Examining the key works of Buzzati and Morante, Siddell looks at two coexisting and conflicting approaches: one which defined place as an outcome of individual perception, and another in which place is understood as an arrangement of locations separate from the individual. The progression of Buzzati's texts from plausible indications of location to perception-bound space is examined, as is Morante's use of enclosed spaces as the basis of a conceptualisation of elsewhere, paying attention to the contrast and interaction between opposing constructs of place.