The Beautiful Summer

The Beautiful Summer is a novel by Italian author Cesare Pavese, first published in Italian as La bella estate in 1949.
The book is an account of juvenile love, hope and defeat in 1930s northern Italy. It comprises three novellas: the eponymous The Beautiful Summer, The devil in the Hills and Women on Their Own.
The book won the Strega Prize, the most prestigious Italian literary award, in 1950. It was released in English by Peter Owen in 1955, and rereleased by Penguin European Writers in 2018.
Le amiche, a 1955 Italian film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, is based on the last novella of the book.
The Beautiful Summer, a 2023 Italian film directed by Laura Luchetti, is based on the first novella of the book.