La giovinezza di Cesare: an Italian graded reader at level B2
Giuseppe Rovani · adapted by Alessio Insegnante · CEFR level B2
Giuseppe Rovani's classic (1873), rewritten for learners of Italian at level B2: calibrated sentences, footnotes, a final glossary and comprehension questions in every chapter.
Ebook $4.99 · also in 6×9 paperback
Look inside: the first page
CAPITOLO 1
Il trionfo di Pompeo e il ragazzo in lutto
Pompey’s Triumph and the Boy in Mourning
Correva il sette maggio dell'anno 82 avanti Cristo, e Roma si preparava al più grande trionfo che si fosse mai visto entro le sue mura.1
Pompeo tornava dall'Africa. Aveva ventiquattro anni, e in soli quaranta giorni di guerra aveva sconfitto Domizio, ucciso ventisette mila nemici, sottomesso la Libia. I suoi soldati lo avevano acclamato imperatore sul campo di battaglia: un onore che di solito toccava agli uomini due volte più vecchi di lui.
Silla, che teneva Roma nel pugno, aveva prima negato quel trionfo: la legge diceva che nessuno potesse trionfare se non fosse stato console o pretore, e Pompeo non era né l'uno né l'altro.
trionfo = triumph
1 Rovani apre il romanzo con una data precisa: il 7 maggio 82 a.C. , perché il suo Cesare non è un mito senza tempo: è un ragazzo di una città vera, in un anno vero. È la stessa scelta di Manzoni con il novembre 1628 dei Promessi Sposi. Un libro storico comincia sempre dicendo QUANDO.
Chapter 1 · CEFR B2 · 25 words of the real textGet the book on Amazon ↗︎
The plot of La giovinezza di Cesare
Rome, first century BC. While the dictator Sulla fills the city with proscriptions and fear, a young patrician refuses to submit and to repudiate his wife: his name is Gaius Julius Caesar, and his ambition is only beginning.
Through conspiracies, love affairs and political battles in the Forum, Rovani reconstructs the formative years of the man who would change the history of Rome. A historical novel rich in intrigue, for readers who want to combine language and ancient history.
Why read La giovinezza di Cesare to learn Italian
The Roman history you already know acts as a safety net for comprehension: you know who Caesar is, which frees up energy for the language. The political and military vocabulary is rich, and the speeches in the Forum are a small course in Italian rhetoric.
Inside the glossary
Glossary
- Campo Marzio · the Campus Martius ((sin. piazza, campo))
- L'ampia zona pianeggiante di Roma, tra il Campidoglio e il Tevere, dove si tenevano le assemblee popolari e le esercitazioni militari.
- The wide plain of Rome, between the Capitol and the Tiber, where popular assemblies and military exercises were held.
- In the novel it is the space of the vote and the crowd: here Caesar presents his candidates, here the assemblies gather. It is the place where consensus is measured physically.
- Catilina · Catiline ((sin. congiurato, senatore))
- Lucio Sergio Catilina (108–62 a.C.), senatore romano di antica famiglia patrizia.
- Lucius Sergius Catilina (108–62 BC), a Roman senator of ancient patrician family.
- The conspirator par excellence. The novel follows his arc from financial ruin to attempted coup: the mirror image of Caesar, who obtains through politics what Catiline attempts by force.
- Clodio · Clodius ((sin. tribuno, demagogo))
- Publio Clodio Pulcro (93–52 a.C.), tribuno della plebe, politico spregiudicato.
- Publius Clodius Pulcher (93–52 BC), tribune of the plebs, an unscrupulous politician.
- The man Caesar uses and lets be used. Clodius is the instrument of his popular politics: he passes laws, incites the crowd, and ends up killed in a street brawl. In the novel he is the most cynical face of Caesarism.
- Dea Bona · Bona Dea ((sin. dea delle donne, culto femminile))
- Nell'antica Roma, dea femminile della fecondità, il cui culto era riservato esclusivamente alle donne.
- In ancient Rome, a goddess of fertility whose cult was strictly reserved to women.
- The festival of Bona Dea is the great scandal of the novel. Clodius, disguised as a woman, enters Caesar's house during the rite: Caesar repudiates his wife, and does so with a proverbial phrase.
- Fulvia · Fulvia ((sin. matrona, moglie))
- Nobildonna romana (83–40 a.C. ca.), moglie di Clodio (poi di Curione e infine di Antonio).
- A Roman noblewoman (c. 83–40 BC), wife of Clodius (later of Curio and finally of Antony).
- One of the first Roman women to carry political weight of her own. In the book she embodies a city where even wives choose a party and lead a faction: an anti-traditional figure, feared and admired.
- Giulia · Julia, Caesar’s daughter ((sin. figlia, sposa))
- Giulia Cesaris (76 ca.–54 a.C.), figlia di Cesare e di Cornelia.
- Julia Caesaris (c. 76–54 BC), daughter of Caesar and Cornelia.
- Her life is very short and politically decisive: Caesar gives her in marriage to Pompey to seal the alliance. With her death, the bond between the two dissolves: and the road to civil war opens.
The glossary contains 41 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 politics, Roman history and power: the key words, with translations, are in the glossary below and recur throughout the text, so you learn them in context.
About the author: Giuseppe Rovani
Giuseppe Rovani (1818–1874), from Milan, was among the fathers of the Scapigliatura movement and a master of the historical novel after Manzoni. His masterpiece Cento anni influenced generations of Lombard writers.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| il dittatore | dictator | de dictator |
| la congiura | conspiracy | de samenzwering |
| il patrizio | patrician | de patriciër |
| il foro | forum | het forum |
| l'ambizione | ambition | de ambitie |
| la proscrizione | proscription | de verbanning |
| il console | consul | de consul |
| il potere | power | de macht |
Frequently asked questions
What level of Italian do I need to read La giovinezza di Cesare?
This edition of La giovinezza di Cesare 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 Giuseppe Rovani's original text?
No, it is an adaptation: the plot and spirit of Giuseppe Rovani'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.
Which formats is it available in?
Paperback (6×9, cream paper) and Kindle ebook on Amazon. The ebook is $4.99. The same text also lives in the 
amo Italian app, with vocabulary translated into 17 languages.
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La giovinezza di Cesare 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.
