16 Best Italian Audiobooks for Language Learners
Italian audiobooks are an excellent tool to accelerate your language learning experience.
They combine authentic Italian audio with the useful context of books, making them the perfect material for practicing your Italian listening skills.
We’ve created a list of 16 excellent Italian audiobooks for every level, from authentic Italian narratives and stories to popular translated books and even some audio-based Italian courses.
Contents
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Italian Audiobooks for Beginners
1. “Easy Fast Italian for Travel and Eating”
Author: Mark Frobose
This Italian audiobook is perfect for those preparing for a culinary trip to Italy—or anyone who just wants a handle on basic conversational skills.
Whether it’s ordering food, asking basic cooking questions, or calculating the tip after a fabulous meal in Rome, this audiobook will give you the tools to do all that—and more!
With over 4 hours of audio, it contains plenty of content to give you a good foundation in the language before traveling.
2. “Power Italian Accelerated”
Author: Mark Frobose
Brought to you by the same author as our previous pick, “Power Italian Accelerated” is a bestseller that’s helped countless students learn Italian quickly and easily.
The audiobook contains 8 lessons, each an hour long with a total of 144 units. It’s a quick-moving book that’s designed for on-the-go learning.
While the pace may be challenging, you can always repeat units or entire lessons. You’ll also get a written listening guide and transcript for learning support.
3. “Short Stories in Italian for Beginners”
Author: Olly Richards
The short stories in this collection range from A2 to B1 levels on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and cover several genres, including science fiction, history and thriller.
The audiobook focuses on entertaining while teaching, so be ready to power up your vocabulary skills and learn authentic, everyday conversational skills.
The stories build upon each other, starting easier and gradually increasing in difficulty, catering to beginners and intermediate learners.
4. “Le avventure di Tom Sawyer”
English title: “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”
Author: Mark Twain
“The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” is an 1876 novel about the mischiefs of a boy who lived along the Mississippi River. It’s considered one of the masterpieces of American literature.
This account readily shows that Tom’s intrepid spirit isn’t lost in translation. Just like in the original version, you’ll feel the twinge of his daring escapes.
It’s a treasure-hunting adventure that continues to be enjoyed to this day. You’re sure to enjoy the engaging style of the narration done by actress Eleonora Calamita.
5. “Le avventure di Pinocchio”
English title: “The Adventures of Pinocchio”
Author: Carlo Collodi
Who’s not familiar with the beloved story of Pinocchio? He’s the talking wooden puppet who wanted to become a real boy.
Now that you’re learning Italian, don’t miss the chance to read (or, in this case, hear) this story in its original language! Follow the adventures of Pinocchio while also picking up Italian vocabulary along the way.
While it might be considered a children’s story, this one is great for anyone at the pre-intermediate level. The best part? It’s available for free!
6. “Wonder”
Author: RJ Palacio
“Wonder” is a best-selling children’s book that’s been a hit with readers of all ages. It’s also the inspiration for the acclaimed movie of the same title.
This story is about a child born with a facial difference. He’s starting school for the first time and just wants to be accepted by the other kids.
The book is intended for young readers, so the vocabulary, grammar and plot line make it a good option for pre-intermediate learners.
Italian Audiobooks for Intermediate Learners
7. “Il libro della giungla”
English title: “The Jungle Book”
Author: Rudyard Kipling
You’re probably already familiar with this story, either from the book or the Disney movie. It follows a boy raised by a pack of wolves who meets many memorable characters, including a tiger, panther and bear.
Here, you’ll have your Italian brought to another level by the artful use of descriptive language that will make you feel like you belong in the wild.
This book is appropriate for intermediate-level learners, or even upper beginners who want to push themselves.
8. “La Contessa di Karolystria”
English title: “The Countess of Karolystria”
Author: Antonio Ghislanzoni
This work was originally written in Italian. The author is an Italian novelist, journalist and poet who also wrote for the great Verdi.
Follow this tragicomedy of the Vicomte d’Aguilar and La Contessa di Karolystria as they escape from one misadventure only to start another.
The sentences in this audiobook are simple enough to follow so you can hone your listening comprehension. Plus, it’s offered free of charge on LibriVox.
9. “La Divina Commedia”
English title: “The Divine Comedy”
Author: Dante Alighieri
This epic narrative poem was also originally written in Italian. It depicts the medieval vision of the afterlife, commenting on man’s temporal and eternal destiny.
Many scholars consider it one of the foremost works of Italian literature and is thus a must-read for Italian language learners.
The work is approachable to intermediate learners despite its length because the lines are simply structured. It was written in the Tuscan dialect and played a pivotal role in the eventual standardization of the Italian language.
10. “Raccontini”
English title: “Tales”
Author: Alfonso Borello
This “Easy Italian Reader” is a collection of three short stories: “Il Banchetto” (The Banquet), “La Dieta Che Uccide” (The Diet That Kills) and “Perche’Noi” (Because We).
Narrated by the author himself, the stories cover very different topics and use simple vocabulary meant for intermediate learners to be able to follow easily.
Because they’re relatively short, you can easily repeat the stories if you don’t understand something. They’re also available individually, so you can try one to gauge your interest in this collection.
11. “Le Avventure di Alice Nel Paese delle Meraviglie”
English title: “Alice in Wonderland”
Author: Lewis Carroll
Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland” is a beloved classic that’s been tickling our imaginations for generations. It’s been translated into more than 97 languages!
In this Italian edition, you’ll go down the rabbit hole and meet not only strange and wonderful creatures, but also the rich Italian language—which is an adventure in and of itself.
This audiobook is appropriate for intermediate-level learners, especially if you’re already familiar with the story.
12. The Harry Potter Series
Author: J.K. Rowling
From the first book, “Harry Potter e la pietra filosofale” (“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”), all the way to “Harry Potter e i Doni della Morte” (“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows”), Audible’s got every Hogwarts adventure ready for Italian language listeners!
This series will provide you with hours and hours of listening material, so you won’t have to worry about finding a new resource anytime soon.
The books are approachable for intermediate learners and gradually increase in complexity as you progress through the series.
13. “Orgoglio e pregiudizio”
English title: “Pride and Prejudice”
Author: Jane Austen
This beloved classic is available as an Italian audiobook on Audible or for free on YouTube, where the story is divided into 2 parts (see part 2 here).
The story touches on the role of women in society in 19th-century England and whether it is important to marry for love or money.
This should be considered an intermediate-level book in any language. But with audiobooks, there’s the option to pause, check out any unfamiliar vocabulary and then continue with the story.
Italian Audiobooks for Advanced Learners
14. “Jane Eyre”
Author: Charlotte Brontë
“Jane Eyre” is fabulous in any language and Italian is no exception. The story is told in the first-person narrative and showcases family dynamics and emotional growth.
It’s a tale of hardship and endurance, with a timeless ending. Upper intermediate and advanced learners will have a lot to learn from this classic.
It offers 17 hours of audio, so you can sit back and enjoy the story over the course of numerous listening sessions.
15. “Lo strano caso del Dr. Jekyll e Mr. Hyde“
English title: “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”
Author: Robert Louis Stevenson
This is the captivating Italian reading of Stevenson’s classic about the good and bad struggling within the same person.
This work would be most appropriate for advanced learners. The original text is wonderfully rendered in Italian, so it’s a great opportunity to study how this piece’s phrases and sentences are artfully nested and structured.
It’s a thought-provoking piece and a great one to discuss with an Italian speaker after you listen!
16. “Piccole donne”
English title: “Little Women”
Author: Louisa May Alcott
This is the story of sisters Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy and how they deal with the different challenges in their lives.
The book covers about 15 years in the life of the March family of Massachusetts and details how poverty can shape goals and ideals.
Advanced learners should look for the linguistic nuances employed by the author to differentiate the characters in the novel. Notice how different vocabularies and phrases can shape each character.
Where to Find Italian Audiobooks
Audible
Audible, whose mission is “to unleash the power of the spoken word,” is owned by Amazon and houses the largest collection of audiobooks online.
Here you can find titles and genres that range from mysteries and thrillers to sci-fi and fantasy. They most definitely have an excellent collection of Italian audiobooks to regale and challenge every language learner.
iTunes
With a host of choices from music, movies, podcasts and pretty much all of your media, this is an excellent resource for Italian language learners—and iTunes offers a Mecca of audiobooks to last a lifetime.
Google Play
Google Play has a variety of audio Italian coursebooks for listening. Coursebooks are a great way to add some listening, pronunciation and vocabulary practice to any language program.
Despite being an Android-centric store, the audiobooks on Google Play are accessible on many devices via the apps, including computers and Android and iOS devices.
LibriVox
LibriVox is an open source for free Italian audiobooks.
It’s a non-profit literary organization comprised of volunteers who eagerly published classics for the public domain to be appreciated and studied by anyone.
Liber Liber
Liber Liber is a non-profit organization that aims to use technology to promote cultural and artistic expression—making learning media available for everybody.
With more than 4,100 audiobooks in their library, you’ll find many free Italian audiobooks of classics!
Languages Direct
You’ll have over 1,000 language products to choose from, including some excellent Italian audiobooks.
Libby App by OverDrive
The Libby app makes ebooks, audiobooks and magazines available for free through your local library. You can access the selection with your library card or through your workplace or university.
Once connected, just select “audiobook” for format and “Italian” for language to see what’s available. If you’re a K-12 student, you can use OverDrive’s Sora app to get ebooks and audiobooks through your school.
eBay
To locate audiobooks in Italian, simply type “Italian audiobooks” into the search bar at the top of the page—or just click the eBay link above to be taken straight there. It’s lots of fun to see what’s available!
YouTube
YouTube has a treasure trove of Italian audiobooks—and they’re all absolutely free! Simply type “Italian audiobooks” in the search bar and choose amongst your favorite stories to listen to in Italian.
If you want to squeeze even more Italian studies into your busy day, or just need a break from audio-only listening, you’ll enjoy using FluentU along with these audiobooks.
FluentU takes real-world videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons, as you can see here:
FluentU helps you get comfortable with everyday Italian by combining all the benefits of complete immersion and native-level conversations with interactive subtitles.
Tap on any word to instantly see an image, in-context definition, example sentences and other videos in which the word is used.
Access a complete interactive transcript of every video under the Dialogue tab, and review words and phrases with convenient audio clips under Vocab.
Once you've watched a video, you can use FluentU's quizzes to actively practice all the vocabulary in that video. Swipe left or right to see more examples of the word you’re on.
FluentU will even keep track of all the Italian words you’ve learned to recommend videos and ask you questions based on what you already know.
Plus, it'll tell you exactly when it's time for review. Now that's a 100% personalized experience!
The best part? You can try FluentU for free!
Start using the FluentU website on your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or Google Play store. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)
How to Learn Italian with Audiobooks
Here are some tips to get the most out of these audiobooks:
- Get a copy of the book or transcript whenever possible. At first, you can follow along with the text as you listen to the audio and see how the words and phrases interact and build on each other. Once you’ve developed your listening skills, you can just refer to the text when you get confused or hear a new word or expression. This is also great for learning proper spelling.
- Use pause and rewind often. You can do this on two levels. You can hit “pause” and repeat at that instant when you missed something, or you can hit that repeat button once you reach the end of a module or chapter. The key is to listen actively and improve your comprehension with repetition.
- Divide the material into chapters and subchapters. It’s always a good idea to divide your audiobook into manageable chunks and chapters. Don’t try to finish everything in one or two sittings. Don’t hurry the plot. Spread the material out and give yourself ample time to deal with the chapters.
- Practice your speaking skills. With interactive language learning audiobooks, the narrator will ask you to speak at certain points in the audio. Always participate in these exercises! For books and short stories, you can build in speaking practice by repeating dialogue or stepping in as one of the characters and responding to the others.
- Write down new vocabulary, examples and grammar rules. As you listen, take notes when you hear a new word or phrase or notice an example of a grammatical structure you’ve been learning. Writing about these language concepts adds another layer of insight into the language and helps you remember what you’ve learned.
With these Italian audiobooks, you’ll realize that it’s really an approachable language. Becoming closer to fluency has never been easier!
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
