The Little World of the Past

The Little World of the Past (Italian: Piccolo mondo antico, lit. 'Little Ancient World'), also known in English under the titles Little Ancient World and The Patriot, is an 1895 novel by the Italian writer Antonio Fogazzaro. It was the author's most successful work and is considered to be his masterpiece. According to Martin Seymour-Smith, The Little World of the Past "is rightly considered one of the leading novels of the latter half of the nineteenth century: it is strong in characterization, brilliant in its use of dialogue, and, above all, delightful in its humour."

Fogazzaro finished the first draft in 1884, and spent the next decade revising it. The novel has an alpine backdrop, and is set in the 1850s during the Risorgimento. Fogazzaro modelled the two protagonists after his parents.