Upper-intermediate Italian books (level B2)
At B2 you can meet the great classics almost on their own terms. These readers keep the complex syntax, the past subjunctive, the passive and indirect speech (in controlled doses) while footnotes and a glossary carry you over the hardest passages. This is the level where reading in Italian stops being an exercise and starts being literature.
On this page: I promessi sposi: the novel every Italian read at school; Il Milione: Marco Polo's travels in short chapters; La giovinezza di Cesare: young Julius Caesar in Sulla's Rome; La città del Sole: a Renaissance utopia told in one night's dialogue; Il Sidereus Nuncius: Galileo pointing the first telescope at the sky; La Vita Nuova: Dante's love for Beatrice, in prose and verse.
The level B2 books
What you can do at each level
| Level | What you can do in Italian | Books |
|---|---|---|
| A1 | Introduce yourself, ask simple questions, follow short sentences spoken slowly. | 4 in paperback |
| A2 | Talk about your day and your past, get by in shops and on a trip. | 5 in paperback |
| B1 | Tell a story, give your opinion, follow the main points of a conversation. | 5 in paperback |
| B2 | Discuss abstract topics, follow most films and the news, write a clear argument. | 5 in paperback |
| C1 | Read long literary texts, notice tone and register, speak fluently at work. | 2 in paperback |
| C2 | Understand almost everything, catch fine nuances, read any original. | The originals |
Is B2 your level?
Take the free level test: grammar, reading and vocabulary, no sign-up. Then read the free Amazon sample of one of the B2 books: if you understand about 90% without a dictionary, you are in the right place. If you stop on almost every line, try the B1 books.
Questions about the B2 books
How long are the B2 books?
107 to 156 pages in the 6×9 paperback, in 20 chapters, each followed by comprehension questions.
Which B2 book should I read first?
I promessi sposi, if you want the novel every Italian reads at school. For something lighter, Il Milione follows Marco Polo on his journey to the court of Kublai Khan.
Paperback or Kindle?
Both, on Amazon. The paperback is $9.99 on Amazon.com; prices vary by country. The links on this page open the paperback, and the Kindle edition is on the same Amazon page.
