Edmondo De Amicis (1846-1908) was an Italian writer, novelist, poet, journalist and freemason. His best-known book, Cuore , a children's novel translated into English as Heart, was an absolute best seller in Italy for over a hundred years and is still today considered one of the masterpieces of Italian literature. The Edmondo De Amicis’ story A Great Day ( Un gran giorno ), which we propose to our readers today, was first published in 1872 in the collection Novelle . Translated into English by Edith Wharton, it was included in 1898 in the collection in ten volumes Stories by Foreign Authors , published by Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. It is an Italian story, set in the last phase of national independence, when Rome was reunited with the Kingdom of Italy.