- cavaliere · knight ((sin. guerriero, militare a cavallo))
- guerriero a cavallo; membro di un ordine militare e religioso.
- a warrior on horseback; a member of a military and religious order.
- The Hospitaller knight is the reader's stand-in: practical, sceptical, and slowly changed by what he hears.
The glossary contains 60 entries in all
Inside this reader
CEFR adaptation
The text is fully rewritten for level B2, 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-B2 edition you mainly practise the imperfect and past subjunctive, hypothetical clauses of possibility, the passive and indirect speech. The vocabulary revolves around utopia, the city and its laws: the key words, with translations, are in the glossary below and recur throughout the text, so you learn them in context.
About the author: Tommaso Campanella
Tommaso Campanella (1568–1639), a Calabrian Dominican friar, spent twenty-seven years in prison for his ideas: and wrote La città del Sole there. A rebel philosopher, he anticipated themes of modern science and modern utopias.
Details and difficulty level
B2 is upper-intermediate Italian: complex syntax, subjunctive and conditional structures, shades of register. This reader suits learners who already read in Italian and want to tackle the great classics with structured support. Format: 6×9 paperback on cream paper or Kindle ebook; 20 chapters with footnotes, a final glossary and comprehension questions. All level B2 books →︎
Essential glossary (Italian · English · Dutch)
| Italian | English | Dutch |
|---|---|---|
| la città | city | de stad |
| il marinaio | sailor | de zeeman |
| il cavaliere | knight | de ridder |
| il cerchio | circle | de cirkel |
| il muro | wall | de muur |
| la comunità | community | de gemeenschap |
| la legge | law | de wet |
| l'utopia | utopia | de utopie |
Frequently asked questions
What level of Italian do I need to read La città del Sole?
This edition of La città del Sole is rewritten for CEFR level B2. B2 is upper-intermediate Italian: complex syntax, subjunctive and conditional structures, shades of register. This reader suits learners who already read in Italian and want to tackle the great classics with structured support.
Is this Tommaso Campanella's original text?
No, it is an adaptation: the plot and spirit of Tommaso Campanella's original remain, but vocabulary and syntax are rewritten for level B2, with footnotes, a final glossary and comprehension questions at the end of every chapter.
When is it coming out?
The book is in production and will be on Amazon soon, in paperback and as a Kindle ebook. The same text already lives in the 
amo Italian app.
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