In Calvino's "Invisible Cities," there are eleven categories which include different cities. What are the reasons for the names of the categories?

Italo Calvino's works are generally fabulist. Fabulism, broadly speaking, is a form of magical realism in which fantastical elements are placed in an everyday setting.

That being said, Invisible Cities is less a catalogue of cities than a reimagining of cities, or a conjuring of places which reflect and/or contort certain concepts. Marco Polo is not really giving Kublai Khan a detailed account of his own empire, and the great Emperor is quite aware of...

Italo Calvino's works are generally fabulist. Fabulism, broadly speaking, is a form of magical realism in which fantastical elements are placed in an everyday setting.

That being said, Invisible Cities is less a catalogue of cities than a reimagining of cities, or a conjuring of places which reflect and/or contort certain concepts. Marco Polo is not really giving Kublai Khan a detailed account of his own empire, and the great Emperor is quite aware of this ("'Your cities do not exist'" [pg. 59]). Rather, the two men are discussing ideas and possibilities; they are creating an imagined empire, and trying to formulate a rudimentary logic of cities and places ("'I have also thought of a model city...'" [pg. 69]). The dream-like quality of the conversations only adds to a general sense of confusion, reflection, and story-telling.

It follows, then, that the category names aren't explicitly tied to the stories and their subject matter. Rather, they are up for interpretation; depending on how you see it, they can contradict, enhance, or question the stories. They can also provide a framework by which to group stories. For example, the story of Baucis ("Cities & Eyes") tells the tale of a city whose inhabits live high up on "stilts" and look down on the world "with spyglasses and telescopes" (77). 

Does the story of Baucis speak, in some way, to human vision? Are the inhabitants of Baucis purposefully myopic? How come? It is also interesting to note that the city of Phyllis, which also occurs under "Cities & Eyes," is a place where "Millions of eyes loop up at windows, bridges, capers, and they might be scanning a blank page" (91). Are the stories of Baucis and Phyillis in agreement over their treatment of sight? Or are they in conflict? The possibilities are endless. 

I hope this helped!