Summary
Summary of Cuore (Heart): An Italian Schoolboy's Journal
Key ideas
Key idea 1
A school diary teaches citizenship
Enrico Bottini is about eleven when he records a school year in Turin, from October to July. His pages follow what happens in class, on the street and at home. Alongside them come letters from his family and a tale read by his teacher each month.
Edmondo De Amicis brings these voices together because he believes a young nation needs kind, hard working and loyal citizens. Enrico's ordinary experiences become a way to explore how a child learns to care about other people.
Key idea 2
The classroom becomes a family
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Key idea 3
Each classmate reveals a different habit
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Key idea 4
Garrone makes kindness an active choice
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Key idea 5
Shame can lead to repair
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Key idea 6
Monthly tales connect courage with country
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Key idea 7
Worth does not depend on wealth
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Key idea 8
Home and school share a duty
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Key idea 9
Small acts build a good heart
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The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
Read the rest freeWho it’s for
For readers who love warm stories about school, family and friendship, and anyone curious about how Italy taught its children to be citizens.
What this book is
Cuore, which means Heart in Italian, is a school diary written by Edmondo De Amicis and published in 1886. It follows one year in the life of Enrico Bottini, a boy of about eleven who attends a public school in Turin. The year runs from October to July, and Enrico writes down what he sees in his class, in the street and at home.
De Amicis wrote it a quarter of a century after Italy became one country. He had been a soldier and a journalist, and he believed that a young nation needed citizens who were kind, hard working and loyal. So the book is more than a record of lessons and games. It gives the boy's pages together with letters from his father, mother and sister, and with a short tale each month read out by the teacher.
In this summary you will meet the main schoolmates, one by one, and learn what each one stands for. You will see how Enrico slowly learns from them, and how the adults around him push him to be better. You will also hear how the book is built and why readers have loved it and argued about it for well over a century. Let us begin on the first day of school, when Enrico walks in and sees his new class.
In this summary
- 1A school year begins in TurinFree
- 2Meet the boys who share the bench
- 3Garrone shows what kindness costs
- 4Franti and the wrongs of the class
- 5The teacher's tales of young patriots
- 6Poor boys, hard work and quiet courage
- 7Family, teachers and the duty to learn
- 8What the story is really about
- 9How the diary is built and told
Key point 1 of 9
A school year begins in Turin
The book opens on the first day of school in October. Enrico Bottini enters the third class of a public school in Turin, and his mother and his sister Silvia come with him as far as the door. He writes that the summer is over and he is sorry to lose the country air, but he is also curious about who will sit near him.
His teacher is Perboni, a man with a calm voice who never seems to lose his patience. He is new to Enrico, who had a different teacher the year before. On that first morning, Perboni tells them in a friendly way that he has no family of his own, and that the pupils are his family. He asks them to help each other like brothers.
Enrico describes the building, the noise of the corridor and the parents waiting outside. He sees the teacher of the lower class, a young woman with a red feather in her hat, who will become a favourite of the school. He also notices the boys who are new, including a boy from Calabria in the far south, whom the teacher introduces as a brother from a part of Italy that is very far from Turin.
The daily pattern of the school forms the frame of the book. Each day brings lessons, a walk home, news from the street and some small event. Enrico writes in his diary at home, and the entries are short at first.
From the start the diary has a purpose. Enrico's father tells him that he must write not only to remember but to understand. The reader soon sees that Enrico is a decent boy, but one who is easily distracted, sometimes proud and sometimes lazy. The year will be his school in more than one sense.
The setting matters too. Turin was the first capital of the new kingdom, and the city's streets, squares and monuments are part of the lesson. Italy is still young, and the book wants its children to feel that they belong to it.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Check yourself
How does Garrone use his strength?
Right. “Garrone is strong in body and in will, and he uses both to protect others.”Not quite. “Garrone is strong in body and in will, and he uses both to protect others.”
What is the main purpose of the teacher's monthly tales?
Right. “Each month the teacher reads the class a story, called the monthly tale, and these tales form the book's most direct lessons in love of country.”Not quite. “Each month the teacher reads the class a story, called the monthly tale, and these tales form the book's most direct lessons in love of country.”
Where does the book locate a person's real worth?
Right. “The common thread is that real worth is found in duty and care, not in rank.”Not quite. “The common thread is that real worth is found in duty and care, not in rank.”
Questions about Cuore (Heart): An Italian Schoolboy's Journal
What is Cuore about?
Cuore is the diary of Enrico Bottini, a schoolboy in Turin, over one school year. It mixes scenes of class life, letters from his family and short tales read by his teacher, all stressing kindness, duty and love of country.
Who is Franti in Cuore?
Franti is a classmate of Enrico who is cruel, mocks the teacher and laughs at the misfortune of others. He stands as the opposite of kind boys like Garrone, and later readers have studied him closely.
When was Cuore written and is it a true story?
Cuore was published in 1886 by Edmondo De Amicis. It is a work of fiction, but it draws on real life in Turin schools and on real events from the wars that led to Italian unity.
What does the title Cuore mean?
Cuore is Italian for heart. The title points to the book's main idea, that feeling for others, kindness and loyalty matter as much as learning, and that a good heart is the base of a good citizen.
Is Cuore hard to read?
No. The language is simple and the entries are short, so the book is easy to follow. Its earnest, moral tone and its patriotic tales are clear and often moving.
