He began his literary career with Miranda, a poetical romance (1874), followed in 1876 by Valsolda, which, republished in 1886 with considerable additions, constitutes perhaps his principal claim as a poet.

His novels, Malombra (1882), Daniele Cortis (1887), Misterio del Poeta (1888), obtained considerable literary success upon their first publication, but did not gain universal popularity until they were discovered and taken up by French critics in 1896.

His most popular novel, Piccolo Mondo Antico (variously titled in English as The Patriot or The Little World of the Past).

The novel is set in the 1850s in Valsolda, a small community on the shores of Lake Lugano where he spent most of his life.

Piccolo Mondo Antico has delightful evocations of the landscape, and strong characterizations which reveal the inner psychological turmoil of the characters.