A tiny silver key hidden in her wrappings is the only clue to the child's identity and so begins a story as intriguing and beautiful as the city of Florence itself. Belinda Alexandra's new novel, TUSCAN ROSE, is set in Italy during the time of Mussolini. This richly woven tale of passion, love, longing, witchcraft and magic promises to be everything her readers love and more.

    We all have sins to confess. So reveals Catherine de Medici in this brilliantly imagined novel about one of history’s most powerful and controversial women. To some she was the ruthless queen who led France into an era of savage violence. To others she was the passionate savior of the French monarchy. Acclaimed author C. W. Gortner brings Catherine to life in her own voice, allowing us to enter into the intimate world of a woman whose determination to protect her family’s throne and realm plunged her into a lethal struggle for power.  The last legitimate descendant of the illustrious Medici line, Catherine suffers the expulsion of her family from her native Florence and narrowly escapes death at the hands of an enraged mob. While still a teenager, she is betrothed to Henri, son of François I of France, and sent from Italy to an unfamiliar realm where she is overshadowed and humiliated by her husband’s lifelong mistress. Ever resilient, Catherine strives to create a role for herself through her patronage of the famous clairvoyant Nostradamus and her own innate gift as a seer. But in her fortieth year, Catherine is widowed, left alone with six young children as regent of a kingdom torn apart by religious discord and the ambitions of a treacherous nobility. Relying on her tenacity, wit, and uncanny gift for compromise, Catherine seizes power, intent on securing the throne for her sons. She allies herself with the enigmatic Protestant leader Coligny, with whom she shares an intimate secret, and implacably carves a path toward peace, unaware that her own dark fate looms before her—a fate that, if she is to save France, will demand the sacrifice of her ideals, her reputation, and the passion of her embattled heart. From the fairy-tale châteaux of the Loire Valley to the battlefields of the wars of religion to the mob-filled streets of Paris, The Confessions of Catherine de Medici is the extraordinary untold journey of one of the most maligned and misunderstood women ever to be queen.

    Rick Steves, bestselling author of travel guides to Europe, offers well-tested phrases and key words to cover every situation a traveler is likely to encounter. This handy guide provides key phrases for use in everyday circumstances, complete with phonetic spelling, an English-Italian and Italian-English dictionary, the latest information on European currency and rail transportation, and even a tear-out cheat sheet for continued language practice as you wait in line at the Sistine Chapel. Informative, concise, and practical, Rick Steves' Italian Phrase Book and Dictionary is an essential item for any traveler's zainetto.

    But the shock goes even deeper when she learns that the woman who has been like a mother to her has left her entire estate to Julie’s twin sister. The only thing Julie receives is a key—one carried by her mother on the day she herself died—to a safety-deposit box in Siena, Italy. This key sends Julie on a journey that will change her life forever—a journey into the troubled past of her ancestor Giulietta Tolomei. In 1340, still reeling from the slaughter of her parents, Giulietta was smuggled into Siena, where she met a young man named Romeo. Their ill-fated love turned medieval Siena upside-down and went on to inspire generations of poets and artists, the story reaching its pinnacle in Shakespeare’s famous tragedy. But six centuries have a way of catching up to the present, and Julie gradually begins to discover that here, in this ancient city, the past and present are hard to tell apart. The deeper she delves into the history of Romeo and Giulietta, and the closer she gets to the treasure they allegedly left behind, the greater the danger surrounding her—superstitions, ancient hostilities, and personal vendettas. As Julie crosses paths with the descendants of the families involved in the unforgettable blood feud, she begins to fear that the notorious curse—“A plague on both your houses!”—is still at work, and that she is destined to be its next target. Only someone like Romeo, it seems, could save her from this dreaded fate, but his story ended long ago. Or did it? From Anne Fortier comes a sweeping, beautifully written novel of intrigue and identity, of love and legacy, as a young woman discovers that her own fate is irrevocably tied—for better or worse—to literature’s greatest star-crossed lovers.

    In Gino's Pasta Gino D'Acampo, the master of modern Italian cooking, celebrates his homeland's most famous food export with an inspirational collection of 100 mouth-watering recipes that includes classics such as carbonara, puttanesca and ragu alla bologonese, as well as new twists on old favourites such as lasagne, macaroni and spaghetti vongole. Divided into six chapters - Fresh and Filled Pasta, Dried Pasta, Baked Pasta, Like Mama Used to Make, Pasta on the Go, and Pasta for those with Allergies - it includes everything from comforting baked pasta dishes, to spicy seafood and healthy vegetarian options, even desserts! Including an introduction by nutritionist Juliette Kellow explaining the many health benefits of pasta - it is a low-salt, low GI food - each recipe has been nutritionally analysed, demonstrating that pasta is not the fattening option it was once thought to be and can be enjoyed at every meal.

    In Danger is the first anthology in English devoted to his political and literary essays, with a generous selection of his poetry. Against the backdrop of post-war Italy, and through the mid-'70s, Pasolini's writings provide a fascinating portrait of a Europe in which fascists and communists violently clashed for power and where journalists ran great risks. The controversial and openly gay Pasolini was murdered at the age of fifty-three; In Danger includes his final interview, conducted hours before his death.

    A broken Polish immigrant family leaves a legacy of heartbreak, separation, Civilian Conservation Corps redemption, and World War II heroism. From these dissimilar backgrounds emerges a quintessential American family, one whose members embody the conflicting social movements of their times: a staunchly Catholic Polish immigrant U.S. Marine Corps father, an emotionally effusive Italian mother, an Oliver North son, a Hillary Clinton daughter, a mentally ill sister, a jock brother, a lesbian rocker, and a gay male activist. In an era of bitter cultural polarization, Oh, Beautiful: An American Family in the 20th Century celebrates what has kept America together. This true story is an engrossing portrait of an American family and an evocative documentation of nearly 100 years of American history. Read a free excerpt (Chapter One) either here on the author page or at www.johnpaulgodges.com/excerpt1.html

    The result is a charming and authentic collection of recipes, techniques, anecdotes, and photographs that celebrate the rustic and sustainable culinary traditions of Italy’s most experienced home cooks.Cooking with Italian Grandmothers features the histories and menus of fifteen grandmothers, each of whom welcomed Ms. Theroux into their kitchens and pantries and shared both their favorite dishes and personal wisdoms. From the dramatic winter shores if Ustica to the blooming hills of Tuscany in spring, readers will journey through Italy’s most divers regions and seasons, to discover the country’s most delectable dishes, from the traditional to the unexpected, and meet the storied women who make them. Part travel diary, part photo essay, part cookbook, Cooking with Italian Grandmothers features over 100 time-honored recipes, from the perfect panna cotta to the classic meat lasagna. Includes:Recipes and wisdom from 12 Italian grandmothers100 classic Italian recipesA number of regional and seasonal menus, complete from appetizer to dessert.Over 150 full color photographs.

    But life is rarely straightforward...Alice wants to make the most of life - after all, she knows how fragile it can be - and knows she never feels more alive than when she's cooking. Babetta has spent a lifetime tending the garden of her tiny house on the Italian coast, supplying food to feed a family now grown and gone.One summer these two women are brought together in a crumbling Mediterranean villa, with the shared language of food. There, under the heat of the Italian sun, or the shade of the pomegranate tree, secrets will be spoken, fears and hopes shared. But life's lessons are not learnt easily.

    But things are about to change...When her boss Olivia is taken ill, Alice is sent on the work trip of a lifetime: to a villa in Sicily, to edit the autobiography of Hollywood bad boy Luther Carson. But it's not all yachts, nightclubs and Camparis. Luther's arrogant agent Sam wants him to ditch the book. Luther himself is gorgeous, charming and impossible to read. There only seems to be one way to get his attention, and it's not one her boss would approve of. Alice is out of the office, and into deep trouble...

    A lovely literary read with a strong romantic core." -- Nell Dixon, author of "Animal Instincts""I read the last 75 pages holding my breath. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel." -- Christopher Allen, award-winning author and editor of the literary e-zine Metazen"This is an absolutely beautiful book, a seamless blending of romance and literary fiction." -- Cameron Chapman, author of "Aboard the Unstoppable Aerostat Fenris"Sometimes the simplest questions are the hardest ones to ask.Emily Miller is forced to spend a day in Bologna when she'd rather be catching her flight to the US. Determined to put ten years in Italy and her marriage behind her, she wants to have nothing to do with anything - or anyone - Italian ever again.For Davide Magnani, chivalry isn't yet dead. He accompanies Emily to Milan, if only to reassure himself of her safe arrival. The following morning, he's stunned to realize he's fallen in love with someone he's only known for twenty-four hours - and it seems that she feels the same way.One year later, Emily and Davide reunite. As their relationship strengthens, unforeseen events reveal deeper, troubling connections all around, which drive Emily away from the first man she's ever really trusted. Can she forgive the lies she's been told, or the truths which have been hidden from her? And how can Davide prove to her, once and for all, that Italy is precisely where she needs to be?

    Armed with just enough courage, minimal Italian language skills, and a certain proficiency in the kitchen, he enrolled in a full-immersion cooking and language program. He would travel to Viterbo, Italy and live with an Italian family. His teachers were beyond his wildest dreams-he learned to cook from the grandmother, or Nonna, of the family, who prepared every meal in a bustling, busy household, as women in her family have done for generations. Her daughter, Alessandra, taught him the language with patience and precision. Besides culinary secrets and prepositions, they opened their lives to him, and made him a real part of their extensive family. Though the book contains authentic, delicious family recipes Nonna shared with Mark, Beyond the Pasta delves into food memoir subject matter not found in a typical cookbook. It was the day-to-day shopping with Nonna, exploring the countryside and le gelaterie, where he truly developed his language skills, and a new, more joyful and uniquely Italian way of looking at the world.

    Simplicity is the keynote in this handsome recipe book, imbued with the flavours of the Italian countryside. For too long the ingredient in the store cupboard brought out for last minute dinner emergencies, pasta - inexpensive, ever versatile and often underestimated - lends itself to hundreds of fresh and different creations, especially when handled by the truly talented Theo Randall. He believes that the best pastas are the simplest: a plate of tagliatelle with butter and Parmesan can be just as magnificent as a ravioli stuffed with sweet potato and fennel. In Pasta Theo Randall brings us a mouthwatering collection of 110 recipes, all within the reach of the keen cook. Using a mix of fresh and dried pasta and the freshest ingredients according to the season, Theo presents a wide variety of dishes, many achievable in minutes. From Taglierini with Peas, Prosciutto and Parmesan to Linguine with Pesto, Potato and Green Beans, to Pansotti with Sheep's Ricotta and Walnut Pesto, and Cappaletti with Slow Cooked Veal and Pancetta there is a dish to please everyone. Pasta is destined to become a kitchen classic.

    Here, 180 works illuminate key ideas in Renaissance painting, from "perpective" and "the golden section" to "grace" and "symbolism." In addition, there are brief biographies of the major artists. The result is an original, accessible, and affordable volume that offers an introduction into the art and culture of the Italian Renaissance.

    In Rotella’s vivid telling, the stories behind forty Italian American classics (from “O Sole Mio,” “Night and Day,” and “Mack the Knife” to “Volare” and “I Wonder Why”) show how a glorious musical tradition became the sound track of postwar America and the expression of a sense of style that we still cherish. Rotella follows the music from the opera houses and piazzas of southern Italy, to the barrooms of the Bronx and Hoboken, to the Copacabana, the Paramount Theatre, and the Vegas Strip. He shows us the hardworking musicians whose voices were to become ubiquitous on jukeboxes and the radio and whose names—some anglicized, some not—have become bywords for Italian American success, even as they were dogged by stereotypes and prejudice. Amore is the personal Top 40 of one proud son of Italy; it is also a love song to Italian American culture and an evocation of an age that belongs to us all.

    Accompanied by stunning art and ingenious pop engineering, Renaissance Art Pop-Up Book presents the talent and imagination of some of the most influential artists in history. Ranging from the influences of Gothic art on the early Renaissance to the culmination of High Renaissance, this book follows the appearance of new forms in religious and secular painting and the burgeoning use of groundbreaking techniques, such as perspective and narrative in painting; new innovations in architecture; and the unique genius of artists from all over Europe. The book features the most outstanding artists, art, and architecture of the period, including the frescoes of Giotto, Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, and the works of Caravaggio, Botticelli, Titian, Dürer, and Massacio, to name only a few. Innovative pop-ups include a working camera obscura; da Vinci’s "flying machine"; Piero della Francesca’s View of the Ideal City, with removable perspective lines; Brunelleschi’s majestic Duomo in Florence; and a fold-out timeline of the Renaissance. Showcasing the artistic innovations of the era in interactive format, this book gives the reader a fresh perspective, thereby teaching the principles and history of the Renaissance in a new and unique way. Renaissance Art Pop-Up Book is a superb tour of the greatest achievements of the world’s early masters, and is the perfect educational gift for art lovers of all ages.

    Accompanying the Guggenheim's exhibition of the same name, it examines the interwar period in its key artistic manifestations and their interpretations of classical values and aesthetics: the poetic dream of antiquity in the Parisian avant garde of Fernand Leger and Pablo Picasso; the politicized revival of the Roman Empire under Benito Mussolini by artists such as Giorgio de Chirico and Mario Sironi; and the austere functionalist utopianism of the Bauhaus, as well as, more chillingly, the pseudo-biological classicism, or Aryanism, of nascent Nazi society. This presentation of the seismic transformations in interbellum French, Italian and German culture encompasses painting, sculpture, photography, architecture, film, fashion and the decorative arts. Among the other artists surveyed here are Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Andre Derain, Gino Severini, Jean Cocteau, Le Corbusier, Amedee Ozenfant, Madeleine Vionnet, Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann, Carlo Carra, Giorgio Morandi, Massimo Campigli, Achille Funi, Ubaldo Oppi, Felice Casorati, Giuseppe Terragni, Gio Ponti, Arturo Martini, Georg Kolbe, Oskar Schlemmer, Otto Dix, Georg Scholz, Georg Schrimpf, Wilhelm Schnarrenberger and August Sander.

    Between 400 and 751 AD, it was the residence of western Roman emperors, Ostrogothic kings, and Byzantine governors of Italy, while its bishops and archbishops ranked second only to the popes. During this 350-year period, the city was progressively enlarged and enriched by remarkable works of art and architecture, many of which still survive today. Thus, Ravenna and its monuments are of critical importance to historians and art historians of the late ancient world. This book provides a comprehensive survey of Ravenna's history and monuments in late antiquity, including discussions of scholarly controversies, archaeological discoveries, and new interpretations of art works. A synthesis of the voluminous literature on this topic, this volume provides an English-language entry point for the study of this fascinating city.

    

    What could possibly be so valuable about the picture? As friends and clients are slaughtered around her, Luciana turns to the one man who has never desired her beauty, novice librarian Brother Guido. Fleeing Venice together, Luciana and Guido race through the nine cities of Renaissance Italy, pursued by ruthless foes who are determined to keep them from decoding the painting's secrets.Gloriously fresh and vivid, with a deliciously irreverent heroine, The Botticelli Secret is an irresistible blend of history, wit, and suspense.

    Taking travelers off the main roads and into the real life of a country, each title in DK's new Eyewitness Back Roads series contains up to 25 drive routes lasting from one to seven days. From intimate hotels and guesthouses to the most charming restaurants and bars specializing in seasonal dishes and regional produce, each drive has recommendations for places to spend the night, dine, and sightsee along the route. A companion series to the Eyewitness Travel Guides, the books can be used in conjunction with existing guides or on their own. Each guide has a pull-out road map for easy navigation between drives and all the practical information you need, from road conditions and the length of the drive to parking information and opening hours of restaurants and attractions.

    Supported by the author’s extensive topographical research, this book presents a unified vision of the city that links improvements to public and private water systems with political, religious, and social change. Between 1560 and 1630, in a spectacular burst of urban renewal, Rome’s religious and civil authorities sponsored the construction of aqueducts, private and public fountains for drinking, washing, and industry, and the magnificent ceremonial fountains that are Rome’s glory. Tying together the technological, sociopolitical, and artistic questions that faced the designers during an age of turmoil in which the Catholic Church found its authority threatened and the infrastructure of the city was in a state of decay, Rinne shows how these public works projects transformed Rome in a successful marriage of innovative engineering and strategic urban planning.

    Through its history, Venice housed the world's leading merchants, thrived as a maritime powerhouse, and developed into an independent republic not unlike the present United States. Venice draws millions of visitors each year, and these lectures shed light on why the city is such a continual source of fascination"--Container.

    Covering the four seasons, it travels from home kitchens to four-star restaurants, introducing concrete backyards full of abundant tomato and basil plants, the cozy home kitchens where masterpieces are whipped up, the elegant restaurants filled with delicious cooking aromas, the specialist providores, extensive delis, bakeries, cheese-makers, and pasticcerias. Set around Australia, some of the world's most celebrated Italian culinary masterpieces feature alongside beautiful rustic family favorites. In addition, Guy Grossi shares some of his family's most revered recipes for traditional favorites from the North to the South of Italy.

    The book begins by evaluating Zizek's account of the capitalist ideology of enjoyment through the analysis of Lacan's critique of Marx's surplus-value. If the originality of Žižek's wager lies in the claim that enjoyment secretly sustains our ideological space, can we think of surplus-jouissance in a way that not only unmasks the ruse of capitalism but also adumbrates the construction of an alternative social space?The answer to this question is developed in the second part of the book. Arguing that the transformative potential of Zizek's epistemology needs to be fully unravelled if it is to avoid the risk of congealing into mere academic exercise, Fabio Vighi attempts to politicise Žižek's groundbreaking critical method by calling upon the necessity to translate its emphasis on the "indigestible" surplus of knowledge into the drive to think the new. Under the current conditions, this creative moment can no longer be delayed.

    Camuto set out to explore Sicily’s emerging wine scene. What he discovered during more than a year of traveling the region, however, was far more than a fascinating wine frontier.   Chronicling his journey through Palermo to Marsala, and across the rugged interior of Sicily to the heights of Mount Etna, Camuto captures the personalities and flavors and the traditions and natural riches that have made Italy’s largest and oldest wine region the world traveler’s newest discovery. In the island’s vastly different wines he finds an expression of humanity and nature—and the space where the two merge into something more.  Here, amid the wild landscapes, lavish markets, dramatic religious rituals, deliciously contrasting flavors, and astonishing natural warmth of its people, Camuto portrays Sicily at a shining moment in history. He takes readers into the anti-Mafia movement growing in the former mob vineyards around infamous Corleone; tells the stories of some of the island’s most prominent landowning families; and introduces us to film and music celebrities and other foreigners drawn to Sicily’s vineyards. His book takes wine as a powerful metaphor for the independent identity of this mythic land, which has thrown off its legacies of violence, corruption, and poverty to emerge, finally free, with its great soul intact. Watch the Palmento book trailer on YouTube.

    Divination using tools such as Tarot Cards, help to bring higher guidance and advice into our lives and brings to the surface information that is hidden or not immediately obvious to us.This deck contains 78 cards and instruction booklet.Cards measure approximately 6.6 x 12 cm (2.75 x 4.5 inches)

    A new addition to the widely acclaimed Collins Easy Learning range, Collins Easy Learning Complete Italian is a handy 3-in-1 book: grammar, verbs and vocabulary in one volume, ideal for beginners wanting a clear and easy-to-understand Italian reference guide.

    For centuries, writers, artists, architects and merchants have been drawn here, inspired by the beauty of Venice, Florence, Naples and Rome. Countless books, paintings, poems and sculptures are evidence of its undying appeal, and over the past 60 years, the country has become one of the world's top travel and holiday destinations. The loveliness of Italy—its architecture, landscapes, culture and food (some of the world’s finest!) — if not eternal, is certainly enduring, and the easy-going and relaxed Italian lifestyle, il dolce far niente, is still unrivaled. Here, some of Italy’s most amazing landscapes are brought to life, like Lake Como (residence of George Clooney), Venice, Florence and Tuscany, the Amalfi Coast, and no less magical, the Aeolian Islands off the coast of Sicily. In these mythical surroundings are legendary hotels full of atmosphere, where novels are set, movies are made, weddings are celebrated and famous love stories consummated: Villa d'Este on Lake Como, the Hotel Des Bains on the Lido, the Hotel Splendido in Portofino, the Il San Pietro on the Amalfi Coast and the Villa Cimbrone in Ravello—to name just a few. But in Great Escapes Italy, Angelika Taschen also reveals where to find more secret and hidden jewels—from the Locanda Cipriani, a romantic hideaway on the island of Torcello, to the atmospheric Castello di Vicarello in Tuscany.

    But painters' apprenticeships for young women don't exist in the Florence of Renaissance Italy. The odds appear stacked against her until she receives a fascinating book, A Manual to the Science of Alchemy. It once was her grandmother's and Emilia turns again and again to the Manual for guidance. When Emilia meets the wealthy, brooding Franco Villani, her life takes a thrilling but dangerous turn. Franco will do anything to win a place in the court of the powerful Cosimo de' Medici. Well aware that Cosimo prizes ancient manuscripts above all, Franco realizes Emilia's Manual would be invaluable to him in more ways than one. Infused with the mysticism of alchemy, Nonna's Book of Mysteries is an exciting portrait of a young woman who defies convention to seek her destiny.

    After years of research she travels to Italy on a mission to find the truth about her past. Carolina is accompanied by three extremely gifted but mischievous students the FIGs from Wood Rose Orphanage and Academy for Young Women. In an effort to help their favorite teacher, the FIGs will have to use their special abilities to decipher the Voynich Manuscript, the most mysterious document in the world, and the one thing that is strangely similar to what Carolina was given. Their search will take them into the mystical world of gypsy tradition and magic, more exciting and dangerous than any of them could have imagined.

    In between, a constellation of remarkable painters captured the city in dazzling pictures that are among the greatest achievements in 18th-century art. Canaletto may be the artist popularly associated with Venice, but he had many rivals who competed for commissions, often from foreigners whose patronage was to determine the later course of Venetian view painting. All the major figures are represented here—Bellotto, Carlevarijs, Guardi, Joli, Marieschi, and Vanvitelli—together with fascinating contemporaries such as Cimaroli and Tironi.Charles Beddington sets the scene with an overview of the artists then working in the city, and draws on the latest research and scholarship to illuminate the complex stylistic relationships between them. Succinct, lively biographies for each artist are followed by short introductions to the works, grouped chronologically by artist. Each painter saw the same topography with his own unique vision; this beautiful book demonstrates the varied responses to the cityscape, with its ever-changing light, as well as to its spectacles and ceremonies.

    In the first of the trilogy, "The Cielo: A Novel of Wartime Tuscany, " terrified villagers confront seemingly insurmountable dangers while trapped in a farmhouse during the German occupation of 1944. In the second, "Sparrow's Revenge: A Novel of Postwar Tuscany," set in 1955, a guilt-ridden partisan relentlessly pursues the collaborator of one of the worst massacres in Italy during World War II.Martha Bergland, author of "A Farm Under a Lake, " calls "Dino's Story" a "fascinating inside look at Florence through the eyes of Paul Salsini's warm and complex characters. I couldn't put it down." Lawrence Baldassaro, Professor Emeritus of Italian and Comparative Literature, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, found it "an intriguing coming-of-age tale. "Dino's Story" is a seamless and conclusive sequel to the first two volumes of Paul Salsini's Tuscan trilogy. Once again, Salsini combines meticulous research, a keen eye for detail, and narrative dexterity."

    His diligent exploration traces the eastward flow of post-Copernican cosmologies and scientific discoveries, showing how these ideas were disseminated, modified, and applied to local cultures.Never before has a student of scientific traffic in the Mediterranean taken such pains to see precisely which instruments, books, and ideas first appeared where, in whose hands, by what means, and with what implications. In doing so, Ben-Zaken challenges accepted views of Western primacy in this fruitful exchange. He shows not only how Islamic cultures benefited from European scientific knowledge but also how Eastern understanding of classical Greek texts informed developments in the West.Ben-Zaken’s mastery of different cultures and languages uniquely positions him to tell this intriguing story. His findings reshape our understanding of scientific discourse in this critical period and contribute to the growing field of cross-cultural Christian-Muslim studies.

    The book covers the aircraft, camouflage, and markings of the various aviation arms of the Italian Regia Aeronautica. Its machines were invariably colorfully camouflaged for tropical and over-water use and richly emblazoned with individual, tactical, and unit markings, making for popular modeling subjects. They flew in several operational theatres between 1940 and 1943 including France, Belgium, Yugoslavia, Russia, and Greece, and produced a number of flying aces such as Teresio Martinoli, Franco Lucchini, Leonardo Ferrulli, and Franco Bordoni-Bisleri. All aircraft are covered—day fighters, bombers, dive-bombers and ground-attack units, and maritime and transport aircraft. This is an ideal volume of reference for aviation modelers, particularly those with a specific interest in Italian aviation.

    Fruit trees and vines are in new leaf, wheat fields stretch to the horizon, wild flowers grow in profusion along the roadside, and tuna and swordfish swarm in anticipation of their annual migration. Drawn from the best of Sicilian cuisine, the recipes in this collection are filled both mouth-watering and authentically local. Although small, Sicily has a big reputation and a colorful history of cultural crossover that has resulted in a rich and diverse cuisine. Like its landscape, Sicily’s food is one of contrasts, containing everything from rich Arab spices to exquisite mild ricotta, hearty pasta, decadent desserts, and plenty of fresh fish, oranges, lemons, and pistachios.

    In pre-modern Europe, the architect built not just with imagination, brick and mortar, but with time, using vast quantities of duration to erect monumental buildings that otherwise would have been impossible. Not mere medieval muddling-through, this entailed a sophisticated set of norms and practices. Virtually all the great cathedrals of France and the rest of Europe were built under this regime, here given the name ‘Building-in-Time’. In particular, the major works of pre-modern Italy, from the Pisa cathedral group to the cathedrals of Milan,Venice and Siena, and from the monuments of fourteenth-century Florence to the new St Peter’s – the apotheosis of the practice – are thus cast in an entirely new light. Even as ‘Building-in-Time’ was flourishing, the fifteenth-century Italian architect Leon Battista Alberti proposed a new temporal regime whereby time would ideally be excluded from the making of architecture (‘Building-outside-Time’). Planning and building, which had formed one fluid, imbricated process, were to be sharply divided, and the change that always came with time excluded from architectural facture. Ironically, it was Brunelleschi, as creator of the cupola of Florence cathedral and one of the supreme practitioners of Building-in-Time, who was the lynchpin of Alberti’s turn to the arts in the mid-1430s. That he arrived in Florence just at the moment Brunelleschi’s dome was being completed was crucial to Alberti’s subsequent career in visual culture. Yet his relationship to Brunelleschi was conflicted; first praising and attaching himself to Brunelleschi, later Alberti silently sought to banish him from history’s central stage. In telling this story, Marvin Trachtenberg rewrites the history of medieval and Renaissance architecture in Italy and recasts the turn to modernity in new terms, those of temporality and its role in architectural theory and practice. Recovering this lost element of the deep architectural past allows us also to see the present in a new way: that temporality is not any neutral or secondary factor in modern architecture culture, but an epistemic condition that silently affects all production and experience of the built environment.

    The letters were written to his spiritual directors in the Capuchin order, Fathers Benedetto and Agostinho, both of San Marco, Italy and his spiritual children who corresponded with him regularly. The letters serve as a "clear and luminous mirror," writes Father Colacelli in the preface, for gleaning Padre Pio's spiritual heroism. His letter to Padre Agostino on 13 February 1913 (he was only 26 years old and into the third year of his priesthood) is particularly instructive. Padre Pio writes: "Do not fear, I will make you suffer, but I will also give you the strength to suffer," Jesus tells me continually." This is an article of faith that is yet to become embedded in many Christians' consciousness. Pain and suffering are not eagerly sought but studiously avoided. In Padre Pio's stigmatization we find a sterling example of a man who not only endured pain and suffering. He also made his personal battle a platform for glorifying the splendor of God's grace and mercy.

    Part of a series that covers the major stepping-stones of world poetry.

    The Cambridge Companion to Machiavelli brings together sixteen original essays by leading experts, covering his life, his career in Florentine government, his reaction to the dramatic changes that affected Florence and Italy in his lifetime, and the most prominent themes of his thought, including the founding, evolution, and corruption of republics and principalities, class conflict, liberty, arms, religion, ethics, rhetoric, gender, and the Renaissance dialogue with antiquity. In his own time Machiavelli was recognized as an original thinker who provocatively challenged conventional wisdom. With penetrating analyses of The Prince, Discourses on Livy, Art of War, Florentine Histories, and his plays and poetry, this book offers a vivid portrait of this extraordinary thinker as well as assessments of his place in Western thought since the Renaissance.

    She has talked and teased with owners, in the process admiring some of Italy's finest gardens, both large and small. She has even delved into the past and explored the future. The result is a book full of wonderfully fresh insight into those most marvelous of creations — the great gardens of Italy. At Villa Barbarigo in the Veneto, Count Pizzoni Ardemani recounts childhood tales of playing in the garden and talking to the statues. Countess Pietromarchi persuades roses to thrive in the challenging climate of central Italy, sharing this secret — and many others — in her garden at La Ferriera in southern Tuscany. Each garden has been specially photographed by Alex Ramsay and he, too, brings readers the people behind the plants in this spectacular, unique look at beautiful gardens.

    Here Peter witnessed at first hand what life was like in a totalitarian state, and his vivid memories of cold and hunger, his own role in Fascist rallies as a member of the black-shirted "Balilla," and the fall of Mussolini are a living link to the past. Published for the first time, his memories of childhood in this part of war-torn Europe are a fascinating insight into life under terrible oppression, first by the Fascist party and later by the invading German army, who selected random Italian civilians for execution for every German soldier killed in the violent partisan fighting. Although his experiences were typical of any young boy living in Mussolini’s Italy, Peter Ghiringhelli’s incredible recall and vivid memories serve as a unique testament to an extraordinary period of history. His story is one of a daily tug of war between life and death, hunger and survival, desolation and victory.

    By now, we possess a very large literature on the individuals and groups that constituted the Roman community, and the various ways in which members of that community interacted. There simply is, however, no overview that takes into account the multifarious progress that has been made in the past thirty-odd years. The purpose of this handbook is twofold. On the one hand, it synthesizes what has heretofore been accomplished in this field. On the other hand, it attempts to configure the examination of Roman social relations in some new ways, and thereby indicates directions in which the discipline might now proceed.The book opens with a substantial general introduction that portrays the current state of the field, indicates some avenues for further study, and provides the background necessary for the following chapters. It lays out what is now known about the historical development of Roman society and the essential structures of that community. In a second introductory article, Clifford Ando explains the chronological parameters of the handbook. The main body of the book is divided into the following six sections: 1) Mechanisms of Socialization (primary education, rhetorical education, family, law), 2) Mechanisms of Communication and Interaction, 3) Communal Contexts for Social Interaction, 4) Modes of Interpersonal Relations (friendship, patronage, hospitality, dining, funerals, benefactions, honor), 5) Societies Within the Roman Community (collegia, cults, Judaism, Christianity, the army), and 6) Marginalized Persons (slaves, women, children, prostitutes, actors and gladiators, bandits). The result is a unique, up-to-date, and comprehensive survey of ancient Roman society.

    Celebrating Tuscany’s renowned art and architecture, elegance, and charm, this unique volume unveils the finest Tuscan gems, both the famous as well as the hidden. Photographer Massimo Listri’s unique access affords this resplendent publication of Tuscany’s great treasures, including the architecture, art, and artistry of its frescoes, churches, palazzi, and gardens, as well as previously unseen private residence interiors, chapels, villas, and estates. This oversize and deluxe volume features stunning gatefolds and showcases four hundred sumptuous color and large-format photographs. From Florence to its surrounding areas, such as San Gimignano, Arezzo, Pisa, Siena, Montepulciano, Chianti, Lucca, and Pistoia, this book culls from Listri’s rich vault of visually stunning and historically noteworthy material to create a privileged journey through which Tuscany is at once marvelously displayed. Tuscany is a superb piece of art to be enjoyed by both Italian art and culture connoisseurs as well as those discovering the region for the first time.

    The book includes nursery rhymes, children's songs and tongue twisters, each one followed by the English translation. Included are also notes and instructions on how to play, and colorful illustrations. Large print suitable for young readers. Ages: 0-8

    Even if you speak fluent Italian, regional terms for food and dishes can be confusing. No longer—with this translator you’ll know exactly what’s on the menu, how it’s cooked, what ingredients it contains, and how it fits into la cucina italiana. Lovers of good food and Italian culture will find this guide an irresistible and indispensable stew of culinary information, definitions, and local lore. And any cook will soon realize that the detailed descriptions of hundreds of dishes also serve as mini recipes that can easily be followed to create hundreds of authentic meals at home.

    This is also a romantic story set against the backdrop of terrible war and of a beautiful ancient city – Venice, fascinating in all seasons, from the flowering of spring to the winter magic of snow and high tide. But it is also the story of the awakening of a young woman to the cruelty in the world and the necessity of taking radical action in defense of her ideals and the freedom of her beloved country. In Venice the emblem of the winged Lion of Saint Mark, for centuries the symbol of the glorious Venetian Republic, is still the symbol of the unyielding Venetian people. This story, based on my own experience, is one told here to inspire those who fight for love and freedom.

    Set primarily in the Empire State and arranged like the courses of a traditional Italian meal, Anthony Di Renzo's wide-ranging essays meditate on Italian food at the noon of American imperialism and the twilight of ethnicity, exploring such issues as the Wegmans supermarket chain's conquest of Sicily; assembly-line sausages; the fabled onion fields of Canastota, New York; the tripe shops of postwar Brooklyn; Hunts Point Market and Andy Boy broccoli rabe; and the fatal lure of Sicilian chocolate. Is the new global supermarket a democratic feast, Di Renzo asks, or a cannibal potluck where consumers are themselves consumed? Sip an aperitif, toast Horace and Juvenal, and enjoy Chef Di Renzo's catered symposium. It will feed your mind, tickle your ribs, and heal your spleen.

    Can use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes.Full of authentic texts and dialogues about complex subjects, this course covers a wide range of topics of the sort you will want to talk about when in Italy and teaches you the kind of everyday language and features of speech that will enable you to communicate with confidence and feel comfortable taking part in conversation with native speakers of Italy. The choice of material aims to give you something of the flavour of Italy today and each unit is based around a single theme with lively interviews and conversations on the accompanying recording. There are activities based on the interviews and texts to help you remember what you've learnt and put your knowledge into practice. The units are divided into sessions - to help you organize your learning time and break up the material into manageable chunks - and there are reminders throughout to refresh your memory of points you have learnt.Now fully updated to make your language learning experience fun and interactive. You can still rely on the benefits of a top language teacher and our years of teaching experience, but now with added learning features within the course and online.Learn effortlessly with new, easy-to-read page design and interactive features:/p>NOT GOT MUCH TIME?One, five and ten-minute introductions to key principles to get you started.AUTHOR INSIGHTSLots of instant help with common problems and quick tips for success, based on the author's many years of experience.GRAMMAR TIPSEasy-to-follow building blocks to give you a clear understanding.USEFUL VOCABULARYEasy to find and learn, to build a solid foundation for speaking.DIALOGUESRead and listen to everyday dialogues to help you speak and understand fast.TEST YOURSELFTests in the book and online to keep track of your progress.TRY THISInnovative exercises illustrate what you've learnt and how to use it.

    The facts surrounding the initial uprising of A.D. 66-74 have been filtered through the biased accounts of Judeao Roman historian Flavius Josephus. Primary information regarding the subsequent Diaspora Revolt (A.D. 115-117) and the Bar Kochba Rebellion (A.D. 132-135) is limited to fragmentary anecdotes emphasizing the religious implications of the two insurrections. In contrast, this analytical history focuses objectively on the military aspects of all three Judean uprisings. The events leading up to each rebellion are detailed, while the nine appendices cover such topics as the nature and number of the Jewish rebels and the factual reliability of the controversial Josephus. One appendix hypothesizes an alternative history of the war between Jerusalem and Rome.

    

    His drawings of male nudes in particular, fraught as they are with tempestuous longing, project both tension and pliancy, and a compelling sense of health in the exertions and torque of bodies; he was also readily able to bring contrary qualities of grace and swiftness to depictions of women and cherubim. With over 300 color plates and extensive contextualizing scholarship, Michelangelo: The Drawings of a Genius is the most complete treatment of this work ever published, and thus constitutes a publication of great importance. Masterpieces from the world's finest museums are gathered here, from the early studies for the "Battle of Cascina" and the studies for the Sistine Chapel frescoes, to the drawings for the tomb of Julius II, the Medici tombs, the drawings for Tommaso de' Cavalieri and the later crucifixion scenes; also addressed are those works whose authenticity has been subject to debate. Works by other artists, done after the master's sketches, further illuminate the enormous influence of Michelangelo's art.Painter, sculptor, poet, architect and engineer, Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (1475-1564) was both dauntingly prolific and relentlessly innovative in output. He sculpted two of his greatest works, the "Pieta" and "David," before he turned 30, and created two of the world's best-known paintings on the ceiling and walls of the Sistine Chapel in Rome--the creation scenes from "Genesis" and "The Last Judgment." Giorgio Vasari proposed that Michelangelo represented the pinnacle of all artistic achievement since the beginning of the Renaissance, a view that has survived to this day.

    Gorgeously designed, handsomely bound & abundantly illustrated, this is the 1st book ever to present the 100-year history of a leader in men’s luxury clothing and one of the oldest business families in Italy. As a family business, Ermenegildo Zegna goes back to the 2nd half of the 19th century. Angelo Zegna a watchmaker by trade, decided to open a wool mill. Of his ten children it was the last, Ermenegildo, born in 1892, who took over what was to become one of the best-known & most dynamic family businesses in Italy. The extensive historical reconstruction of the early decades of Ermenegildo Zegna S.p.A. is followed by a detailed description of the fabrics, techniques & custom tailoring of its most exclusive garments. Numerous images illustrate the lands providing the raw materials: Australia, Peru & Mongolia. Just as spectacular is the photo album of the celebrities & spokespersons wearing Zegna, the international advertising campaigns, the list of awards won, & Zegna-sponsored sports & cultural affairs (red carpets, openings, car races, environmental & sports events).

    In The Sensory World of Italian Renaissance Art, François Quiviger explores the ways in which the senses began to take on a new significance in the art of the sixteenth century. The book discusses the presence and function of sensation in Renaissance ideas and practices, investigating their link to mental imagery—namely, how Renaissance artists made touch, sound, and scent palpable to the minds of their audience. Quiviger points to the shifts in ideas and theories of representation, which were evolving throughout the sixteenth century, and explains how this shaped early modern notions of art, spectatorship, and artistic creation.Featuring many beautiful images by artists such as Dürer, Leonardo da Vinci, Titian, Pontormo, Michelangelo, and Brueghel, The Sensory World of Renaissance Art presents a comprehensive study of Renaissance theories of art in the context of the actual works they influenced.  Beautifully illustrated and extensively researched, it will appeal to students and scholars of art history.

    Headed by chef Mona Talbott, a Chez Panisse alum, and guided by Alice Waters, the menus have given rise to a new, authentic cuisine inspired by la cucina romana, Chez Panisse, and the collective experience of those working in the AAR kitchen. Biscotti is the first book in the series. Each volume, covering a single subject, contains authentic, simple recipes for favorite dishes served at the academy’s communal table, narrated with carefully explained techniques and methods–suitable for both the home cook and the institutional kitchen.Our first bite into this book project is a sweet one, focusing on fifty biscotti and dolcetti (cookies and sweets). Subsequent volumes in the series will include muffins and scones; pasta, long and short; vegetables; preserves; and more.

    The Italian entries are also identified with the gender. Two extensive indexes, one English and another in Italian, make navigation simple, so finding a term or word in either language is fast.This new dictionary is essential for Italian speakers learning English as a second language, for bilingual speakers and for English speakers wanting to learn Italian for practical reasons, such as travel or business.

    A host of world-famous figures come to life in these pages, including Alexander the Great, Hannibal, Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, Augustus, Livia, Cicero, Nero, Hadrian, Diocletian, Constantine, Justinian, and Theodora. Filled with chilling narratives of violence, lust, and political expediency, this book not only describes empire-shaping political and military events but also treats social and cultural developments as integral to Roman history. William E. Dunstan highlights such key topics as the physical environment, women, law, the roles of slaves and freedmen, the plight of unprivileged free people, the composition and power of the ruling class, education, popular entertainment, food and clothing, marriage and divorce, sex, death and burial, finance and trade, scientific and medical achievements, religious institutions and practices, and artistic and literary masterpieces. All readers interested in the classical world will find this a fascinating and compelling history.