Context :

Aims : We report on recent optical observations of the stellar and the nebular remnants of 22 southern post-novae .

Methods : In this study , for each of our targets , we obtained and analysed long-slit spectra in the spectral range 3500–6600 Å and in H \alpha + [ N II ] narrow-band images .

Results : The changes in the emission lines ’ equivalent widths with the time since the outburst agree with earlier published results of other authors .
We estimated an average value \alpha = 2.37 for the exponent of the power law fitted to the post-novae continua .
Our observations clearly show the two-component structure of the V842~Cen expanding nebulae , owing to the different velocities of the ejected matter .
We discovered an expanding shell around V382~Vel with an outer diameter of about 12 \arcsec .

Conclusions :