Mediterraneo: Italian Mystery Graded Reader Set in Puglia (A2–B1 CEFR)

by Serena Capilli

Are you looking for a fun and rewarding way to make Italian words and phrases stick?

Reading a short story is a brilliant way to achieve this. When you read a simple Italian story, you get novel exposure to all the words, phrases, and grammar that you've studied, but in different contexts and through an engaging, adult story.

This is not only a way to immerse yourself in Italian but also to improve your Italian sentences, vocabulary, and grammar all at once.

Features of this

Easy Italian: This book is written in simple Italian and is designed for upper beginners and intermediate learners. The verb tenses mainly used are the presente, passato prossimo, imperfetto, and imperativo.

Common Italian Phrases: Using the 1000 most common Italian words and real-life dialogues that you are most likely to encounter when in Italy.

Bite-Sized Chapters with Bilingual Wordlist: Dive into each chapter within minutes and end with a list of words and phrases that will enhance your comprehension.

Exercises: At the end of the book, you'll find a set of recall activities for every chapter (quizzes, translations, and writing prompts). All of them have been designed to help you retain the vocabulary you have gone through in the chapters.

Modern Adult Mystery Set in Scenic Puglia: The mystery is set in one of the most beautiful regions of Puglia, specifically in Polignano a Mare, a picturesque Mediterranean village.


The Plot

Both Liam and Charlotte have remote jobs in Australia, so they decide to take a leap of faith to move to the idyllic Mediterranean countryside along the enchanting Puglia coastline. Their pursuit of the dolce vita dream takes a dark turn when they become embroiled in a murder investigation.

This story is designed for adult learners and can be used for self-study or in your Italian classes as valuable material to enhance your Italian conversation and vocabulary skills.

This book is a labor of love created by a certified Italian teacher with over 10 years of experience in teaching Italian as a foreign language.

FREE audiobook available for subscribers.

Genres: Italian Literature

129 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 29, 2023

About the author

Serena Capilli is an Italian author and certified language teacher (University of Venice) who has been helping adults learn Italian through comprehensible input since 2016. She writes fiction (garden readers) in simple Italian — and increasingly in Spanish and French — built around comprehensible input, so learners absorb the language naturally through engaging stories instead of grammar drills.
A polyglot who speaks seven languages, Serena is the creator of the Paguro Method and publishes under the Paguro Languages imprint, with more than a dozen titles and over 30,000 copies sold worldwide. Her books range from cozy mysteries to travel-set tales across Italy — Rome, Sicily, Venice, Bologna, and beyond — written for beginner to intermediate readers (A1–B1).
Based in Rome with Sicilian roots, she also hosts the Piazzetta Italiana slow-Italian podcast and runs Italian Pills, a brand and newsletter for English-speaking learners. Find her books and free resources at italianpills.com.

Reviews

[Stephen Barker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un libro buono!

it’s a simple story, but I found it really helpful for my Italian. Perfect for my A2-B2 level. It includes plenty of translation and explanation. I will be buying more of Serena Capilli’s books.

[Clayton · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stelli

il libro ha un buon mistero ed esercizi.

[Konrad Plechowski · Rating 2 out of 5]

Way too short, much shorter than similar books of this type

[DJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

fun story

Easy read with many colloquial phrases. Good for B1 level readers, easy for B2. I will read more from this author.