Italo Calvino Books in Order
28 books are credited to Italo Calvino, published between 1947 and 2021; 11 of them appeared after Italo Calvino's death in 1985. The first book is The Path to the Spiders' Nests (1947) and the newest is Last Comes the Raven (2021). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 28
- Published
- 1947–2021
- Pages on record
- 2,525 in 9 of 28 books
Italo Calvino was an Italian novelist and short story writer, and at the time of his death in 1985 the most translated contemporary Italian author. The Our Ancestors trilogy ran from 1952 to 1959. Cosmicomics, a collection of short stories, appeared in 1965; Invisible Cities came in 1972, and If on a winter's night a traveler in 1979. Calvino also assembled Italian Folktales (1956). The 28 catalogued titles begin with The Path to the Spiders' Nests (1947) and take in The Cloven Viscount, The Nonexistent Knight and Marcovaldo.
How many Italo Calvino books are there?
Italo Calvino has 28 books, released between 1947 and 2021. 11 of them were published after Italo Calvino's death in 1985. 3 of them belong to the Our Ancestors series.
Italo Calvino Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 28 Italo Calvino books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 1The Path to the Spiders' Nests1947 · 192 pages · confirmed 1/419471921/4
- 2Adam, One Afternoon1949 · 192 pages · confirmed 1/419491921/4
- 31952–1/4
- 4Into The War1954 · confirmed 1/41954–1/4
- 5Italian Folktales1956 · 763 pages · confirmed 1/419567631/4
- 6Difficult Loves1958 · confirmed 1/41958–1/4
- 71959–1/4
- 8The Watcher and Other Stories1963 · confirmed 1/41963–1/4
- 9Marcovaldo1963 · confirmed 1/41963–1/4
- 10Cosmicomics1965 · 153 pages · confirmed 1/419651531/4
- 11The Distance of the Moon1965 · 64 pages · confirmed 1/41965641/4
- 12T-Zero / Time and the Hunter1967 · confirmed 1/41967–1/4
- 13Invisible Cities1972 · 165 pages · confirmed 1/419721651/4
- 141977–1/4
- 15If On A Winter's Night A Traveler1979 · confirmed 1/41979–1/4
- 16The Uses of Literature1980 · confirmed 1/41980–1/4
- 17Mr. Palomar1983 · confirmed 1/41983–1/4
- 18Under the Jaguar Sun1986 · confirmed 1/41986–1/4
- 19The Road to San Giovanni1990 · confirmed 1/41990–1/4
- 20Why Read the Classics?1991 · confirmed 1/41991–1/4
- 21Numbers in the Dark1993 · confirmed 1/41993–1/4
- 22Hermit in Paris: Autobiographical Writings1994 · 272 pages · confirmed 1/419942721/4
- 23Ten Italian Folktales1995 · 84 pages · confirmed 1/41995841/4
- 24The Complete Cosmicomics1997 · confirmed 1/41997–1/4
- 25The Castle of Crossed Destinies1997 · confirmed 1/41997–1/4
- 26The Queen's Necklace2011 · confirmed 1/42011–1/4
- 27Italo Calvino: Letters, 1941-19852014 · 640 pages · confirmed 1/420146401/4
- 28Last Comes the Raven2021 · confirmed 1/42021–1/4
Italo Calvino books grouped by series
Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.
Our Ancestors in order
3 booksStandalone books
25 books25 Italo Calvino titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read Italo Calvino books in order?
You only need to read Italo Calvino books in order within the Our Ancestors series, which holds 3 of the 28 Italo Calvino books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.
Where to start with Italo Calvino
Start with The Path to the Spiders' Nests (1947), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Italo Calvino book?
Last Comes the Raven (2021) is the newest Italo Calvino book released so far.
Is there a new Italo Calvino book coming?
No next Italo Calvino book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Awards Italo Calvino has won
Wikidata records 2 awards and 1 nomination for Italo Calvino. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Austrian State Prize for European Literature1976Won
- Viareggio Prize1957Won
- Nebula Award for Best Novel1976Shortlistedfor Invisible Cities
Italo Calvino at a glance
- Died
- Italo Calvino died in 1985, according to Wikidata.
- After death
- Books credited to Italo Calvino are still being published after Italo Calvino's death in 1985; the newest appeared in 2021.
- Release pace
- Italo Calvino books have appeared about one every 3 years on average.
- Length
- 2,525 pages across the 9 of 28 books with a recorded length, a median of 192 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Italo Calvino books, 7 of 28, were published in the 1990s.
What the Italo Calvino books are about
8 of the 28 Italo Calvino books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: authors, italian is tagged on 2 of 8. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Authors, italian 2 of 8 books
- Italian Authors 2 of 8 books
- Romance literature 2 of 8 books