A popular novel

A recurring question in the romantic polemic against the traditionalists and classicists concerned the readers and genres of the new literature. The new reading public was perceived as the “people” (mainly the productive middle-classes), and among the new genres, the novel was identified as the one most suited to those classes. With his story of two humble silk-weavers trusting in Providence who develop to the point of achieving prosperity in an industrial enterprise, Manzoni produced the greatest achievement in the cultural project of Italian Romanticism, and a popular novel with the attributes of “true”, “useful” and “interesting” that he himself had theorized in his letter On Romanticism. Nonetheless, even Manzoni may not have suspected that the Promessi Sposi would become what was perhaps the most popular novel in Italy for many decades, although he did know that he would have rather more than the “twenty-five” readers he frequently and ironically alludes to in his novel. Even with the first edition, a popular tradition emerged, especially among the peasant classes, in which the novel was used and interpreted in dancing, feasts, collective readings and in dramatizations with educational and didactic purposes (an ongoing tradition in the villages around Lecco, on Lake Como, where the novel was set). The many transpositions of the novel into the other arts are a clear indicator of the novel’s lasting popularity and success, including painting (with artists ranging from D’Azeglio to Guttuso, and a popular tradition of prints, postcards and cut-outs for children), opera, theatre, films and TV. The first adaptation for the cinema appeared in 1914, and in 1941 Mario Camerini directed a well-known feature film version.