Damashie no Kuni no Vanessa (Light Novel) - Recommendations

• Vol: 4
• 1972

• Vol: 4+; Ch: 36+
• 2022 - ?

The story takes place in ancient Rome. The main characters, Titus and Chloe, were attracted to each other, but the difference in status, Titus being the son of a nobleman and Chloe being his house slave, prevented them from seeing each other. However, when Titus lost his home and family in the great earthquake in Pompeii, Chloe married him and they moved to Rome together. Titus wants Chloe to enjoy her new life as a free citizen, but she ends up taking care of him because of the way she has felt for so many years. A romantic comedy about a newlywed couple.

• Vol: 1
• 2018

Italian architect Renzo Sabatini is a man adored for his gorgeous looks and talent. Darcy, a waitress, struggles to make sense of her casual romance with the billionaire. She tells herself it’s only physical, but the more they touch, the stronger her feelings grow. She knows they live in different worlds and that it’s time she wakes up from her dream. She tries to break it off with Renzo, but he isn’t ready to let her go—instead he whisks her away for a weeklong vacation in Italy!

• Vol: 1
• 2008

In Shakespeare’s enduring tale of ancient Rome, Julius Caesar is at the height of his powers—but there are men plotting his destruction. Is Caesar a tyrant or a dynamic leader? Are his enemies greedy or noble? 

• Vol: 1
• 1996

Born at the end of the 15th century in Italy during the Renaissance, Raffaello is regarded as the greatest painter of his period. Starting from the city of Urbino, he lived in Florence, met with Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, and worked for the papacy at Rome. Raffaello died at 37, yet he had a life of success, a life recounted in this manga.

• Vol: 1; Ch: 6
• 2011

Giacomo Foscari grew up in Venice in the 1930s and '40s, witnessing the rise and fall of Fascism in Italy. From a wealthy and well-educated family, as a child he loved history and mythology, eventually obtaining a degree in that field and a teaching position in Japan in the 1960s. Starting in 1993 with his return to Japan after a long absence, the story weaves seamlessly over Giacomo's mid-twentieth century memories of life in Italy and Japan. As he draws parallels between Ancient Rome and traditional Shinto-influenced Japan, people and places all seem connected in a certain way, with new acquaintances reminding him of those long lost, reopening doors to episodes of his own past. 

• Vol: 8; Ch: 63
• 2016 - 2019

• Vol: 3+; Ch: 11+
• 2022 - ?

Set in the Duchy of Milan at the end of the 15th century, a young surgeon questions the current medical practices and wants to learn more about human anatomy. He meets a painter who shares the same interest, a man who will later become known as Michelangelo.

• Vol: 13; Ch: 106
• 2005 - 2021

Bookish and naive, Angelo da Canossa is unprepared for life as a student in a university that hums with tension and intrigue in Renaissance Italy. Will his innocence remain intact when a chance encounter with the charismatic Cesare draws him ever deeper into the darker side of the Renaissance?

• Vol: 23
• 1998 - 2005

This is about a girl who lives in Renaissance Italy who had the talent of a great artist. Without any formal training, her paintings were beyond beautiful. However, that was a time period where women are viewed as inappropriate to become a painter. But, she perseveres and becomes an artist who is recognize by likes of Michangelo, and Leonardo da vinci.