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Is it possible to imagine the universe? What does it mean to grasp, or attempt to grasp, the totality that surrounds us? What is at stake between the cosmos and the individual? Is there such a thing as an objective image of the universe, and what happens when different images of the universe are put into dialogue? This is a literature course. In our classes, we will look at these questions by testing the (im)possibilities of literature to help us making sense of the universe around us and our place in it. We will follow the works of various authors from the Italian tradition: Dante Alighieri, Ludovico Ariosto, Galileo Galilei, Giacomo Leopardi, Primo Levi, Oriana Fallaci, and Italo Calvino. Alongside our primary focus, we will also explore texts of authors in other literary contexts, such as Homer, Virgil, Lucretius, Farid al-Din Attar, Luis de Camoes, Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, John Milton, H. P. Lovecraft, Vicente Huidobro, and Jorge Luis Borges. Finally, we will analyze how contemporary scientists such as Guido Tonelli and Carlo Rovelli, among others, use literature to organize their scientific discourses.The texts we read grapple in various ways with the challenges of imagining a synthetic view of our universe. They invite us to engage with the cosmos - sometimes in an attitude of contemplation and enthusiasm, and other times with doubt and fear, but always with wonder. This course argues for the centrality of literature in helping us make sense of the universe today.