The Betrothed: I Promessi Sposi
SynopsisPlot
Set in Lombardy during the Spanish occupation of the late 1620s, The Betrothed tells the story of two young lovers, Renzo and Lucia, prevented from marrying by the petty tyrant Don Rodrigo, who desires Lucia for himself. Forced to flee, they are then cruelly separated, and must face many dangers including plague, famine and imprisonment, and confront a variety of strange characters—the mysterious Nun of Monza, the fiery Father Cristoforo and the sinister "Unnamed"—in their struggle to be reunited.
Story
About this book
Alessandro Manzoni's The Betrothed is set in Lombardy during the late 1620s, when the region was under Spanish rule. The story follows Renzo and Lucia, two young people whose planned marriage is blocked by Don Rodrigo, a local tyrant who wants Lucia for himself. The couple is forced to flee their home and soon find themselves separated, each facing a different set of dangers across northern Italy.
Their paths cross with a cast of distinct figures: Father Cristoforo, a passionate friar who tries to protect them; the Nun of Monza, whose history is shadowed by secrecy; and a powerful figure known only as the Unnamed. Meanwhile, the broader world presses in. Plague and famine sweep through Lombardy, and Manzoni draws on historical records of the 1630 Milan plague to ground his fiction in documented events.
First published in Italian between 1825 and 1827, the novel became central to the development of modern written Italian. Manzoni revised the language extensively for a later edition, aiming for a Florentine-based standard. The book sits within the tradition of European historical fiction and remains widely read in Italy, where it is a standard part of school curricula.
