I don't even have to think about it: "That branch of the Lake of Como, which turns toward the south between two unbroken chains of mountains, presenting to the

I don't even have to think about it: "That branch of the Lake of Como, which turns toward the south between two unbroken chains of mountains, presenting to the eye a succession of bays and gulfs, formed by their jutting and retiring ridges, suddenly contracts itself between a headland to the right and an extended sloping bank on the left, and assumes the flow and appearance of a river." That's the beginning of "I Promessi Sposi" (The Bethrothed) which is one of the most important books of italian literature, and IMO has one of the worst incipits ever written. And I feel the 1834 english version[0] is actually more readable than the original. [0] http://www.gutenberg.org/files/35155/35155-h/35155-h.htm http://www.gutenberg.org/files/35155/35155-h/35155-h.htm