Innocence by Penelope Fitzgerald

Beautiful Chiara is the last of the Ridolfi, a Florentine family of long lineage and eccentric habits. She is smitten with Salvatore, a brilliant but penniless doctor, a rational man who wants nothing to do with romance. This is the story of how these two—with the best intentions, the kindest of instincts, and the most meddlesome of friends—make each other wonderfully miserable inside.