The article deals with the relations between anthropology and literature in Italy. It shows how “high” literature has progressively replaced “popular” literature in anthropologists’ preoccupations. The book The Broken Fountain by Thomas Belmonte and the research at the University of Salerno have contributed towards renovating this field of studies on the anthropological side. On the literary side, Bakhtin’s influence has led specialists of literature to use some of the anthropologists’ reflections.