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Graded readings to learn Italian

Stories, fables and articles in Italian for every level, from A1 to C1. Each text has useful words, questions and a free PDF. Choose your level or browse all the readings.

Emma in ItalyScienceTechnologyCultureHistoryFables
EM

Emma in Italy

Emma arrives in Italy and discovers, day after day, the rules nobody explains: at the bar, on the train, at the market, at the table. Each episode is an A1 or A2 story with one structure to learn.

Emma at the counter of a bar in Rome looks at a glass of cold milkEmma in Italy · A1 · A2

At the bar in Italy

Emma asks for “un latte” and gets a glass of cold milk: how to really order at an Italian bar.

Read the story →Emma validates her train ticket at an Italian station, next to the platformEmma in Italy · A1

The train ticket

Emma has her ticket to Pisa. But a man with a dog shouts: “Deve timbrare!”

Read the story →Emma in front of a fruit and vegetable stall at a market in FlorenceEmma in Italy · A1

At the market

Emma picks up a strawberry. “No, no, signorina! Non si tocca!”

Read the story →Emma in front of the closed window of a ceramics shop in a Tuscan squareEmma in Italy · A1

Closed for lunch

At one o’clock the village is empty. Where is everyone? And who is the man with the hat?

Read the story →Emma in a scarf in front of a pharmacy with a glowing green crossEmma in Italy · A1

A sore throat on Sunday

Sunday, a sore throat, the pharmacy is closed. And an Italian friend with a theory about wet hair.

Read the story →Emma at the table with an Italian family and a smiling grandmother, in front of a plate of tagliatelle with tomato sauceEmma in Italy · A1

Grandma’s lunch

Two plates of tagliatelle: Emma is full. But grandma brings… the second course.

Read the story →Emma with a bunch of sunflowers at the door of an Italian apartment in the eveningEmma in Italy · A1

Dinner at eight

Emma wants to bring flowers to dinner. The florist: “I crisantemi? No, signorina!”

Read the story →Emma in pyjamas in the bathroom looks curiously at the bidet next to the sinkEmma in Italy · A1

The mysterious sink

In Emma’s bathroom there is a low, mysterious sink. Is it for children? For the dog?

Read the story →Emma on the sofa laughs as she looks at a box of old black-and-white photos with the grandmother; behind them, the grandfather in an armchairEmma in Italy · A2

The grandparents’ photos

In the old photos the children are all dressed the same. And after Carosello… off to bed!

Read the story →Emma and Chiara on a station platform at dawn, coffee in hand, waiting for the trainEmma in Italy · A2

The perfect plan

Emma has a perfect plan for Venice. Then Chiara reads one word on her phone: strike.

Read the story →
SC

Science

A young woman sitting at a wooden table by the window, her chin resting on her hand, looking into the distance, lost in thought; in front of her an open notebook and her phoneScience · B1 · B2 · C1

Lost concentration (and how to get it back)

A notification distracts us even when we do not look at it. Why it happens and how to take our attention back.

Read the article → A bridge of reddish ants holding onto one another, hanging between two green leaves in the forestScience · A1 · B1 · B2

The ants that build bridges with their own bodies

In front of a gap they grab onto one another and become a living bridge, with no leader at all.

Read the article → A small transparent jellyfish with a red stomach in the centre floats in the blue sea waterScience · A1 · A2 · B1

The jellyfish that becomes young again

When it is old or ill it does not die: it becomes young again. And it can do it more than once.

Read the article →A pink axolotl with feathery gills on the sides of its head rests on the sand at the bottom of the waterScience · A1 · A2 · B2

The axolotl: it regrows its legs and stays young for ever

If it loses a leg, a new one grows back. And it never becomes an adult.

Read the article →A monarch butterfly with open orange and black wings resting on a pink milkweed flowerScience · A2 · B1 · B2

The monarch butterfly: a journey four generations long

No butterfly makes the whole journey. Yet the last one finds the way to Mexico on its own.

Read the article →A dark swift with long narrow wings flies in the blue sky above the roofs of an Italian townScience · A1 · A2 · B1

The swift: ten months in flight without ever landing

It eats, drinks and sleeps in flight. Some stay in the air for ten months without ever landing.

Read the article → A brown beaver sitting on a riverbank gnaws a branch, its orange teeth clearly visibleScience · A1 · A2 · B1

The beaver: the engineer with orange teeth

Its teeth never stop growing. And one of its dams in Canada is 850 metres long.

Read the article → A brown platypus swims in a clear river, with its flat bill and webbed feetScience · A1 · A2 · B1

The platypus: the animal made from other animals’ parts

It lays eggs, has a bill and its milk comes out of its fur. In 1799 it was taken for a fake.

Read the article → A spider web covered in dew drops in the morning light, with a small spider in the centreScience · A1 · B1 · C1

Spider silk: stronger than steel? Yes and no

Stronger than steel? Only half true. But some spiders stretch their webs over rivers, and baby spiders fly on electricity.

Read the article →A small, shiny green hummingbird hovers in front of a red flower, its wings moving very fastScience · A1 · A2

The hummingbird: 1,200 heartbeats a minute and an almost icy sleep

Its heart beats 1,200 times a minute. At night it drops to 40, and its body almost to 3 degrees.

Read the article →A black crow on a branch stares at a rubber mask lying on a park benchScience · A2 · B1

Crows never forget a face (and they tell the others)

They saw a mask only once. For years they chased it, screeching, and they taught the young ones to do the same.

Read the article →A silver eel swims in the deep blue ocean among many tiny transparent larvaeScience · A2 · C1

The mystery of the eel: where is it born? No one has ever seen it

Aristotle thought it was born from mud. Freud dissected four hundred. Still today, no one has seen one being born.

Read the article →A small brown frog covered in frost, motionless among frozen dry leaves in a winter forestScience · A1 · B1

The frog that turns to ice in winter (and wakes up in spring)

In winter its heart stops and its body turns to ice for months. In spring the frog starts again.

Read the article → A great spotted woodpecker in front of a mossy tree trunk; a transparent drawing shows its tongue wrapping around the skullScience · A1 · A2 · B2

The woodpecker: twenty pecks a second and no headache

Twenty pecks a second against a tree, a tongue that wraps around its skull. And a secret discovered only in 2022.

Read the article → A red octopus climbs out of a glass tank and stretches an arm towards a pipeScience · A1 · A2

The octopus: three hearts, nine brains and blue blood

Three hearts, blue blood and a small brain in every arm. All true.

Read the article →A tardigrade, the water bear, walks on a strand of green mossScience · A2 · B1

The water bear: the animal that survives (almost) everything

It came back alive from space and from thirty years in a freezer. But it has a weak spot.

Read the article →Tree roots connected by thin white fungal threads under the soil of a forestScience · B2 · C1

The Wood Wide Web: do trees talk underground?

Do mother trees feed their young through fungi? A beautiful story. Then someone went to check.

Read the article → Cards, mind maps and images to remember new wordsScience · A2 · B1

Memory techniques

Simple strategies to remember new words and study better.

Read the article →A dolphin underwater uses sound waves to orient itselfScience · A2 · B1

Dolphin sonar

How dolphins use sound to orient themselves and find food.

Read the article →A tiny planthopper on a leaf and, magnified, the pair of toothed gears at the base of its hind legsScience · A2 · B1

The insect with gears

Two real gears in the legs of an insect a few millimetres long.

Read the article →Bowls of lentils, chickpeas, beans, quinoa, almonds and cubes of tofu on a wooden tableScience · B1 · B2

Protein: how much do we really need

Quantity, quality, sport, diets and price: the real numbers about protein.

Read the article →A scoop of white powder, a shaker bottle, a glass of beetroot juice, an espresso cup and a dumbbell on a wooden tableScience · B1 · B2

Gym supplements: what works

Creatine, caffeine, protein and pre-workouts: doses, evidence, risks and prices.

Read the article →A brain with light connections and images of memoriesScience · B2 · C1

How human memory works

A simple journey between attention, memories and forgetfulness.

Read the article →Bees on a honeycomb in a meadow with a trace of dance in the airScience · A2 · B1

Bees: characteristics and language

Hive life, bee dance and fascinating information.

Read the article →Breast milkScience · B2 · C1

Breast milk

How breast milk changes and what colostrum is.

Read the article →The DNA double helix coils and folds into the nucleusScience · B2 · C1

The wonder of DNA

Two meters of DNA in a tiny nucleus: how it is folded, copied, corrected and read.

Read the article →
TE

Technology

A bright digital figure in a modern city with symbols of opportunity and riskTechnology · B1 · B2 · C1

The future of artificial intelligence

Benefits, dangers and opinions on a technology that changes the world.

Read the article →
CU

Culture

In the entrance hall of an old building, two teenagers read aloud to an elderly man sitting next to a bookshelfCulture · A2 · B1

The library in the entrance hall

The rules forbid it, the neighbour says no. Then, at the meeting, Mr Bruno stands up.

Read the article → Ingredients for preparing a pizza on a kitchen tableCulture · A1 · A2

How to prepare a pizza

Ingredients, steps and useful words to talk about Italian cuisine.

Read the article →
ST

History

Lemons, ledgers and old prints from nineteenth-century SicilyHistory · B1 · B2 · C1

The history of the mafia in Italy

The origins in the 1800s, the four mafias and the real numbers.

Read the article →
FA

Fables

A dog with a bone near a riverA1 · A2 · B1

The dog and the bone

Greed and appearances.

Read the full story →A little mouse frees a lion from a netA1 · A2 · B1

The Lion and the Mouse

Kindness, gratitude and mutual help.

Read the full story →A fox looks at a bunch of grapes that are too tallA1 · A2 · B1

The fox and the grapes

Desire, pride and disappointment.

Read the full story →A cicada sings while some ants collect foodA1 · A2 · B1

The cicada and the ant

Work, future and solidarity.

Read the full story →A country mouse and a city mouse meet between bread, ears of corn and an elegant tableA1 · A2 · B1

The city mouse and the country mouse

Simplicity, richness and freedom.

Read the full story →A miller and his son walk with a donkey while some people observe them along a country roadA1 · A2 · B1

The miller, his son and the donkey

Judgments, common sense and freedom to choose.

Read the full story →Three little pigs near straw, wood and brick houses while a wolf watches from afarA1 · A2 · B1

The wolf and the three little pigs

Prudence, work and preparation.

Read the full story →A hare runs while a tortoise advancesA1 · A2 · B1

The hare and the tortoise

Consistency, talent and discipline.

Read the full story →A shepherd boy shouts near the sheep on a hillA1 · A2 · B1

The lying shepherd boy

Truth, reputation and trust.

Read the full story → An emperor parades among his courtiers while a child points to his nonexistent clothesA1 · A2 · B1

The Emperor's New Clothes

Pride, conformity and the courage to tell the truth.

Read the complete fairy tale →A young white swan looks at its reflection in a pond while three swans swim towards itA1 · A2 · B1

The Ugly Duckling

Everyone says he is ugly. One spring morning he looks into the water and does not recognise himself.

Read the complete fairy tale →An eagle flies in the sky carrying two happy antsA1

The Little Ant Wow

Looking up, even when others laugh.

Read the complete fairy tale →
B1

B1 readings

Intermediate texts: telling stories in the past, explaining why, giving advice.

Memory techniquesDolphin sonarThe insect with gearsBees: characteristics and languageProtein: how much do we really needGym supplements: what worksThe future of artificial intelligenceThe history of the mafia in ItalyThe water bear: the animal that survives (almost) everythingSpider silk: stronger than steel? Yes and noCrows never forget a face (and they tell the others)The frog that turns to ice in winter (and wakes up in spring)The platypus: the animal made from other animals’ partsThe beaver: the engineer with orange teethThe jellyfish that becomes young againThe monarch butterfly: a journey four generations longThe swift: ten months in flight without ever landingThe ants that build bridges with their own bodiesLost concentration (and how to get it back)The Ugly DucklingThe library in the entrance hallThe Emperor's New ClothesThe dog and the boneThe Lion and the MouseThe wolf and the three little pigsThe miller, his son and the donkeyThe lying shepherd boyThe city mouse and the country mouseThe cicada and the antThe hare and the tortoiseThe fox and the grapes
B2

B2 readings

Upper-intermediate texts: arguing, comparing, giving opinions with the congiuntivo.

C1

C1 readings

Advanced texts: complex sentences, precise vocabulary, the passive and the congiuntivo imperfetto.

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