From grand views and romantic hillside villas to sprawling gardens and alfresco dinners, Italy offers its most authentic self through its landscape and its food. For the Love of Italy celebrates Italy's countryside and the farm-to-table movement with vivid profiles and luscious photography of twenty-two spectacular agriturismi, or hospitable farming estates. Each is inextricably connected to the Italian agricultural tradition and to the most simple of daily routines and pleasures. All will delight visitors with lovely accommodations and unforgettable graciousness. Marella Caracciolo, who has written extensively about travel in Italy from both sides of the Atlantic, and renowned photographer Oberto Gili present a sensual journey in this evocative collection of diverse landscapes, unmatched architecture, and local gastronomic traditions. One can stay at a Renaissance villa estate with breathtaking views, where biodynamic wine is produced, or at a unique luxury hotel in the prehistoric dwellings of Basilicata, where visitors sleep, bathe, and eat by candlelight. Families visiting Villa la Foce and the nearby thirteenth-century farmhouse in southern Tuscany, will discover exquisite gardens, a swimming pool, a tree house--and meals inspired by the bounty of the enormous vegetable garden and orchards. Caracciolo describes in transporting prose the colorful history and seasonal rhythms of these and nineteen other estates. And in Gili's photography the interiors, architecture, and gardens unfold with charm and grace. Whether one wants to learn traditional pasta making, sip Brunello right where it's made, or wander an ancient orangerie and then take a nap, these delightful farms promise unique and spectacular trips--or the fantasy of one. With a resource section that will be indispensable for anyone planning a trip to an agriturismo, For the Love of Italy is a portrait of an irresistible country and an enviable way of life.

"This lush guide, featuring more than 350 glorious photographs from National Geographic, showcases the best Italy has to offer from the perspective of two women who have spent their lives reveling in its unique joys."--Publisher's description.

"Many famous artworks of the Italian Renaissance were made to celebrate love, marriage, and family. They were the pinnacles of a tradition, dating from early in the era, of commemorating betrothals, marriages, and the birth of children by commissioning extraordinary objects - maiolica, glassware, jewels, textiles, paintings - that were often also exchanged as gifts. This volume is the first comprehensive survey of artworks arising from Renaissance rituals of love and marriage and makes a major contribution to our understanding of Renaissance art in its broader cultural context. The impressive range of works gathered in these pages extends from birth trays painted in the early fifteenth century to large canvases on mythological themes that Titian painted in the mid-1500s. Each work of art would have been recognized by contemporary viewers for its prescribed function within the private, domestic domain."--BOOK JACKET.

Gratuitous sex. Graphic violence. Lies, revenge, and murder. Before there was digital cable or reality television, there was Renaissance Italy and the courts in which Italian magistrates meted out justice to the vicious and the villainous, the scabrous and the scandalous. Love and Death in Renaissance Italy retells six piquant episodes from the Italian court just after 1550, as the Renaissance gave way to an era of Catholic reformation. Each of the chapters in this history chronicles a domestic drama around which the lives of ordinary Romans are suddenly and violently altered. You might read the gruesome murder that opens the book—when an Italian noble takes revenge on his wife and her bastard lover as he catches them in delicto flagrante—as straight from the pages of Boccaccio. But this tale, like the other stories Cohen recalls here, is true, and its recounting in this scintillating work is based on assiduous research in court proceedings kept in the state archives in Rome. Love and Death in Renaissance Italy contains stories of a forbidden love for an orphan nun, of brothers who cruelly exact a will from their dying teenage sister, and of a malicious papal prosecutor who not only rapes a band of sisters, but turns their shambling father into a pimp! Cohen retells each cruel episode with a blend of sly wit and warm sympathy and then wraps his tales in ruminations on their lessons, both for the history of their own time and for historians writing today. What results is a book at once poignant and painfully human as well as deliciously entertaining.

Join Guy Grossi as he travels around the gastronomic paradise that is Italy, tasting the best of Italian food and meeting the passionate artisans who produce it. All the quintessential Italian ingredients are here, from parmesan to prosciutto, balsamic vinegar to buffalo mozzarella. Discover the wonderful characters behind the ingredients, and the traditional artisan methods that have been passed down through the generations. Then cook your way through 150 recipes, including Slow-cooked veal shoulder with porcini; Bresaola with gorgonzola, honey, and fennel; Artichoke tortellini with capers, lemon, and olive oil; Crispy polenta chips with truffle mayonnaise; and Vanilla panna cotta, strawberries, and aged balsamic. This is irresistible, authentic Italian food you can make at home. Love Italy is a warm, honest, and joyful celebration of real food and real people. It is destined to become a classic cookbook and a must-have for any lover of Italian food and culture.

A jubilant celebration of Italy’s outsize impact on culture, from literature to art, music to movies, that “masterfully examines the multitude of reasons why so many people fall in love with Italy and the Italian lifestyle” (Forbes) Can you imagine painting without Leonardo, opera without Verdi, fashion without Armani, food without the signature tastes of pasta, gelato, and pizza? The first universities, first banks, first public libraries? All Italian. New York Times bestselling author Dianne Hales attributes these landmark achievements to la passione italiana, a primal force that stems from an insatiable hunger to discover and create; to love and live with every fiber of one's being. This fierce drive, millennia in the making, blazes to life in the Sistine Chapel, surges through a Puccini aria, deepens a vintage Brunello, and rumbles in a gleaming Ferrari engine. Our ideal tour guide, Hales sweeps readers along on her adventurous quest for the secrets of la passione. She swims in the playgrounds of mythic gods, shadows artisanal makers of chocolate and cheese, joins in Sicily’s Holy Week traditions, celebrates a neighborhood Carnevale in Venice, and explores pagan temples, vineyards, silk mills, movie sets, crafts studios, and fashion salons. She introduces us, through sumptuous prose, to unforgettable Italians, historical and contemporary, all brimming with the greatest of Italian passions—for life itself. A lyrical portrait of a spirit as well as a nation, La Passione appeals to the Italian in all our souls, inspiring us to be as daring as Italy’s gladiators, as eloquent as its poets, as alluring as its beauties, and as irresistible as its lovers. Praise for La Passione “[An] effervescent love letter to all things Italian.”—Newsday “In this sweeping account of la passione italiana from ancient to modern times, Dianne Hales shows once again why she is one the world’s foremost guides to the riches of Italian culture. Every page resonates with the author’s love for Italy and her joy in sharing its remarkable discoveries and exquisite pleasures with her readers.” —Joseph Luzzi, author of My Two Italies and In a Dark Wood “Hales takes us on an enriching and delightful journey, filled with fascinating characters, scintillating sensual details, and an authentic connection to the ever-inspiring Italian heart and soul that has given the world boundless pleasures.” —Susan Van Allen, author of 100 Places in Italy Every Woman Should Go

“My ideal type of armchair travel: immersive, insightful, seductive. In Bella Figura, Kamin Mohammadi takes us to the year in Florence that changed her life, and gives us the tools to bring the grace of the Italian lifestyle to our own lives.” —National Bestselling Author Stephanie Danler “She walks down the street with a swing in her step and a lift to her head. She radiates allure as if followed by a personal spotlight. She may be tall or short, slim or pneumatically curvaceous, dressed discreetly or ostentatiously—it matters not. Her gait, her composure, the very tilt of her head is an ode to grace and self-possession that makes her beautiful whatever her actual features reveal.” This is the bella figura, the Italian concept of making every aspect of life as beautiful as it can be, that Kamin Mohammadi discovered when she escaped the London corporate media world for a year in Italy. Following the lead of her new neighbors, she soon found a happier, healthier, and more beautiful way of living. The bella figura knows: • That the food that you eat should give you pleasure while eating it. Pause for meals, and set a place, even if you are eating alone. • To seize any opportunity to get moving—be it taking the stairs, doing a coffee run at work, or dancing with abandon. • To drink a spoonful of excellent-quality extra-virgin olive oil four times a day. • To seek out nature, be it a city park, a tree on your street, or some wild place. • And to love yourself. The bella figura—occupies her space, emotionally and physically, with style and entitlement.

'An uplifting and delicious taste of Italy' ERICA JAMES 'The perfect recipe for the ultimate escapist read!' VERONICA HENRY 'Knowing, compassionate and moving' CATHERINE ROBERTSON The scenery is swoonsome' STEVE BRAUNIAS Love happens when you least expect it... Assunta has given up on love. She might run her little trattoria in the most romantic mountain town in Italy, but love just seems to have passed her by. Sarah-Jane is finished with love. She's hiring an old convertible and driving around Italy this summer - it's the perfect way to forget all about her hot celebrity ex-boyfriend! But when Sarah-Jane's car breaks down in Montenello, she has to stay longer than she intended! And the trouble is, love is everywhere... Praise for Nicky Pellegrino 'A novel about the joy of learning to live again. It also made me very hungry!' Jojo Moyes 'Warm, engaging and truly delicious' Rosanna Ley 'A delicious and sensual adventure . . . as evocative and captivating as Venice itself' Fiona Gibson 'A wonderfully evocative setting and mouth-watering descriptions of Venetian food' Pamela Hartshorne 'Full-bodied as a rich Italian red, it's a page-turner combining the missed chances of Captain Corelli's Mandolin with the foodie pleasures of Chocolat' Eve 'Three generations of Italian women talk romance and cooking . . . an evocative foodfest of a novel' Prima 'A slice of pure sunshine' Good Housekeeping 'A lovely read . . . with a genuine heart and true observation' Elizabeth Buchan 'A touching story about one woman's search for love' Sunday Express 'Set against a backdrop of love, friendship and food . . . The descriptions of Italian food will make your mouth water' Cosmopolitan 'Sink back on the sofa with this delightful read' Now Magazine Readers are loving Nicky Pellegrino! 'I could smell the fresh pasta, feel the sunshine, smell the sea breeze and feel my worries wash away. It was lovely to stumble down the cobbled paths and stroll along the beautiful scenery' 'Through Italy, through food, through heartbreak, through love, through family. Add in a pinch of karmic justice and you have the perfect read with a joyful ending!' 'Once again Nicky Pellegrino had me captivated with this amazing story. It made me laugh, made me cry. I read it in one afternoon' 'I will say that if you are a woman on the cusp of discovering who you are and what your heart desires...then you will devour this book as I did' 'Such a great escapism read, full of emotions and family drama with love'

Getting away from it all doesn't necessarily mean escape. In these three stories, women leave their familiar spaces - countries, landscapes, states of mind - to discover uncharted, but not always idyllic, territories with lovers old and new. To Italy with Love introduces Iris, a newly dumped serial monogamist who travels to her friend's destination wedding. On the Amalfi Coast, she meets a much younger and casually provocative woman who challenges all the boundaries she's created for herself. Iris, queer and complicated, has a not-quite-secret she's unsure she's ready to share. But will her young lover pull all the way back when she discovers it? In That Girl, She's a Killer, mildly sociopathic Louisa has had her share of dangerous lovers, both male and female. But when a deadly former flame, someone who burns hotter than any fire she's ever dared touch, visits New York, Louisa tosses aside her careful and methodical life just to feel that delicious burn just one more time. Too soon, "once more" turns out to be not enough and the flame threatens to consume Louisa's legendary control. Vicissitudes tells Ro's story. The first time she remembers being herself, she was thirteen and female. When she next wakes, she is nearly thirty and rolls over in bed, naked, next to a beautiful woman, Alma, wearing an engagement ring. Ro knows exactly what happened in the years in between, and she knows when Alma opens her eyes, she will ask why her fiance has disappeared and left a woman with remarkably similar features in his place. It's going to be an interesting next few days."

The story of a single woman's travels to Italy from the age of 17 through retirement. The book details all the types of accommodations such as the agriturismi, the apartments, farmhouses, vineyards, and riding centers she stayed and the romances and friends acquired along the way. Each chapter begins with the author's life at home and the reasons she returns each time.