The Light in the Piazza
by Elizabeth Spencerliterary work· published 1960
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The Light in the Piazza is an American novella by writer Elizabeth Spencer, published in 1960. This novella became Spencer's best known work of fiction. In 1953, American housewife Margaret Johnson and her mentally disabled 26-year old daughter Clara Johnson are on vacation in Florence, Italy. Clara is mentally disabled because of traumatic brain injury from an incident with a pony at age 10. The mother and daughter encounter a 20-year old Florentine, Fabrizio Naccarelli, in the Piazza della Signoria. Clara and Fabrizio quickly fall in love. In the past, Margaret had advised past young male suitors of Clara's condition after they had expressed romantic interest in her.
Adaptations (1)
The Light in the Piazza was adapted into a 1962 film.
Light in the Piazza1962 · film · 102 min · dir. Guy Green · IMDb ↗IMDb6.9A young American woman traveling in Italy with her mother is slender, blonde, beautiful and there is something charmingly naive about her. Fabrizio Naccarelli seems to always know where the mother and daughter will sightsee next. Signor Naccarelli is just as concerned about where this will lead as Mrs. Johnson is. Then she starts thinking that perhaps her daughter can be a wife of a wealthy young man in a society where all she has to do is look beautiful. What happens if Signor Naccarelli finds out who his prospective daughter-in-law really is?
