The Path to the Nest of the Spiders (1947), by Italo Calvino, is an early collection of his short stories, based on his experiences as a Resistance fighter against fascism in Italy during World War II.

Italian Folk Tales (1956), consisting of transcriptions of Italian folk tales from the oral tradition collected and retold by Italo Calvino, has become a definitive text, equivalent to Grimm's collections of German folktales.

If on a Winter's Night a Traveler (1981), Calvino's well-known novel, experiments with narrative techniques and the art of storytelling.

Six Memos for the Next Millenium (1988), by Italo Calvino, includes five of the six lectures that the author had been preparing at the time of his death. These essays include the topics of lightness, quickness, visibility, and multiplicity.

Why Read the Classics? (1999) by Italo Calvino, published posthumously, provides history and criticism of classic international...