I NOSTRI ANTENATI | II EDIZ. 1960 | ITALO CALVINO

I nostri antenati is a trilogy by Italo Calvino that gathers three “fantastic-allegorical” novels: Il visconte dimezzato (1952), Il barone rampante (1957), Il cavaliere inesistente (1959). First published together as a single volume by Einaudi in 1960, it frames these stories around common themes of identity, individuality, imperfection, and the search for personal freedom. Calvino uses fantasy, historical mirage, and parable to explore human nature: a man split in two, a boy who rebels and lives forever in trees, a knight who literally does not exist except as role and armor. The writing juxtaposes irony, moral inquiry, lyrical imagination, and playful invention. This volume includes also the Nota 1960, in which Calvino reflects on the trilogy’s intent, its relation to modern life, and the nature of those “ancestors” we recognize in ourselves.