Meeting in Positano
Italy

Meeting in Positano

by Goliarda Sapienza

Identity & Belonging Historical Fiction 2015

Summary

Meeting in Positano is a posthumously published autobiographical novel that recounts Goliarda Sapienza’s encounter with Erica, a young woman she meets in the picturesque coastal town of Positano in southern Italy. Despite their differences in age, background, and temperament, the two women form an intense and unexpected bond that challenges their assumptions about friendship, independence, and belonging.

Set against the sunlit landscapes and close-knit social world of postwar Italy, the novel explores the complexities of female relationships and the ways encounters with others can transform our understanding of ourselves. Sapienza reflects on freedom, loneliness, desire, and the tension between individual identity and social expectations. Her prose combines personal recollection with sharp observations of Italian society, revealing the emotional intensity beneath seemingly ordinary interactions. Both intimate and reflective, Meeting in Positano celebrates the unexpected connections that can emerge between women and the possibility of discovering new perspectives on life through another person’s presence.

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About the author
Goliarda Sapienza
Goliarda Sapienza

Goliarda Sapienza (1924–1996) was an Italian novelist, actress, and intellectual known for her bold explorations of freedom, sexuality, identity, and resistance to social conventions. Born in Catania, Sicily, into a politically engaged family, she developed an unconventional perspective on Italian society that shaped her experimental and autobiographical writing. Her most celebrated work, The Art of Joy (L’arte della gioia), follows the life of Modesta, a fiercely independent woman navigating power, desire, and social transformation in twentieth-century Sicily. Completed in 1976 but published in its entirety only after Sapienza’s death, the novel was initially rejected by Italian publishers before gaining international recognition. Her other works, including The University of Rebibbia (1983), draw on her personal experiences and challenge established ideas about morality, class, and women’s autonomy. Sapienza’s fearless storytelling and uncompromising vision have secured her a lasting place in contemporary Italian literature.

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Details
Published
2015
Author
Goliarda Sapienza