Story of the Young Italian by Washington Irving. Short summary

5 seconds

The owner of the castle tells his guests a sad story about a young Italian whose portrait is in his collection.

1 minute

A wealthy baronet, the master of the castle, tells his guests the sad story of a young Italian.

The protagonist of the story was born in Naples, in a noble but impoverished family. From a young age, the boy developed a passion for music. When the boy’s mother died, he was taken to a monastery, but he did not want to be a clergyman. Without waiting for his father, the hero fled to Genoa.

In Genoa the young Italian found himself in the workshop of an artist, who saw in the young man a talent for painting.

Once he fell in love with the beautiful Bianca, but his love did not bring him happiness. Fanning passion for the only woman he loves, he leaves her defenseless for many years, and then he kills her husband.

After telling the story, the baronet offered to show his guests a portrait of the unfortunate young man, but shows a very different picture. The master of the castle ironically observes their reaction and reasoning about the mysterious picture, which they have never seen.