Image from Penguin Classics version of Ann Radcliff’s book, The Italian. Image used under fair use for commentary purposes.
Since when I was a girl I used read a lot of books  and I’ve always had a natural preference for gothic novels.
And then one day, reading them carefully, I realized that very often the principal English authors of gothic literature  were inspired by the beautiful and mysterious atmosphere of Italy and  their characters are strong (and cruel) Italians.
Just a coincidence?
The first example I remember is surely The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole, a medieval tale of love, knights, horror and curses that features several twists and turns along the way, set in the awesome Puglia. But also The Story of One Forgotten by Marie Corelli that takes place in Naples in the late nineteenth century, and we can’t forget (although they’re not considered traditional examples of Gothic literature) all the tragedies that Shakespeare chose to set in Italy, like Othello or Romeo and Juliet.
Apparently Italy is often a source of inspiration for many macabre writers, but the English author that most of all loved to write about Italy  is certainly Ann Radcliffe, considered as the queen of the Gothic Novel.
Well, among her books set in Italy we can remember “Sicilian Story”, “The Mysteries of Udolpho” but first of all “The Italian”, considered one of the main Gothic novels in the literature scene.
Published in 1797, it’s considered one of Radcliffe’s most successful works.
Like the other works of the author, the novel presents a fairly dark and scary, good characters cruelly bullied by others without any moral twists and seemingly inexplicable mysteries, which are all explained in a rational way at the end of the story as in The Mysteries of Udolpho, other great book by the same author,
Set in 1764 in Naples, the Italian shows us the vicissitudes and trials to which is subjected the love of the two main characters, Vincent of Vivaldi and Elena of Rosalba. Vincenzo, in love with Elena at first sight, is determined to marry her and also gets the blessing of her aunt, with whom the young woman lives. The boy, however, belongs to a noble and rich family and his mother, the Marquise, is determined to prevent the marriage she considers unworthy of her son. Aided by devilish Monaco Schedoni, the woman kidnaps Elena, who is locked up in a convent. Vincent manages to free her but, just when the two lovers are about to get married, they are again divided by the intervention of the men of Schedoni. The Monaco door the girl in an isolated house to kill her, but at this point he discovers that Elena is actually his daughter, and decides to hide it in a safe place; Vincenzo is instead locked up in the prisons of the Inquisition. After a series of twists and unexpected discoveries of the young man is freed and Elena discovers the joy of being the only grandson of the evil Schedoni, which actually belongs to a noble family that Elena is a descendant. At this point the young man is worthy to marry Vincent, and the two lovers can finally come together and get married.
With The Italian Ann Radcliffe made his full stature as a writer. This is demonstrated not only improved the dialogue and the construction of the plot, but his bad Schedoni, is treated with an unusual psychological insight. The Italian, novel famous and oft-quoted (for example by Jane Austen) as an example of sentimental horror literature, in the center of the plot has the sinister misdeeds of Monaco Schedoni.
Of mysterious origin, but it is assumed that high-ranking, evil but not without a romantic melancholy, which is presumed due to the memory of unspeakable sins and passions now off, Schedoni is a romantic devil. And is therefore the founder of the tradition, typical of the Anglo-Saxon novel, to give every crime, every horror and every mystery to an Italian.
And the strong and lasting bond between Italy and Gothic literature is still as strong as ever.
Mariarita Cupersito
