Trama e riassunto di Lo cunto de li cunti, overo Lo trattenemiento de peccerille (Il Pentamerone)

A chi è rivolto

You will love this book if you enjoy fairy tales in their earthy, original forms, with sharp humor and sudden magic. It suits lovers of folklore and anyone curious about where these stories began.

Che cos’è questo libro

What would you do if a stranger's curse told you where your true love lies?

Stories from the Pentamerone was written by Giambattista Basile, a poet and courtier from Naples, who died in 1632. He gathered fairy tales that old women once told to children. Here are early versions of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Puss in Boots and Rapunzel, with ogres, fairies and rascals.

Questions about Lo cunto de li cunti, overo Lo trattenemiento de peccerille (Il Pentamerone)

What is Stories from the Pentamerone about?

It is a collection of fairy tales set within a frame story. A prince asks ten women to tell tales to his wife, a slave who stole Zoza's place. The tales feature ogres, fairies, cats, princes and clever girls.

Which famous fairy tales come from the Pentamerone?

Early forms of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Puss in Boots, Rapunzel and Hansel and Gretel appear in these pages. Basile's versions are livelier and stranger, with different names, tests and endings.

Who wrote the Pentamerone and when?

Giambattista Basile, a poet and courtier from Naples, wrote it in the early seventeenth century. He died in 1632. The tales draw on folk stories told in southern Italy, retold in a rich, playful style.

What does the word Pentamerone mean?

It means a work of five days. The full collection of tales is told over five days in the Prince's garden, with a group of women each telling one story. This selection follows that frame.

Is the Pentamerone easy to read?

Each tale is short, with a clear plot, vivid characters and a proverb at the end. The jokes, lists and lively images keep the pace moving, so you can read one story at a time.