Italian Fairy Tales

Immerse yourself in a fairy-tale world of sunny Italy, where the fates of the heroes are determined not by force, but by the kindness of the heart, cleverness, and faith in miracles. This book brings together twelve of Luigi Capuana’s fairy tales (1839—1915) — the Italian writer who breathed new life into ancient folklore plots. It is a world where curses turn princesses into weightless feathers, kings into deafening thunder; where a magical skillet cooks dinner by itself, and ordinary people take on terrible witches, man-eaters, and treacherous villains.

Translated by Maria Andreeva, edited by Maxim Gorky. The text is complemented by black-and-white illustrations by Konstantin Spassky, Enrico Mazzanti, and Eugenio Cecconi.