Aristocratic, rich and seemingly aloof, the Finzi-Contini family fascinate the narrator of this tale, a young Jew in the Italian city of Ferrara. But it is not until he is a student in 1938, when anti-semitic legislation is enforced on the eve of the Second World War, that he is invited into their luxurious estate. As their gardens become a haven for persecuted Jews, the narrator becomes entwined in the lives of the family, and particularly close to Micòl, their daughter. Many years after the war has ended, he reflects on his memories of the Finzi-Continis, his experiences of love and loss and the fate of the family and community in the horrors of war.

Giorgio Bassani's acclaimed novel of unrequited love and the plight of the Italian Jews on the brink of World War II has become a classic of modern Italian literature. Vittorio De Sica turned the book into a film in 1971, winning the Golden Bear at Berlin International Film Festival and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1972.