I Malavoglia

In a letter to his friend Salvatore Paolo Verdura, Verga states that I Malavoglia is the first in a cycle of five narrative works, the Ciclo dei Vinti, a "phantasmagoria of the struggle for life, which extends from the ragman to the minister and the artist".

La Duchessa de Leyra remained only a draft, while the last two novels planned for the Ciclo, L'Onorevole Scipioni and L'Uomo di Lusso, were not even started.

In the village of Aci Trezza in the Province of Catania lives the Toscano family, who, although extremely hardworking, has been nicknamed (for antiphrasis) the Malavoglia ("The Lazy Ones").

To try to make up for the loss of income which his absence will cause, Padron Ntoni attempts a business venture and buys a large amount of lupins.

Mena, because of the shameful situation of her sister, feels that she cannot marry Alfio, even though they love each other, and instead remains at home to care for Alessi and Nunziata's children.

Alessi, the youngest of the brothers, has remained a fisherman and with hard work manages to rebuild the family fortunes to the point at which they can repurchase the house by the medlar tree.

Having bought the house, what is left of the family visits the hospital where the old Padron Ntoni is being kept, to inform him of the good news and to announce his imminent return home.

A film based on the story of I Malavoglia, La Terra Trema (English: The Earth Trembles), was directed by Luchino Visconti in 1948.

In the book by Silvia Iannello Le immagini e le parole dei Malavoglia (Sovera, Roma, 2008) the author selects some passages of the Verga novel I Malavoglia, adds original comments and Acitrezza's photographic images, and devotes a chapter to the origins, remarks and frames taken from the film La terra trema.