# What is Luigi Barzini's The Italians about? Canonical: https://zestasy.com/wiki/the-italians-barzini/ Section: Zestasy Wiki > Books & ideas · Updated: 2026-10-14 · Publisher: Zestasy *Zestasy Wiki: our reference answers. Checked for facts and sources; less curated than the magazine.* The Italians (1964) is the journalist Luigi Barzini's portrait of his own people, written for English-speaking readers: an affectionate, sharp-tongued attempt to explain the gap between Italy's charming surface and the realities underneath. Through anecdotes and a sweep of history, it looks at the Italian talent for appearances, improvisation and getting round problems, and at the divisions and difficulties those talents grew out of. Read it today as a brilliant period piece, not a field guide to modern Italy. Luigi Barzini was born in Milan in 1908 and died in Rome in 1984. The son of a journalist of the same name, he became a correspondent for the *Corriere della Sera* himself. According to [Wikipedia's page on him](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luigi_Barzini_Jr.), *The Italians* is his best-known book: a study of the Italian national character that introduced many English- and German-speaking readers to Italian life and culture. ## What it argues The book starts from the effect Italy has on visitors, who have been falling for it for centuries, and then asks what lies beneath the lively, seductive surface. [Penguin's description](https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/14338/the-italians-by-barzini-luigi/9780140145953) sums up the approach: a candid portrait of both strengths and weaknesses, built from anecdotes and a long view of history, from Machiavelli to Casanova to everyday social life. The big ideas, in plain words: - **Look behind the surface.** The whole book is an attempt to get past the glamorous image of Italy that visitors carry home, and to show the everyday realities behind it. - **Ingenuity and difficulty go together.** Penguin's description pairs the country's divisions, injustice and poverty with its cultural achievements and its talent for working around problems. Our page on the Italian idea of [arrangiarsi](https://zestasy.com/wiki/what-arrangiarsi-means/) looks at one of them from a modern angle. - **Strengths and weaknesses in one portrait.** Barzini refuses to separate the delightful from the frustrating, and that refusal is what gives the book its edge. ## How it reads now **The good.** Barzini writes beautifully, with irony, erudition and a storyteller's timing. Whole chapters read like the best kind of dinner conversation with a well-travelled, slightly mischievous host. The historical sweep is impressive, and many observations still ring true. **What has dated.** The book was written in the early 1960s, and Italy has changed a great deal since. Generalising about a whole nation's character is also something modern readers rightly treat with caution. Italy is many regions and millions of different people, and a portrait of "the Italians" will always flatten that. Some of Barzini's sweeping lines will make you wince as much as smile. **The best way to read it.** Treat it as a classic of its kind, an insider's view of Italy at a particular moment, written with style. Then pair it with a more recent, more everyday view of Italian life, such as Tim Parks's [Italian Neighbours](https://zestasy.com/wiki/italian-neighbours-tim-parks/), and with Italian writers' own portraits of their families and places. ## Who will enjoy it - Readers who love Italy and want something smarter than a guidebook. - Anyone curious about how Italy was explained to the English-speaking world in the decades after the war. - Fans of essayistic nonfiction with firm views and good jokes. It suits less well if you want a current, balanced social study or practical advice on living in Italy. ## FAQ ### Did Barzini write anything else? Yes. His other books include *The Impossible Europeans* (1983), which turns his attention to Europe more widely. ### Is it offensive? It is frank and sometimes harsh, as much about Italy's weaknesses as its strengths, but it is written with obvious love. Its generalisations belong to its time. ### Is it a history book? Partly. It uses a great deal of history to explain the present of the 1960s, but it is closer to a long, opinionated essay. ### What should you read alongside it? For a novelist's view of change and continuity in Italian society, try our page on [The Leopard](https://zestasy.com/books/is-the-leopard-worth-reading/). ## Sources - [Wikipedia: Luigi Barzini Jr.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luigi_Barzini_Jr.) - [Penguin: The Italians by Luigi Barzini](https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/14338/the-italians-by-barzini-luigi/9780140145953) ## Related - [What does the Italian word arrangiarsi mean?](https://zestasy.com/wiki/what-arrangiarsi-means/) - [What is Tim Parks's Italian Neighbours about?](https://zestasy.com/wiki/italian-neighbours-tim-parks/) - [What was the Grand Tour?](https://zestasy.com/wiki/the-grand-tour/) - [Is The Leopard by Lampedusa worth reading?](https://zestasy.com/books/is-the-leopard-worth-reading/) - [What is Natalia Ginzburg's Family Lexicon about?](https://zestasy.com/books/natalia-ginzburg-family-lexicon/) - [All Books & ideas answers in the Wiki](https://zestasy.com/wiki/#books)