“Then, all of a sudden, those pea-green lawns where the first scarlet poppies were flowering, those canary-yellow fields which striped the tawny hills sloping down to a sea full of azure glints, all seemed so trivial to me, so banal, so false, so much in contrast with Ayl's person, with Ayl's world, with Ayl's idea of beauty, that I realized her place could never have been out here. And I realized, with grief and fear, that I had remained out here, that I would never again be able to escape those gilded and silvered gleams, those little clouds that turned from pale blue to pink, those green leaves that yellowed every autumn, and that Ayl's perfect world was lost forever, so lost I couldn't even imagine it any more, and nothing was left that could remind me of it, even remotely, nothing except perhaps that cold wall of gray stone.”

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About Italo Calvino

Italian novelist and short story writer of the 20th century, Calvino is best known for his inventive, playful exploration of narrative structure and his six-part *Six Memos for the Next Millennium*, a reflection on literature’s future. His works like *Invisible Cities* and *If on a winter’s night a traveler* blend fantasy, philosophy, and linguistic experimentation, offering insights into memory, time, and human connection.

More from Italo Calvino (155 quotes) →
"Then, all of a sudden, those pea-green lawns where the first scarlet…" — Italo Calvino | Daily Quotes