Perfect holiday reading from Domenica de Rosa, author of the bestselling Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries under the pen name Elly Griffiths. A group of would-be authors retreats to Tuscany where they learn more than how to write better. Patricia O'Hara's carefully composed ads for the writers' retreat she runs promise so much. The splendour of the thirteenth century Italian castle and chef Aldo's melanzane never fail to wow the guests, but huge maintenance bills and bad news from the bank mean it's make or break time for the Castello. Each of her seven aspiring authors arrives with the inevitable baggage alongside their unpublished manuscripts. But this August something is different, and soon lifelong spinster Mary is riding on the back of Aldo's vespa, and smouldering odd-job man Fabio has set more than one heart racing. As temperatures rise, the writers gossip, flirt and gently polish their prose by the pool. But with ghosts, scorpions, and some unexpected visitors to contend with, one thing's for sure: neither the Castello, nor Patricia, has ever seen a summer like this. Previously published as SUMMER SCHOOL
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The beloved memoir of self-discovery set against the spectacular Tuscan countryside that inspired the major motion picture starring Diane Lane—now in a twentieth-anniversary edition featuring a new afterword “This beautifully written memoir about taking chances, living in Italy, loving a house and, always, the pleasures of food, would make a perfect gift for a loved one. But it’s so delicious, read it first yourself.”—USA Today For more Frances Mayes, including a tour of her now iconic Cortona home, Bramasole, watch PBS’s Dream of Italy: Tuscan Sun Special! More than twenty years ago, Frances Mayes—widely published poet, gourmet cook, and travel writer—introduced readers to a wondrous new world when she bought and restored an abandoned Tuscan villa called Bramasole. Under the Tuscan Sun inspired generations to embark on their own journeys—whether that be flying to a foreign country in search of themselves, savoring one of the book’s dozens of delicious seasonal recipes, or simply being transported by Mayes’s signature evocative, sensory language. Now with a new afterword from Frances Mayes, the twentieth-anniversary edition of Under the Tuscan Sun revisits the book’s most popular characters.
Ren Sawyer and Lizzy Harper live completely different lives. He’s a rock star with a secret he can no longer live with. She’s a regular person whose husband stood her up for a long planned anniversary trip. On a flight across the Atlantic headed for Italy, a drunken pity party and untimely turbulence literally drop Lizzy into Ren’s lap. It is the last thing she can imagine ever happening to someone like her. But despite their surface differences, they discover an undeniable pull between them. A pull that leads them both to remember who they had once been before letting themselves be changed by a life they had each chosen. Exploring the streets of Florence and the hills of Tuscany together - two people with seemingly nothing in common - changes them both forever. And what they find in each other is something that might just heal them both.
"Our journey begins with Max becoming a member of the Lisi family. Their relationship of love and trust continued to grow as they travelled through Tuscany's hills, forests, and beaches throughout the summer. During this journey, we see the blossoming of a relationship that can only exist between a dog and its owner. This book is written from the point of view of a lovely Jack Russell named Max. Although you feel you do not know Max, by the end of the first few pages, you will love him. There's no doubt that this dog will steal your heart. Through extreme empathy, the author puts herself in the shoes of her dog and sees the world through his eyes. The story highlights the love between humans and dogs in general, a relationship that brightens the lives of people of all ages." Cate Trowbridge Lisi, originally from London, following rather a traditional education, started working in the fashion industry. Always a lover of Italy and all Italian (she regularly visited an aunt who lived in Florence as a child and teenager; in her early 20s she landed a plum job in design and development with a high street design company, and never looked back. Based in Florence she established an international career working with the US initially which, which opened her travel possibilities and led to trips to the Far East, Eastern Europe and southern America. All of which gave her a richer tapestry of personal experiences on which to draw for her writing. She married in Italy and has 2 children.
The Rough Guide to Florence & the Best of Tuscany is the essential companion to discovering the romantic Italian city and its breath-taking surrounds. The full-colour introduction highlights the renaissance architecture that dominates the streets of Florence, as well as the dramatic and varied scenery of the best pockets of Tuscany. There are full accounts of all the major tourist sites, including Michelangelo’s statue of David the charming Ponte Vecchio and Tuscany’s world-renowned wine regions, as well as thorough explorations of those hidden gems, from small hillside villages and Florence’s dynamic drinking scene. There are special features on Florence as the capital of Italy and Tuscan Food & Drink, not to mention countless recommendations for Michelen-starred restaurants, humble pizzerias, bars and cafés and hotels for every region and budget. The guide has all the practical information you need to get there, travel around with ease and ensure you don’t miss the unmissable. Make the most of your time with The Rough Guide to Florence & the Best of Tuscany.
The Food and Wine Lovers Companion to Tuscany, originally published in 1996, was one of the first guidebooks to focus exclusively on the traditional foods and local wines of this region-the most traveled-to area of Italy. This essential guide, now completely revised and incorporating over 40 new entries, is still the only book anyone needs to find the little-known shops, markets, festivals, and wineries that capture the spirit of Tuscany. Author Carla Capalbo, who makes her home in the region, passes on her extensive knowledge of Tuscan foods and wine, exploring each town, village, and quaint back road. No one considering a trip to Tuscany should leave home without this book.
The new, full-colour Rough Guide to Tuscany and Umbria is the ultimate travel guide to some of Europe's most popular tourist destinations. Covering the region more comprehensively than any other guide, it's packed with up-to-date and expert information on all the attractions, from the great museums of Florence and Siena to the tiny rural villages, as well as guiding you to the best of the beaches, forests, mountains and vineyard-clad hills. It also gives you the lowdown on the best hotels and restaurants for all budgets, and illuminates the sights with background information on history, folklore, art, architecture and festivals. Dozens of photographs and easy-to-use colour maps complete a guide that has long been established as the best you can buy. Make the most of your time, with The Rough Guide to Tuscany and Umbria. Now available in ePub format.
The magical landscapes and rich culture of Tuscany have fostered the inspiration and settings for literature since the works of the great Florentine poets Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio in the 14th century and has been a magnet for expatriate writers since the arrival in Florence of the English poet Geoffrey Chaucer in 1372. With its historic cities and villages; its verdant countryside and crepuscular coastline; its treasury of art covering five millennia and, above all, its long heritage of authorship, Tuscany one of the most celebrated and well-travelled regions in the world. As the source of the Italian language and birthplace of the Renaissance, Tuscany lies at the historic and cultural heart of Italy, and has remained an irresistible attraction to writers for six centuries. This book is a journey that follows in their footsteps; from John Milton and Thomas Gray to the Brownings, the Shelleys, Charles Dickens, D. H. Lawrence, Thomas Hardy, E. M. Forster, Mark Twain, Muriel Spark and many others.Florence and Tuscany: A Literary Guide for Travellers takes the literary-minded traveller (either in person or in an armchair) on a vivid and illuminating journey, retracing the footsteps of writers who have lived and worked in, or been inspired by, the history and landscape of Tuscany from John Milton and Thomas Gray to the Brownings, the Shelleys, Charles Dickens, D. H. Lawrence, Thomas Hardy, E.M. Forster, Mark Twain Muriel Spark and many others. For anyone who has fallen under a Tuscan spell, as so many have before, this book - the first of its kind - will prove enthralling reading.
Three-dimensional cutaway illustrations and floor plans of key landmarks complement these richly illustrated, fully updated travel handbooks that also include enhanced maps, street-by-street guides, background information on a host of popular sights, and an expanded traveler's survival guide providing tips on hotels, restaurants, local customs, transportation, medical services, museums, entertainment, and more.