Ernesto is sixteen years old and ready for life to begin. His curiosity leads him into an affair with an older man – the first step on his journey to adulthood. Full of tenderness, humour and warmth, Ernesto is a beautifully rendered coming-of-age story. Written in 1953, but not published until 1975, this is the great Italian poet's most personal and confessional novel, presented here for the first time in unexpurgated form.