Lettere di viaggio: an Italian graded reader at level A2
Colombo e Vespucci · adapted by Alessio Insegnante · CEFR level A2
Colombo e Vespucci's classic (1493–1505), rewritten for learners of Italian at level A2: 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
Un’idea rotonda
A Round Idea
Mi chiamo Cristoforo Colombo. Sono nato a Genova, in Italia, nel 1451.
Mio padre lavorava la lana. Ma io, dalla finestra, guardavo solo il porto e le navi.1
A quattordici anni sono andato in mare per la prima volta.
Ho fatto il marinaio per tutta la vita. Ho visto il nord freddo e le coste dell'Africa.
E ho imparato tre cose: a navigare, a leggere le mappe, e a non avere paura dell'oceano.
Questa è la storia del mio diario. Comincia con un'idea.
navigare = to sail, to navigate · mappa = map · oceano = ocean · diario = diary, logbook
1 Colombo è italiano, ma tutte le sue lettere sono in spagnolo: da adulto vive tra Portogallo e Spagna, e scrive nella lingua dei suoi re. Un genovese che scrive in spagnolo di isole americane: la sua vita è già una mappa.
Chapter 1 · CEFR A2 · 28 words of the real text
The plot of Lettere di viaggio
Genoa, 1492. Christopher Columbus crosses an ocean everyone still calls «the Dark Sea», with three small ships and ninety frightened men. He is looking for Asia; he finds something else: and never fully understands what.
A few years later, a Florentine named Amerigo Vespucci repeats the crossing with different eyes: he measures, he compares, he doubts. And he writes the forbidden sentence: this is not Asia, it is a new world. The real voyages retold from their own letters: the wonder and the courage, and also the chains, and the Taino who had known those islands all along.
Why read Lettere di viaggio to learn Italian
True story, real dates, names you already know: memory does half the comprehension work. The vocabulary of sea and travel is concrete and useful, and the short letter-shaped chapters are a natural model for writing your own first letters in Italian.
Inside the glossary
Glossary
- amaca · hammock ((sin. rete da riposo, letto sospeso))
- Una rete appesa tra due sostegni, usata per dormire.
- A hanging bed made of net or cloth, tied between two points; a Taino word.
- A Taino word: «hamaca». Europeans had never seen a bed hanging in the air. The sailors copy it at once, and for four centuries every ship in the world will sleep the Taino way.
- ammiraglio · admiral ((sin. comandante, capo della flotta))
- Il capo militare di una flotta.
- The highest commander of a fleet of ships.
- It is the title Columbus demands from the monarchs before sailing, and defends all his life. When they arrest him, he still signs «the Admiral». For him it is not a rank: it is proof that his idea was right.
- ammutinamento · mutiny ((sin. ribellione, rivolta))
- La ribellione dei marinai contro il loro comandante.
- A revolt of sailors against their captain.
- The most feared word on board. In October, after a month without land, the crew stops obeying willingly: there is talk of turning back, perhaps even of throwing the admiral into the sea. Land arrives just in time.
- baratto · barter ((sin. scambio, commercio senza denaro))
- Lo scambio di una cosa con un'altra, senza denaro.
- An exchange of things without using money.
- Glass beads for parrots, little bells for cotton thread: the first contact between the two worlds is barter. It looks like a game between friends. But one side knows the value of the other's things, and the other does not.
- bussola · compass ((sin. ago magnetico, strumento di rotta))
- Uno strumento con un ago che indica sempre il nord.
- An instrument with a needle that always points north.
- On the ocean, with no land in sight, the compass is the only certainty. That is why the night the needle «goes wrong» is the most dangerous of the voyage: if the compass lies, the road home no longer exists.
- canoa · canoe ((sin. piroga, imbarcazione))
- Una barca stretta e leggera, che si muove con la pagaia.
- A light, narrow boat moved with a paddle; a Taino word.
- A Taino word, brought into Italian through these letters. Taino canoes were carved from a single tree: some carried forty men. In 1503 a canoe will cross the open sea to save Columbus.
- caravella · caravel ((sin. veliero, nave leggera))
- Una piccola nave a vela veloce, usata nel Quattrocento per esplorare.
- A small, fast sailing ship used by explorers in the 15th century.
- The Niña and the Pinta were caravels: small, light, able to sail almost against the wind. Not the biggest ships of the age: the best suited. The ocean is not defeated by force: it is defeated by the right design.
The glossary contains 32 entries in all
Inside this reader
CEFR adaptation
The text is fully rewritten for level A2, 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-A2 edition you mainly practise imperfetto versus passato prossimo, the simple future, direct and indirect pronouns. The vocabulary revolves around the sea, travel and discovery: the key words, with translations, are in the glossary below and recur throughout the text, so you learn them in context.
About the author: Colombo e Vespucci
Christopher Columbus (1451–1506), from Genoa, and Amerigo Vespucci (1454–1512), from Florence, described their crossings in letters and logbooks that changed the map of the world: and gave the continent the name of one of them.
Details and difficulty level
A2 is solid elementary Italian: still simple sentences, but with the imperfetto, the future tense and a wider vocabulary. This reader suits learners with a few months of Italian who want to finish their first complete story. Format: 6×9 paperback on cream paper or Kindle ebook; 20 chapters with footnotes, a final glossary and comprehension questions. All level A2 books →︎
Essential glossary (Italian · English · Dutch)
| Italian | English | Dutch |
|---|---|---|
| la nave | ship | het schip |
| l'oceano | ocean | de oceaan |
| la lettera | letter | de brief |
| la scoperta | discovery | de ontdekking |
| la tempesta | storm | de storm |
| l'isola | island | het eiland |
| la rotta | course | de koers |
| il mondo | world | de wereld |
Frequently asked questions
What level of Italian do I need to read Lettere di viaggio?
This edition of Lettere di viaggio is rewritten for CEFR level A2. A2 is solid elementary Italian: still simple sentences, but with the imperfetto, the future tense and a wider vocabulary. This reader suits learners with a few months of Italian who want to finish their first complete story.
Is this Colombo e Vespucci's original text?
No, it is an adaptation: the plot and spirit of Colombo e Vespucci's original remain, but vocabulary and syntax are rewritten for level A2, 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.
If you liked Lettere di viaggio, 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.
Not sure which level you are at? We work it out in ten minutes during a free introductory session: just get in touch. You can also browse all books at level A2.
Book a free introductionKeep learning with thuisitaliaans
Lettere di viaggio 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.
