Best of
Italy

2016

Anywhere But Home


Daniel Speck - 2016
    Julia, a young and brilliant German designer, is about to launch the fashion show that could bring the breakthrough success she has sacrificed so much to achieve. All her dreams for the future are on the brink of reality—until an unknown past comes to find her. A grandfather she never knew existed approaches her with an astonishing claim. Julia’s father, believed dead for decades, is still alive. As a great lie is revealed, Julia embarks on a journey to uncover the lost pieces of her past. It takes her on a tour through Italy—from Milan to Naples to Sicily, back three generations to an immigrant heritage that struggled to build new roots in Germany after the war, and to secrets that have remained hidden for sixty years.Milan, 1954. Vincent, a handsome German engineer for BMW, arrives with the task of testing the Isetta, a revolutionary Italian car. His interpreter is the talented and enigmatic Giulietta, and the two soon fall passionately in love. Giulietta is full of life and dreams—she loves to design and sew clothes—but is held back by her family, who emigrated from Sicily, and by a promise that already binds her to another man. She will find herself forced to choose between love and duty, freedom and tradition—it is a choice that will mark the fate of generations to come.A saga of love and loss between two people and two countries, Anywhere But Home is a heartbreakingly beautiful story of forging new lives across foreign landscapes and cultures, of old wounds and forgiveness, and of the enduring bonds of family.

Oil and Marble: A Novel of Leonardo and Michelangelo


Stephanie Storey - 2016
    Leonardo was a charming, handsome fifty year-old at the peak of his career. Michelangelo was a temperamental sculptor in his mid-twenties, desperate to make a name for himself.Michelangelo is a virtual unknown when he returns to Florence and wins the commission to carve what will become one of the most famous sculptures of all time: David. Even though his impoverished family shuns him for being an artist, he is desperate to support them. Living at the foot of his misshapen block of marble, Michelangelo struggles until the stone finally begins to speak. Working against an impossible deadline, he begins his feverish carving.Meanwhile, Leonardo’s life is falling apart: he loses the hoped-for David commission; he can’t seem to finish any project; he is obsessed with his ungainly flying machine; he almost dies in war; his engineering designs disastrously fail; and he is haunted by a woman he has seen in the market—a merchant’s wife, whom he is finally commissioned to paint. Her name is Lisa, and she becomes his muse.Leonardo despises Michelangelo for his youth and lack of sophistication. Michelangelo both loathes and worships Leonardo’s genius.Oil and Marble is the story of their nearly forgotten rivalry. Storey brings early 16th-century Florence alive, and has entered with extraordinary empathy into the minds and souls of two Renaissance masters. The book is an art history thriller.

The Optician of Lampedusa


Emma Jane Kirby - 2016
    I hardly want to. You won't understand because you weren't there. You can't understand. You see, I thought I'd heard seagulls screeching. Seagulls fighting over a lucky catch. Birds. Just birds.'Emma-Jane Kirby has reported extensively on the reality of mass migration today. In The Optician of Lampedusa she brings to life the moving testimony of an ordinary man whose late summer boat trip off a Sicilian island unexpectedly turns into a tragic rescue mission.

Daughters of the Silk Road


Debbie Rix - 2016
    He had placed it there when they first arrived in Venice. She took it down carefully, feeling it cool and comforting under her shaking fingers.’ Venice 1441: Maria and her brother Daniele arrive in the birthplace of their father, Niccolo dei Conti. An Italian merchant who has travelled far and wide, Niccolo has brought spices from India, lengths of silk and damask from the lands east of India and porcelain; a vase of pure white, its surface decorated with a cobalt blue dragon, the Chinese symbol of good fortune. Maria settles in her new home, watching the magnificent and bustling city come to life each morning from her bedroom window. But while her father is away travelling, she soon finds herself and Daniele in terrible danger. She must protect her brother at whatever cost, and she must guard the delicate vase. London 2015: Single mother Miranda is struggling to make ends meet and build a new life for her and daughter Georgie. When Miranda meets the charming but mysterious Charles, she is intrigued. Could he be her second chance at love? And why is he so fascinated by the old vase sitting on her hall table… A stunning and richly evocative story following the journey of a precious family treasure passed down from one generation to another.

An Off-Piste Christmas


Julie Houston - 2016
     The last thing Harriet Westmoreland wants is Christmas away from home, particularly when skiing, snow, heights and freezing her backside off are on the menu. While her own family, together with her best friend Grace's, are soon whizzing down ridiculously scary mountains in the fashionable Italian resort of Cortina d'Ampezzo, Harriet is stuck in the remedial class on the nursery slopes unable, it seems, to remain vertical. Tired of trying to stay upright in the dunces' class, Harriet decides to overcome her fear of heights and take her bruised body off to explore the refugios in the magnificent Dolomites above Cortina. And maybe catch a glance of George Clooney, rumoured to be in town... But what happens next triggers a totally unexpected avalanche of events which proves that, for friends Harriet and Grace and all their families, Christmas really is a time for little miracles... A laugh-out-loud novella from the Kindle top 5 bestselling author of A Village Affair. Praise for Julie Houston: 'A real page-turner. You'll laugh and cry, but not be able to put it down as Julie's trademark humour shines through from beginning to end' Cassam Book Blog. 'This is one of those novels that makes you want to read "just one more chapter" before you turn out the light, and that chapter turns into several more' Big Bertha, Amazon Top 500 Reviewer. 'I became so engrossed in this story I couldn't stop – kept going for just another chapter, and another, until I'd read straight through to the end. I loved it – the magic five for me, a wonderful read and one to keep for rereading' Jeannie Zelos Book Reviews. 'An absolutely briliant read. This will definitely be a book to look out for in 2016 and I, for one, will be recommending it at every opportunity' I Love Smart Books. 'A wonderful read ... The prose flows effortlessly and takes the reader on a roller-coaster ride ... Julie Houston is definitely an author to watch out for' Kathryn Hughes, Kindle #1 bestselling author of The Letter and The Secret. 'Stick this right at the top of your To Read List' BestChickLit.Com.

I Found Myself in Tuscany


Lisa Condie - 2016
    As Lisa explored the streets of Florence, she felt invigorated and fulfillled wandering through the famed architecture and spectacular galleries; a deep sense of peace enveloped her as she discovered the rolling hills of the Tuscan countryside, where Condie sought out wineries and olive groves, and monasteries and churches for answers and inspiration. The imposing Duomo that dominated the Florence skyline and the city’s awe-inspiring bridges and meandering rivers beckoned her to leave her Utah home. The sights of Florence not only healed her, they became her muse.

The House at the Edge of Night


Catherine Banner - 2016
    At the center of the island’s life is a café draped with bougainvillea called the House at the Edge of Night, where over generations the community gathers to gossip and talk. Amedeo Esposito, a foundling from Florence, finds his destiny on the island with his beautiful wife, Pina, whose fierce intelligence, grace, and unwavering love guide her every move. An indiscretion tests their marriage, and their children—three sons and an inquisitive daughter—grow up and struggle with both humanity’s cruelty and its capacity for love and mercy.Spanning nearly a century, through secrets and mysteries, trials and sacrifice, this beautiful and haunting novel follows the lives of the Esposito family and the other islanders who live and love on Castellamare: a cruel count and his bewitching wife, a priest who loves scandal, a prisoner of war turned poet, an outcast girl who becomes a pillar of strength, a wounded English soldier who emerges from the sea. The people of Castellamare are transformed by two world wars and a great recession, by the threat of fascism and their deep bonds of passion and friendship, and by bitter rivalries and the power of forgiveness, in this richly written and powerful novel.Catherine Banner has written an enthralling, character-rich novel, epic in scope but intimate in feeling. At times, the island itself seems alive, a mythical place where the earth heaves with stories—and this magical novel takes you there.

Under Italian Skies


Nicky Pellegrino - 2016
    For twenty-five years, she's been trusted assistant to a legendary fashion designer, but after her boss dies suddenly, she's left with nothing to do apart from clear the studio.It seems as though the life she wanted has vanished. She is lost - until one day she finds a house swap website and sees a beautiful old villa in a southern Italian village. Could she really exchange her poky London flat for that?But what was intended as just a break becomes much more, as Stella finds herself trying on a stranger's life. As the villa begins to get under her skin, she can't help but imagine the owner from the clues around her. She meets his friends, cooks the local food he recommends and follows suggestions to go to his favourite places. But can an idea of someone ever match up to the reality?As Stella wonders if she can let go of the safety of her past, perhaps there's a chance for her to find a way into her future...

The Winemakers: A Novel of Wine and Secrets


Jan Moran - 2016
    A devastating family secret. A truth that could destroy the man she loves. **From a USA Today bestselling author.**Napa Valley, 1956: Winemaker Caterina Rosetta and her widowed mother Ava harbor family secrets and face threats that could ruin their family winery, Mille Étoiles Vineyards. Concealing her husband's past in Tuscany, Ava struggles to manage the vineyard, while her high-spirited, passionate daughter Caterina—a wine-blending savant—has inherited Ava's talent for crafting wine and guarding damaging secrets.Caterina hides a truth that could ruin her in the eyes of her mother and traditional society: An illegitimate child. The father, Santo—Caterina's childhood best friend—abandoned her without explanation, leaving her with nowhere to turn. Devastated, Caterina journeys to their ancestral vineyard in Montalcino, Italy to claim an inheritance from her grandmother and seize the chance to start a new life. There, for the first time, she meets her unknown, extended family and discovers shocking secrets that could destroy the man she loves. Caterina realizes her happiness and the entire future of Mille Étoiles Vineyards depend on her ability to unravel the mysteries of the past—if she has the strength to face them.From USA Today bestselling author Jan Moran, The Winemakers was originally published by St. Martin's Press and in audio. Also by Jan Moran: The Chocolatier, The Perfumer: Scent of Triumph, and Hepburn's Necklace. REVIEWS"Caterina is a dream of a protagonist, and her mother, for all her flaws, is relatable as a parent so desperate to see her child happy and prosperous that she will do whatever it takes. Readers will devour this page-turner as the mystery and passions spin out. VERDICT: A solid pick for fans of historical romances combined with a heartbreaking mystery." - Library Journal"As she did with fragrance and scent-making in Scent of Triumph, Moran weaves knowledge of wine and winemaking into this intense family drama." – Booklist"We were spellbound by the thread of deception weaving the book's characters into a tangled web, and turned each page anticipating the outcome." - The Mercury News"Absolutely adored THE WINEMAKERS. Beautifully layered and utterly compelling. Intriguing from start to finish. A story not to be missed." - Jane Porter, USA Today and New York Times Bestselling author "Wildly romantic and utterly compelling, THE WINEMAKERS is full of family secrets and gorgeous descriptions of the Italian countryside and the vineyards of the Napa Valley. I was completely swept away!" - Anita Hughes, author of Rome In Love"Told with exquisite elegance and style, THE WINEMAKERS is a dazzling tale rich with family secrets, fine wine, and romance that will leave you breathless."- Juliette Sobanet, author of Sleeping with Paris

Rick Steves Best of Italy


Rick Steves - 2016
    Pocket guides include fold-out city maps.

Italian Short Stories For Beginners Volume 2: 8 More Unconventional Short Stories to Grow Your Vocabulary and Learn Italian the fun Way!


Olly Richards - 2016
    Instead of pausing to look up every word, you’ll absorb new vocabulary from the context of the story, and have the satisfaction of that moment when you say: “I totally understood that sentence!” Carefully written Italian, using straightforward grammar that is comprehensible for beginner and intermediate level learners, so that you can enjoy reading and learn new grammatical structures without the feeling of overwhelm and frustration that you get from other books. Plenty of natural dialogues in each story, so that you can learn conversational Italian whilst you read, and improve your speaking ability at the same time! Regular plot summaries, comprehension questions and word reference lists, so that help is always on hand when you need it. You’ll be able to focus on enjoying reading and having fun, rather than fumbling around with dictionaries and struggling through dense text with no support. A five-step plan for reading the stories in this book the smart way. This detailed introductory chapter gives you specific, step-by-step instructions for effective reading in Italian, so that you know exactly how to make the most out of the book and maximise your learning! Italian Short Stories for Beginners Volume 2 is written especially for students from beginner to intermediate level (A1-B1 on the Common European Framework of Reference). The eight captivating stories are designed to give you a sense of achievement and a feeling of progress when reading. You’ll finally be able to enjoy reading in Italian, grow your vocabulary in a natural way, and improve your comprehension at the same time. Based on extensive research into how people most enjoy and benefit from reading in a new language, this book eliminates all the frustrations you have experienced when trying to read in Italian: Dull topics that are no fun to read Books so long you never reach the end Endless chapters that make you want to give up Impenetrable grammar that frustrates you at every turn Complex vocabulary that leaves you with your head buried in the dictionary Instead, you can just concentrate on what you came for in the first place - enjoying reading and having fun! If you’re learning Italian and enjoy reading, this is the book you need to rekindle your passion for the language and take your Italian to the next level!

If You Were Me and Lived in... Renaissance Italy


Carole P. Roman - 2016
    Roman and travel through time to visit the most interesting civilizations throughout history in the first four books of her new series. Learn what kind of food you might eat in Ancient Greece, the clothes you wore in 15th century Renaissance Italy, what your name could be in Elizabethan England, and what Colonial American children did for fun. If You Were Me and Lived in...does for history what her other award-winning series did for culture. So get on-board this time-travel machine and discover the world through the eyes of a young person just like you.

Kaffe Fassett's Quilts in Italy: 20 Designs from Rowan for Patchwork and Quilting


Kaffe Fassett - 2016
    The region, with its terracotta walls and handsome black and white churches set off by jewel-like glimpses of the Mediterranean, is beautifully reflected in the colors and patterns created by Kaffe and his team of designers.The glorious array of designs featured in Kaffe Fassett's Quilts in Italy are all made using classic as well as new fabrics from the Kaffe Fassett Fabric Collection subtle or bold, simple or complex, all of the designs come together with emblematic Kaffe Fassett flair. Choose from the delicious ice-cream colors and traditional piecing of Kaffe s own Lacy Log Cabin, the bold and contrasting colors and forms of Scaffold, the almost dizzying complexity of Chiaroscuro, with its four-in-one style piecing, and many more eye-catching designs.In addition to the gallery of quilts, the book provides detailed information on how to make each featured quilt, along with general practical patchwork and quilting information and a visual summary of Kaffe s latest fabrics."

Italian Short Stories For Intermediate Learners: 8 Unconventional Short Stories to Grow Your Vocabulary and Learn Italian the Fun Way!


Olly Richards - 2016
    You can focus on the joy of reading in Italian, rather than struggling through dense text with no support An expert, five-step guide to reading Italian effectively, so you can become a better learner, and use reading as a tool to become fluent Italian Short Stories for Intermediate Learners has been written especially for students at intermediate level (B1-B2 on the Common European Framework of Reference). The stories are written in carefully graded Italian that avoids much of the obscure vocabulary and ambiguous grammar that has frustrated you when you’ve tried to read Italian in the past. With this book, you’ll have a sense of achievement and feeling of progress when reading. You’ll finally be able to enjoy reading in Italian, grow your vocabulary in a natural way, and improve your comprehension at the same time. Based on extensive research into how people most enjoy and benefit from reading in a new language, you’ll no longer suffer from these common difficulties associated with reading Italian: Dull topics that are no fun to read Books so long you never reach the end Endless chapters that make you want to give up Impenetrable grammar that frustrates you at every turn Complex vocabulary that leaves you with your head buried in the dictionary Instead, you can just concentrate on what you came for in the first place - enjoying reading and having fun! If you’ve been learning Italian for a while, and are ready to take your skills to the next level, this is the book you need! So what are you waiting for? Scroll up and grab your copy now!

The Liberation


Kate Furnivall - 2016
    Caterina Lombardi is desperate - her mother has abandoned them already and her brother is being drawn into the mafia. Early one morning, among the ruins of the bombed Naples streets, she is forced to go to extreme lengths to protect her family and in doing so forges a future very different to the one she expected. But will the secrets of her family's past be her downfall? This epic novel is an unforgettably powerful story of love, loss and the long shadow of war.

Dolce Vita Confidential: Fellini, Loren, Pucci, Paparazzi, and the Swinging High Life of 1950s Rome


Shawn Levy - 2016
    Artists, exiles, and a dazzling array of movie talent rushed to Rome for a chance to thrive in this hotbed of excitement. From the photographers who tailed the stars to the legends who secured their place in cinematic fame, Dolce Vita Confidential resurrects the drama that permeated the streets and screens of Rome.

Rosalia's Bittersweet Pastry Shop


Rosanna Chiofalo - 2016
    But when she hears about the remarkable desserts that are created in a pastry shop operated out of a convent in the sleepy Italian hillside town of Santa Lucia del Mela, she wants to write a book featuring the sweets and the story behind their creator—Sorella Agata. But the convent’s most famous dessert—a cassata cake—is what really intrigues Claudia.Everyone who samples the cake agrees it is like none other they’ve tasted. Yet no one can figure out what makes the cassata so incredibly delicious. Though Sorella Agata insists there is no secret ingredient, Claudia is determined to learn the truth behind the mysterious cake. As she samples each delectable treat—marzipan fruit, rich cream puffs, and decadent cakes—Sorella Agata relates the pastry shop’s history and tells of the young woman, Rosalia, who inspired her.Kidnapped and separated from her family, Rosalia is subjected to a terrible ordeal—until the nuns find her. As she heals, she learns the art of pastry making, and soon she even finds love with Antonio—an apprentice in the pastry shop. But her heart still aches for the family she lost. And Rosalia knows she will not be whole again until she is reunited with them.As Claudia unravels the secret of the cassata cake, she discovers a deeper, fascinating story—one that affirms food can do more than nourish the body…it can stir memories, heal the deepest heartaches, and even act as a bridge to those we love, no matter how far apart.Praise For The Novels Of Rosanna ChiofaloStella Mia"The mountains and islands of Sicily, the fabulous clothes of the late sixties, and the emotional power Sarina feels when singing stand out." --BooklistCarissima"What a glorious novel this is. It's a celebration of life, love and unlikely friendship through the eyes of two very different women. Yet their similarities bind them together and will endear them to readers long after the last page is turned. Bravissima for Carissima!" --Susan Wiggs, # 1 New York Times bestselling author"Fantastico! I couldn't put it down!" --Lisa Jackson, # 1 New York Times bestselling authorBella Fortuna"Chiofalo brings the Italian immigrant community and neighborhoods richly to life." --Publishers Weekly"Well-drawn characters…A charmer." --BookPage"Sometimes tough, sometimes tender, always heartfelt and honest, Bella Fortuna is a lively, finely-stitched tale of life and love, family and friendship, and a zest for cose Italiane!" --Peter Pezzelli, author of Home to Italy

Stealing Venice


Anna Erikssön Bendewald - 2016
    Secrets are about to spin out of control. Contessa Giselle Verona jets between Paris and Venice creating dangerous sculptures that have gotten her banned from galleries, but collectors reach for their checkbooks to buy her next work of art. She lives a perfect life until an innocent artist is thrown up against her at a murder scene and a powerful man she's never met decides to wage war against her in-laws. This suspenseful game of cat and mouse leads us from Paris to the Champagne Region to Venice to the Vatican to Palermo as family secrets draw in the Vatican, the Mafia and threatens the floating city itself.

Italian Reader: Short Stories (English-Italian Parallel Text): Elementary to Intermediate (A2-B1)


Alex Kouzine - 2016
    Henry, W.S. Maugham, R. Goldberg and others. There are also 5 mini-stories presented at the beginning of the book as a “warm-up exercise”. The stories have been thoroughly adapted (to preserve the gist of the original), translated into Italian language and presented as English – Italian parallel text. The book is intended mainly for Elementary to middle-Intermediate level learners.

A Literary Tour of Italy


Tim Parks - 2016
    This volume contains a selection of his best essays on the literature of his adopted country.From Boccaccio and Machiavelli through to Moravia and Tabucchi, from the Stil Novo to Divisionism, across centuries of history and intellectual movements, these essays will give English readers, and lovers of the Bel Paese and its culture, the lay of the literary land of Italy.

Books that Matter: The Prince


William Landon - 2016
    But what does it really mean to be Machiavellian?These 24 lectures are more than just a close reading of one of the great books of Western history. They're a revealing investigation of the historical context of Machiavelli's philosophical views, his tumultuous relationship with Florentine politics, his reception by his contemporaries and by 20th-century scholars, and his lasting influence on everyone from William Shakespeare to Joseph Stalin.Throughout the lectures, you'll dive deeply into the work's most important chapters to survey their main insights; read between the lines to uncover hidden meanings, inspirations, and ironies; learn how scholars have debated their historical inspiration and importance; and discover the author's startling imagery and sometimes beautiful language. Going beyond the commonly held vision of Renaissance Italy as a place of creative genius, Professor Landon reveals the drama and terror of Machiavelli's life and world, including his relationships to the city of Florence, the powerful Medici family, and the villainous Cesare Borgia (Machiavelli's ideal prince).For those who have already heard The Prince, prepare to engage with the text on a deeper level than ever before. And for those who've always wanted to listen to this important book, this is your introduction to one man's revolutionary beliefs about achieving - and maintaining - power.

The Zorzi Affair: A Novel of Galileo's Italy


Sylvia Prince - 2016
    The seventeenth century. The daughter of a Venetian patrician isn’t supposed to love science. But Zaneta Lucia secretly reads astronomy books while her mother pushes etiquette lessons. On the eve of her sixteenth birthday, Zaneta Lucia faces a choice: the marriage arranged by her parents, or a life devoted to learning. Disguised as a boy, Zaneta Lucia runs away to Padua and enrolls at the university. Her clever friend Paolo introduces her to a rising star named Galileo. Zaneta Lucia’s new life seems perfect—but it can’t last forever. Her secret is dangerous, and an instrument maker, an Inquisitor, and a bounty hunter all threaten to expose her. Can Zaneta Lucia write her own destiny? This coming-of-age story, set in seventeenth-century Italy, combines historical fiction with a hint of romance.

Aperitivo: The Cocktail Culture of Italy


Marisa Huff - 2016
    Aperitivo takes the reader on a spirited ride through this cocktail culture, covering variations on all the classics including the Negroni, the Bellini, and the spritz and stopping at the chicest bars that have elevated this ritual to an art form. Many of the drinks are structured around vermouths and other botanical-infused liqueurs, which offer a new world of complex flavors. They yield enticingly simple cocktails that refresh—without stunning the palate (thanks to a lighter alcohol content). But Aperitivo is just as much about the food because in Italy, drinking and eating go hand in hand. Recipes feature fried sage leaves, oven-roasted eggplant, and carbonara tramezzini, as well as many delicious riffs on crostini, frittata, and focaccia. Whether planning a party or just having a friend over for a quick drink, Aperitivo brings a whole new spirit of conviviality and true Italian style to the occasion.

The Guardian of Mercy: How an Extraordinary Painting by Caravaggio Changed an Ordinary Life Today


Terence Ward - 2016
    Three years later he was in Naples, where he painted The Seven Acts of Mercy. A year later he died at the age of thirty-eight under mysterious circumstances. Exploring Caravaggio's singular masterwork, in The Guardian of Mercy Terence Ward offers an incredible narrative journey into the heart of his artistry and his metamorphosis from fugitive to visionary.Ward's guide in this journey is a contemporary artist whose own life was transformed by the painting, a simple man named Angelo who shows him where it still hangs in a small church in Naples and whose story helps him see its many layers. As Ward unfolds the structure of the painting, he explains each of the seven mercies and its influence on Caravaggio's troubled existence. Caravaggio encountered the whole range of Naples's vertical social layers, from the lowest ranks of poverty to lofty gilded aristocratic circles, and Ward reveals the old city behind today's metropolis. Fusing elements of history, biography, memoir, travelogue, and journalism, his narrative maps the movement from estrangement to grace, as we witness Caravaggio's bruised life gradually redeemed by art.

The Italian Baker


Forti Melissa - 2016
    In her tea room in an idyllic medieval town near Tuscany, she bakes beautiful cakes that combine Italian traditions with her own modern twists. This book is a collection of Melissa’s favourite tarts, celebration cakes, loaves, biscuits and coffee-time treats borne out of her unique style of baking. Every recipe is a treat, taking in deliciously popular Italian ingredients like olive oil, mascarpone, almonds and stunning fresh fruit. Melissa gives perennial favourites like carrot cake, brownies, chocolate cake and cheesecake a fresh, Italian makeover, as well as sharing traditional Italian recipes and others handed down through her family. Every cake and cookie tells a story, reflecting Melissa’s travels, her passion for good food and the love of her Italian heritage.

Inside Venice: A Private View of the City's Most Beautiful Interiors


Toto Bergamo Rossi - 2016
    This gorgeously photographed journey through entrancingly beautiful Venetian interiors is sure to appeal to Venice’s many admirers interested in the elegance and refinement of classical Old World interior design. The private properties featured in this handsome volume are not accessible to the public and most are published here for the first time. The book is a luxurious presentation of the hidden architectural and interior design treasures of Venice, ranging from historical ninth-century buildings to contemporary renovations that blend old and new. Seventy-two properties, each photographed exclusively for the book, are profiled—mainly private apartments and palazzos, along with some churches, hotels, and other public spaces that those interested in interiors will find inspiring. Author and preservation expert Toto Bergamo Rossi personally selected each property for inclusion based on his detailed field knowledge gained over many years as director of the Venetian Heritage Foundation, whose mission is to safeguard Venetian cultural heritage as manifested in architecture, music, and fine art.

Lonely Planet Venice & the Veneto


Lonely Planet - 2016
    Absorb the architecture and mosaics at Basilica di San Marco, cruise the Grand Canal aboard a gondola, trace the development of Venetian art at the Gallerie dell'Accademia; all with your trusted travel companion. Get to the heart of Venice & the Veneto and begin your journey now! Inside Lonely Planet Venice & the Veneto Travel Guide: Full-colour maps and images throughout Highlights and itineraries help you tailor your trip to your personal needs and interests Insider tips to save time and money and get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spots Essential info at your fingertips - hours of operation, phone numbers, websites, transit tips, prices Honest reviews for all budgets - eating, sleeping, sight-seeing, going out, shopping, hidden gems that most guidebooks miss Cultural insights give you a richer, more rewarding travel experience - including history, art, architecture, literature, cinema, music, landscapes, wildlife, cuisine, wine Free, convenient pull-out Venice map (included in print version), plus over 30 colour maps. Covers San Marco, Dorsoduro, San Polo & Santa Croce, Cannaregio, Castello, Guidecca, Lido, Murano, Burano, and more eBook Features: (Best viewed on tablet devices and smartphones) Downloadable PDF and offline maps prevent roaming and data charges Effortlessly navigate and jump between maps and reviews Add notes to personalise your guidebook experience Seamlessly flip between pages Bookmarks and speedy search capabilities get you to key pages in a flash Embedded links to recommendations' websites Zoom-in maps and images Inbuilt dictionary for quick referencing The Perfect Choice: Lonely Planet Venice & the Veneto, our most comprehensive guide to Venice & the Veneto, is perfect for both exploring top sights and taking roads less travelled. Looking for just the highlights? Check out Pocket Venice, a handy-sized guide focused on the can't-miss sights for a quick trip. Looking for more extensive coverage? Check out Lonely Planet Italy guide for a comprehensive look at all the country has to offer. About Lonely Planet: Lonely Planet is a leading travel media company and the world's number one travel guidebook brand, providing both inspiring and trustworthy information for every kind of traveller since 1973. Over the past four decades, we've printed over 145 million guidebooks and phrasebooks for 120 languages, and grown a dedicated, passionate global community of travellers. You'll also find our content online, and in mobile apps, video, 14 languages, 12 international magazines, armchair and lifestyle books, ebooks, and more, enabling you to explore every day.

All My Fallen Angelas


Gianna Patriarca - 2016
    The stories document their strength and resilience, their power and vulnerability as the women move in community that allowed their presence in shops, factories, and churches, but offered them little else for entertainment and self-exploration outside of their families. The stories cover a wide range of women’s experiences from loneliness; disappointment; mothering; marriages, arranged and not arranged, that were loving, simply stable, or violent. As a whole, the book provides the reader with a sense of Toronto’s Italian immigrant community in its urban landscape, housing, social life, work and education options. The stories are the work of a raconteur who has been listening carefully to a wide range of women who shared their feelings in the kitchens and basements of their lives when the men were not around, when they were asleep or otherwise occupied. Each story ends on an ambiguous or poignant note that invokes the reader’s imagination. These stories are not simply accounts of women’s lives. They are literature: often humourous, sometimes tragic, and eternally human.“These beautifully told stories of the lives and loves of immigrant girls and women will charm you and chill you and break your heart. Above all they will hold you, from the first page to the last.”—Nino Ricci, author of the award-winning novel The Origin of Species and of the Lives of the Saints trilogy“All My Fallen Angelas is symphony of female voices of all ages, weaving an intricate web of stories around Canadian girls and women of Italian origin living in Toronto. The narrative I, belonging to different characters, explores a memory, a moment of revelation, a traumatic event. Gianna Patriarca’s short stories are threads of a larger texture, probing, with subtlety and irony, the nuances and the intricacies of the mind of women who bear in their very names their family history.”—Oriana Palusci, University of Naples, Orientale“In her new book, All My Fallen Angelas, Gianna Patriarca offers stories elaborating authentic portraits of characters in Toronto’s Italian community. She dips into her memories of growing up in Toronto to offer living photographs seen through the lens of deep compassion. The experiences of ordinary immigrant Italian characters, whose lives are largely underrepresented in Canadian literature, come alive and are told with attentive humour and grace. Patriarca’s stories reclaim the drama of lives, voices, and events from the anonymity of history. All My Fallen Angelas is a timely collection of stories of a community known largely through stereotypes.”—Isabella Colalillo Katz, author of Marlene Dietrich’s Eyes“Gianna Patriarca infuses her prose with masterful strokes of poetic prowess. Her short stories are amazing, powerful, often cool and so very important. She gives voice to the silent and overlooked narrative of the women in our community who have sacrificed and lived so much for their families and also for themselves. The book, however, goes far beyond the stereotypical nonna-in-a-black-dress archetype and finally brings life to the rich, colourful, and complex lives of women who have been overshadowed by stories of romanticized male-dominated mafia melodrama and mayhem.” —Domenico Capilongo, author of Subtitles and Other Stories“Gianna Patriarca’s latest book of stories captures the tension and liability of being an Italian/immigrant woman. Through well-crafted and engaging stories, she weaves passion and melancholy into the lives of women caught in that liminal space between the old world values and the new Anglo mores, metaphorically captured as the characters gaze out their neighbourhood windows. Patriarca transports us into a world of women with desires and needs which they have learned to suppress out of cultural deference. I highly recommend this book for its gorgeous contribution to understanding Italian women’s experiences and for the Italian female sensibility with which it dances.”—Theresa Carilli, University of Purdue“Gianna Patriarca introduces her characters with a sharp-eyed gentleness and compassion rooted in fond familiarity. These are stories in which the author is sometimes observer, sometimes participant. They do not end at the final page, but carry on in our imagination, in our emotions. In each of her observant tales, there is something of herself and of myself and of all of us.”—Linda Stitt, poet

A Year In Tuscany


Annie Ayre - 2016
     When the Duke of Grambörg announces over breakfast that he will sell the old family villa in the Tuscan hills to move to New York, his family is in uproar. Where on earth will his beautiful daughters, the contessas Claudia and Hanna, live – now they no longer have the family seat? And that, as it turns out, is just the beginning of the escapades that ensue after the old Danish duca makes his life-changing decision. Will local poor boy-turned rich man, Osvaldo Cipollina, find a way to buy the villa? Hopelessly in love with Hanna, will he ever manage to persuade her to see past his humble beginnings, not to mention his dubiously acquired wealth, and return his feelings? Will the haughty Claudia ever be reconciled with her aristocratic husband: Lord Eastcliffe? With a cast of characters as rich as a medieval tapestry, there is just no knowing what will happen next in this finely tuned comic novel. From Lo Strapazzato – “The Scrambled One” – who is a little too fond of arson, to the international diamond smuggler with a taste for fine wines, to the mysterious American cousin of Osvaldo’s who arrives wearing a veil – everyone in this corner of Italy, it seems, has a secret. That’s not to mention a sultry belle from the American deep south, an Australian crooner, and, at the heart of it all, the perfect sunshine of the Tuscan countryside. A Year In Tuscany is a delightful story that will appeal to lovers of the English comic novel. Praise for A Year In Tuscany “This book has everything” – Publishers Weekly “An exceptionally, witty, well-written novel.... her vibrant descriptions of the local landscape and Italian cuisine are captivating....” – Daily Press Praise for Annie Ayre’s first novel After the Ball Was Over: “A fine comic novel…One hears in Kingsland bits of Dickens, Waugh, and the British playwright Peter Barnes…Within this short novel is a comic distillation of the British adventure in India.” — The Cleveland Plain Dealer “A wicked little comic novel set in Jamalpur, India…a delightfully silly cooler to bring down some of the recent Raj fever” — Kirkus Reviews “After the Ball Was Over perches atop such classics as A Passage to India and The Jewel in the Crown like the mustache that Magritte painted on the Mona Lisa.” — Los Angeles Times Annie Ayre was born and educated in India. She has worked in London as a journalist and screenwriter, lived in Tuscany for three years, before moving to Fairview, Tennessee. Other novels include A Saint among Savages, and, for children, Treasure Islands. She wrote under the pen name Rosemary Kingsland. Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com. Each week you will receive updates on free and discounted ebooks. Follow us on Twitter: @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via http://on.fb.me/1HweQV7.

Insight Guides Pocket Bologna (Travel Guide eBook)


Insight Guides - 2016
    Insight Pocket Guide Bologna is a concise, full-colour travel guide that combines lively text with vivid photography to highlight the best that this exciting city has to offer.Inside Bologna Pocket Guide:Where To Go details all the key sights in the city, while handy maps on the cover flaps help you find your way around, and are cross-referenced to the text.Top 10 Attractions gives a run-down of the best sights to take in on your trip.Perfect Day provides a day itinerary around the city.What To Do is a snapshot of ways to spend your spare time, from shopping for food, wine and leather goods to excursions to neighbouring vineyards.Essential information on the culture of the Emilia-Romagna region, including a brief history of Bologna.Eating Out covers the city's best cuisine.Curated listings of the best hotels and restaurants.A-Z of all the practical information you'll need.About Insight Guides: Insight Guides has over 40 years' experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides. We produce around 400 full-colour print guide books and maps as well as picture-packed eBooks to meet different travellers' needs. Insight Guides' unique combination of beautiful travel photography and focus on history and culture together create a unique visual reference and planning tool to inspire your next adventure.'Insight Guides has spawned many imitators but is still the best of its type.' - Wanderlust Magazine

Sicily: Recipes from the Pearl of Southern Italy


Katie Caldesi - 2016
    Thanks to its rich history, Sicilian food has Italian as well as Greek, Spanish, French, and Arab influences. Now Italian aficionados, Katie and Giancarlo Caldesi, head to the island to immerse themselves in its diverse food scene.Starting in the capital, Palermo, the couple come across some exciting street food that features tasty Arancini (rice balls stuffed with meat sauce and cheese) to lesser know gems such as Panelle (garbanzo bean fritters), and Sfincione, a thick Sicilian pizza, topped with tomatoes, onions, anchovies, and casciocavallo cheese. In Trapani they try a fish couscous and then head to Noto, where almonds dominate in some memorable desserts, including a classic Semifreddo and a refreshing Almond Granita (served with fresh brioche, for dunking). Nor would any Sicilian book would be complete without Pasta Alla Norma (pasta with tomatoes and eggplants) and the classic, ricotta-filled sweet delight Cannoli.

Gardens of the Italian Lakes


Stephen Desmond - 2016
    The gardens around Lake Como and Lake Maggiore, in the far north of Italy, are admired throughout the world for their beauty and variety in a magnificent natural location. This book sets out to become the standard work on these gardens as there is nothing of this kind on the market at the moment. It will appeal both to the specialist and enthusiast preparing for a visit.The common factor for all these gardens is their setting in this landscape of exceptional scenery. Lake Como is a deep lake hemmed in like a fjord by towering mountains. Lake Maggiore has more the character of an inland sea, with ferries crossing to the famous island gardens for an afternoon in another world. Both lakes are lined with the towers, villas and grand hotels that speak of a complex history including key events in Italy's struggle to achieve nationhood, inspiration for a string of illustrious writers and composers, and a long line of distinguished visitors.The gardens include:Villa Melzi, Bellagio: an early 19th-century romantic park on the lake shoreVilla Carlotta, Cadenabbia: a terraced 17th-century property with woodlandVilla del Balbianello, Lenno: a famously picturesque loggiaVilla D'Este, Cernobbio: a 16th-century cascade garden with royal connectionsVilla Cicogna Mozzoni, Bisuschio: an intact 16th-century villa gardenVilla Della Porta Bozzolo, Casalzuigno: a rural baroque gardenIsola Bella, Stresa: a well-known island gardenIsola Madre, Stresa: an island retreat of flowers and birdsVilla San Remigio, Pallanza: an Edwardian garden made by two loversVilla Táranto, Pallanza: one of the world's great woodland gardens

The Women Friends: Selina


Emma Rose Millar - 2016
    **FINALIST: The Chanticleer Goethe Awards for Late Historical Fiction**Who is the young woman with the haunting gaze in Gustav Klimt's 1917 masterpiece, The Women Friends?Selina Brunner is running from the demons of her past, cut off from her family in a sleepy Tyrolean village, and lost in the soulless city of Vienna, where everything - even one's very existence - is a lie.When, amidst growing fear of sinister developments in Vienna, an exotic stranger comes to town, Selina finds old passions reignited and her whole world turned upside down.The Women Friends: Selina is the first in a series of fictional tales about the women who inspired this great artist.

Salento by 5: Friendship, Food, Music and Travel Within the Heel of Italy's Boot


Audrey Fielding - 2016
    A friendship begins in the Rome airport, migrates to Salento, the southernmost Italian region of Puglia, blossoms over food and wine, and culminates in a narrative filled with nostalgic and personal recollections of Salento’s unique history, culture, and people. Enjoy the book’s watercolor sketches, the local recipes, and off-the-beaten path travel hints that only the Salento by 5 authors can provide. Whether you are an armchair traveler or looking for a new Italian adventure in a not so well known region, Salento by 5 has a little something for everyone.

Fausto & Felice Niccolini: The Houses and Monuments of Pompeii


Valentin Kockel - 2016
    Making use of the newly introduced technique of color lithography, they documented the buildings, frescos, statues, as well as its most ordinary everyday objects, of the city buried in just 24 hours by the catastrophic eruption of Vesuvius and preserved for over 1,600 years under a mantle of volcanic ash.The Niccolini s goal was to illustrate all aspects of life in the antique city. Their publication, Le case ed i monumenti di Pompei ( The Houses and Monuments of Pompeii ), which was issued in installments between 1854 and 1896 in Naples, presented over 400 color plates providing not only views, maps, and ground plans of the city and its public buildings, but also offered unprecedented access to Pompeii s private residences. They revealed the astonishing painted wall decorations that adorned these long-buried abodes, their intricate works of art, and the practical utensils of everyday use, conjuring up a vivid picture of each house as a real, domestic space. In addition, animated representations visualized daily life in Pompeii s workshops, taverns, and shops, on its public squares, and in its temples, theaters, and baths.This meticulous facsimile revives the Niccolini s extraordinary achievement with all color plates and two introductory essays setting the project in its contemporary context and presenting the historical protagonists of the Vesuvian excavations. In addition, we explore the remarkable influence exerted by Pompeian art and by the haunting plaster casts made of victims of the eruption on the visual arts. Across painting, sculpture, and interior design, we trace the Pompeii legacy in the work of Robert Adam, Anton Raphael Mengs, Angelica Kaufmann, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Pablo Picasso, and Giorgio de Chirico, right through to recent masters Duane Hanson and George Segal.Text in English, French, and German"

The Perfect Summer: Holiday Romance Collection


Melissa Hill - 2016
     Escape into Melissa Hill's warm storytelling.... Spend summer in a charming lakeside tourist town, relax on the soft sandy beaches of Barbados, escape to an idyllic Greek villa in Santorini, or unwind at an Italian farmhouse in Sorrento ... you're sure to find this year's perfect vacation read. 'A jewel ... sparkling with warm yet delightfully flawed characters' (Romantic Times)

Hail, Claudio!


Gabriele Marcotti - 2016
    The inside story of the rise and rise of the butcher’s son from Rome, whose hard work, passion for football and ability to learn from his mistakes have earned him the respect of players, fans and owners worldwide.Italian journalists Gabriele Marcotti and Alberto Polverosi have known Claudio Ranieri since his early days as a determined Catanzaro central defender. During that time, they have closely followed his successes, his failures and his evolution – as a footballer, as a manager and as a person.From Ranieri’s career as a dogged – if not gifted – player, to the skills, tactics, single-minded focus and risk-taking transfers that have set him apart as a manager, this is one of the best football books you’ll ever read: the only in-depth insight into the man behind the Leicester City Premier League victory.

When Shadows Come


Vincent Zandri - 2016
    But now he sees almost nothing after being struck with PTSD-related blindness resulting from the trauma of his last tour. In an attempt to put the past behind him, he travels to Venice, Italy, with his fiancée, Grace, to recover, reconnect, and rekindle their love.Despite his physical and emotional setbacks, Nick senses something dangerously amiss in Venice, and his hunch proves right when Grace is abducted right in front of him. Because all he can see are horrific visions in his mind’s eye of the village casualties from his last mission, Nick will have to rely on his other heightened senses to discover what happened to his fiancée. To find the truth, he must be willing to open his eyes to the tragedies of his past and the ghosts that haunt him.

Carne: Meat recipes from the kitchen of the American Academy in Rome


Chris Behr - 2016
    Following volumes on biscotti, vegetables, pastas, and soups, this cookbook focuses on Executive Chef Christopher Behr s favorite subject, meat: beef, lamb, pork, rabbit, and poultry. Chef Behr also offers more than a dozen recipes for side dishes, or contorni, that heserves alongside meat entrees: salads (including Radicchio Salad with Green AppleBalsamic Vinaigrette with Walnuts and Grilled Cucumber Salad with Yogurt), beandishes, Sweet and Sour Squash, Pickled Green Tomatoes with Garlic, Hot Pepperand Mint (a dish that sold out within hours when he offered it at BKLYN Larder), and his legendary roasted potatoes that are crisp and golden on the outside with the creamy consistency of mashed potatoes on the inside. The Italian food of the Jersey shore is near and dear to Chef Behr s heart, and whenhe s homesick he cooks those iconic dishes, from meat loaf to short ribs, although hisversions reflect his experiences in California, New York, and Rome they re lighterthan the classic version but nonetheless deliver all their robust satisfaction."

Married by Christmas


Mollie Mathews - 2016
    This Christmas she’s running away. A week with a client on his private Fijian island promises to save her from cheating men and the London festive season. But when the client turns out to be a gorgeous and magnetic Italian billionaire, he threatens her resolve to never again trust her heart to the wrong man.Milan fashion house leader and avowed bachelor Massimiliano Balforni has no intention of taking a vacation, despite his sister’s insistence that he subject himself to an art therapy retreat following a minor heart attack. With an important collection due, he intends to fire his therapist and work, instead. But the determined and striking Issy gives his heart palpitations of a far more dangerous kind.The one thing Max and Issy agree on: they are as wrong for each other as wrong gets. He’s a workaholic playboy who believes emotion is a weakness. She’s a romantic who yearns for a happily ever after.As the tropical heat soars, they discover that in this battle between work and play, resistance only fuels attraction—and sometimes two wrongs make a very passionate right.Set in two beautiful paradises—Milano, Italy and the tropical Pacific islands of Fiji.

Mormons in the Piazza: History of the Latter-day Saints in Italy


James A. Toronto - 2016
    Monson turned a shovel of Italian soil to break ground for a temple in 2010, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has made evangelizing a high priority in Italy. Mormon missionary work unfolded against a backdrop of historical forces—political upheaval, world wars, social change, and internal Church dynamics—that presented both obstacles and opportunities for growth. Over the span of a century and a half, the Church managed to establish a small but significant presence in Italy. This research offers a comprehensive account and thorough analysis of the people, events, and issues related to this important chapter in Italian and Church history. This volume highlights the human drama associated with the encounters between foreign missionaries and local spiritual seekers and explores the implications of religious growth across obstacles of faith, geography, and culture.

Marshall Plan Modernism: Italian Postwar Abstraction and the Beginnings of Autonomia


Jaleh Mansoor - 2016
    Mansoor refuses to read the singularly striking formal and procedural violence of Fontana's slit canvasses, Burri's burnt and exploded plastics, and Manzoni's "achromes" as metaphors of traumatic memories of World War II. Rather, she locates the motivation for this violence in the history of the medium of painting and in the economic history of postwar Italy. Reconfiguring the relationship between politics and aesthetics, Mansoor illuminates how the monochrome's reemergence reflected Fontana, Burri, and Manzoni's aesthetic and political critique of the Marshall Plan's economic warfare and growing American hegemony. It also anticipated the struggles in Italy's factories, classrooms, and streets that gave rise to Autonomia in the 1960s. Marshall Plan Modernism refigures our understanding of modernist painting as a project about labor and the geopolitics of postwar reconstruction during the Italian Miracle.

The Life and Deaths of Blanche Nero


Ken Brigham - 2016
    She resolves to do something with her life that values humanity over justice, mercy over sacrifice. But she is forever haunted by the mystery of her father. She is also drawn irresistibly to the bigger human mysteries of violence and death. After a grueling but successful academic career at some of the nation’s finest university hospitals, Blanche is almost sixty. Her long career as a trauma surgeon at Charity Hospital in New Orleans has been abruptly ended by Hurricane Katrina. She takes a year sabbatical from the medical school and leases a small flat in Venice, seeking an understanding of her father in the place where he lived his formative years—and of herself by reliving and recording her own remarkable life. On a cold morning in Piazza San Marco, Blanche meets Count Lorenzo Ludovici (Ludo) an aging, elegant, and charming Venetian who is dying of AIDS. Blanche is drawn to him and is uncharacteristically self-revealing as he introduces her to his beautiful city. As their relationship develops and his health deteriorates, Blanche becomes ever more fond of the count. As she relives her past by writing down what she remembers, she sees the girl she was and the woman she became with new eyes: the mystery of her father’s death; her distant mother; her sometimes misguided adolescent efforts to grow up. And then discovering the thrill of medicine, especially the sensual thrill of trauma surgery and losing herself in that career, immersed in violence. She recalls her attempts at relationships, especially with Jesse Pinto, the one man whom she has ever loved, and how she ended that. She remembers her love affair with the Big Easy and Charity Hospital (the Big Free) that came suddenly to a violent end. Through a series of painful and revealing conversations, Blanche and Ludo discover that each of them has private knowledge of interlocking pieces of their history. Blanche feels sadness of a depth that she has not felt before, but also a strange sense of freedom. Perhaps, at last, she is ready to begin her life.

Florence Sketchbook


Fabrice Moireau - 2016
    From churches to museums, gardens to palaces, and small squares to twisting narrow streets, Fabrice Moireau has created a vivid portrait of the city where the Medicis, Leonardo da Vinci and Dante Alighieri once lived. The artist’s palette reveals the grandeur of the history of Florence, as well as its charms and atmosphere.

High Fashion: The 20th Century Decade by Decade


Emmanuelle Dirix - 2016
    A history of haute couture in the 20th century decade by decade Turning the pages of this lively book is like rummaging with a fancy dress box overflowing with clothes from the 20th century S Dirix is a fabulous guide Daily Mail What defined the way women dressed in the 1930s When did haute couture become offthepeg How did economic highs and lows influence style in the 1980s High Fashion answers these questions and more by exploring fashion design in the 20th century one decade at a time Each chapter looks at the significant stylistic changes that occurred in one decade and places them in a wider cultural and socioeconomic context The designers whose work best represents their era are profiled and their key looks deconstructed from the vertical silhouette of the 1900s to minimalism in the 1990s High Fashion combines thoughtful analysis with a carefully curated selection of archive images to create an invaluable resource for fashion students and a fascinating journey through 20thcentury style for fashionistas It reveals how styles have changed what those changes tell us about individuals and society at that time and how our current relationship with fashion was formed

Fashion and Masculinity in Renaissance Florence


Elizabeth Currie - 2016
    With the establishment of the ducal regime in Florence in 1530, there was increasing debate about how to be a nobleman. Was fashionable clothing a sign of magnificence or a source of mockery? Was the graceful courtier virile or effeminate? How could a man dress for court without bankrupting himself? This book explores the whole story of clothing, from the tailor's workshop to spectacular court festivities, to show how the male nobility in one of Italy's main textile production centers used their appearances to project social, sexual, and professional identities.Sixteenth-century male fashion is often associated with swagger and ostentation but this book shows that Florentine clothing reflected manhood at a much deeper level, communicating a very Italian spectrum of male virtues and vices, from honor, courage, and restraint to luxury and excess. Situating dress at the heart of identity formation, Currie traces these codes through an array of sources, including unpublished archival records, surviving garments, portraiture, poetry, and personal correspondence between the Medici and their courtiers.Addressing important themes such as gender, politics, and consumption, Fashion and Masculinity in Renaissance Florence sheds fresh light on the sartorial culture of the Florentine court and Italy as a whole.

Beyond Caravaggio


Letizia Treves - 2016
    His intense naturalism, almost brutal realism, and dramatic use of light had a wide impact on European painters, including Orazio Gentileschi, Valentin de Boulogne, and Gerrit van Honthorst. Each of Caravaggio’s followers absorbed something different from his work, propagating his stylistic legacy across Europe.   In this extensively illustrated catalogue, Letizia Treves introduces the international Caravaggesque movement and traces the distinct artistic personalities of its leading players. Even now, Caravaggio’s name overshadows the other talented artists who adopted his approach to narrative painting: the use of theatrical lighting to illuminate a story encapsulated in a single, dramatic moment. Treves explains the innovative and unifying features of these painters’ work and how, despite resistance to their style and subject matter, many outstanding Caravaggesque pictures found their way into important collections.

Italy Travel Guide: The ultimate traveler's Italy guidebook, history, tour book and everything Italian


Alex Pitt - 2016
    The magical country of Italia has so much to offer for holiday visitors in terms of activities, food, wine, sightseeing and more. Plan your holiday with this clever extensive Italian travel guide. Or, if you were unsure of where to go for your European holiday - allow me to introduce you to Italy and convince you to visit this wonderful, beautiful South European country. You can read about Italian history, cuisine, culture, all Italian regions, where to go, how to get there, what to see, when and where to see it, how to stay safe and more secret tips! I am Alex Pitt - adventurer, climber, survivor, nomad, traveler and writer and I would like to present to you the beautiful country of Italy. This book includes: Overview of all Italian regions - Northwest Italy, Northeast Italy, Central Italy, Southern Italy, Sicily, Sardinia and other destinations History of Italy - from prehistory through the Roman Empire to the Italian Republic Climate in Italy Travelling to Italy - by plane, train, car, bus or boat Traveling in Italy - by train, plane, car, bus, boat or hitchhiking Things to see - Roman ruins, Byzantine cities, operas, streets, squares, islands, museums, history, culture, religion Things to do - beaches, classical music, vineyards, cycling tours, sailing, spectator sports Money - shopping, currency, tipping, what to buy Food and drinks - eating, cuisine, specialties, pizza, cheese and sausages, restaurants and bars, gastronomia, water, wine, beer, coffee Accommodation Staying safe - crime, tourist scams, racism, staying healthy Staying connected - internet access, telephone, mobile, post Rome Venice Piemonte Liguria Lombardy Trentino-Alto Adige Friuli-Venezia Giulia Emilia-Romagna Tuscany Campania Sicily Sardinia Typical costs Tips to know before visiting Italy and more! Are you ready to learn about Italy? Ready to pack your bags and travel? Scroll up, hit that buy button!

James Joyce and Italo Svevo: The Story of a Friendship


Stanley Price - 2016
    He was to live there for the next eleven years. Italo Svevo, born and bred in Trieste, worked there for his family’s marine paint company. He had also written two novels, published privately and unsuccessfully. In 1907, wanting to improve his English to do business with the British Admiralty, Svevo went to Berlitz, where Joyce became his teacher.Svevo was then 46 and Joyce 25. Despite their different backgrounds, Irish Catholic and Triestene Jewish, they had, intellectually, much in common. They admired each other’s writing. Joyce improved Svevo’s English. Svevo helped Joyce stay solvent, and also became the inspiration for Leopold Bloom. In Ulysses, the near father-son relationship between Stephen Dedalus and Bloom in Dublin was very close to that of Svevo and Joyce in Trieste.The two writers lived through the great political and cultural upheavals of the early 20th century, and their story has a fascinating supporting cast – W.B. Yeats and G.B. Shaw, Proust and Hemingway, Freud and Jung, H.G. Wells and T.S. Eliot. Although often living in different cities – Zurich, Paris, London – their friendship survived. When Ulysses was finally published in Paris in 1922, its success enabled Joyce to help Svevo find a publisher for his great comic masterpiece The Confessions of Zeno. European literature owes a great deal to that meeting in Trieste.

Italian: Italian in a Week!: The Ultimate Italian Learning Course for Beginners


Language Guru - 2016
     If you’re a student who is eager to learn Italian, or someone who wants to effectively communicate while travelling abroad, then this book is for you! Italian in a Week: The Ultimate Italian Learning Course for Beginners is a handbook specially made for you! With its easy to use guide, you’ll be speaking Italian in no time! Here’s what you’ll find inside: The Italian Alphabet And Numbers All About Pronunciation Welcome to Italy A Matter of Time Distance, Weight & Directions Italian Nouns Adjectives Pronouns & Verbs Travel Vocabulary It is truly an advantage when you know how to speak more than one language. You realize that you are more confident in communicating with other people especially when you travel; it also allows you to discover a country’s culture and many more! So if you want to enjoy the perks of learning of Italian then hop in, and join us! Just scroll up to get your own copy of Italian in a Week: The Ultimate Italian Learning Course for Beginners! Don’t forget to click the BUY button. Have Fun!

Constantius II: Usurpers, Eunuchs and the Antichrist


Peter Crawford - 2016
    However, as Peter Crawford shows, Constantius deserves to be remembered as a very capable ruler in dangerous, tumultuous times. When Constantine I died in in 337, the twenty-year-old Constantius and his two brothers, Constans and Constantine II, all recieved the title of Augustus to reign as equal co-emperors. In 340, however, Constantine II was killed in a fraternal civil war with Constans. The two remaining brothers shared the Empire for the next ten years, with Constantius ruling Egypt and the Asian provinces, constantly threatened by the Sassanid Persian Empire. However, Constans in turn was killed by the usurper Magentius in 350. Constantius refused to accept this fait accompli, made war on Magentius and defeated him at the battles of Mursa Major and Mons Seleucus, leading him to commit suicide.Constantius, was now sole ruler of the Empire but it was an empire beset by external enemies. Constantius campaigned successfully against the Germanic Alamanni along the Rhine and the Quadi and Sarmatians across the Danube, as well as against the Persians in the East, though with more mixed results. In 360 he elevated his cousin Julian to the rank of Caesar (effectively deputy emperor) and left him to govern the West, while he concentrated on the Persian threat. Julian defeated the Alamanni in battle but was then proclaimed Augustus by his troops. Constantius was marching back to meet this threat to his rear when he fell ill and died. Having done so much to defend and preserve the empire, his dying act was to attempt to avert further civil war by declaring Julian his rightful heir.

Italian: Short Stories For Beginners - 9 Captivating Short Stories to Learn Italian & Expand Your Vocabulary While Having Fun


The Language Academy - 2016
    And that’s exactly why we created this book. Short Stories + Foreign Language = Faster Learning We know how difficult it may seem to learn a foreign language from scratch, let alone trying to put all that learning into practice. But what you might not realize is that it's fairly easy to fully incorporate the essentials of a language once you frame that learning into a certain context (for example, a short story). Short stories allow you to put what you’ve learned so far into practice, allowing you to expand your vocabulary quickly, make sense of ideas, understand new concepts, and get a better grasp of the Italian language. Short stories work because they eliminate the stress of forcing yourself to learn. Instead, when you read the 9 captivating short stories we’ve prepared for you, you will learn Italian without even realizing you’re learning it! Your goal is to simply focus on a single story at a time (they only a take few minutes to read). The stories consist of multiple genres, including adventure, fantasy, mystery, romance, just to name a new. We wanted these stories to be fun, interesting, and appealing, motivating you to keep on reading to find out what happens next. That’s the very best way to learn, don’t you think? BONUS: Vocabulary Lists, Multiple Choice Exercises & Summaries of Each Story In this book you’ll find a total of 9 short stories in Italian. Each story is divided into three chapters. You start by reading Chapter one, then you go to the Annex, and you’ll find there a quick summary of what you just read, a vocabulary list, and several multiple choice exercises intended to help you forge a deeper understanding of the story as it goes. Once you’re done with this section, you move on to Chapter 2, then Chapter 3, and then you move on to the next story. It’s so easy and fun you won’t believe it. READ: Italian Short Stories For Beginners - 9 Captivating Short Stories to Learn Italian & Expand Your Vocabulary While Having Fun "Italian Short Stories For Beginners" contains a multitude of vocabulary lists including words and phrases you can incorporate to grow your Italian vocabulary to unprecedented levels. We chose each of those words carefully, aiming to support the beginner and intermediate student alike. We are absolutely sure will love all our stories, and we sincerely hope they help you learn Italian much, much faster. How Will You Italian Skills Improve? You will learn new words without even realizing it You will incorporate key phrases of the Italian language You will understand how context affects the meaning of certain words You will get a break from all those dusty Italian grammar books you own You will have fun reading entertaining stories on multiple genres You will get a chance to apply what you already know

Italian Cooking School: Ice Cream


The Silver Spoon Kitchen - 2016
    Step-by-step instructions and photography guide readers through the preparation process and ensure success every time. Chapters cover ice creams, sorbets, frozen desserts and chilled desserts.Phaidon proudly presents the Italian Cooking School series from The Silver Spoon, which is designed for modern cooks to prepare delicious and authentic Italian recipes at home. Ideal for cooking novices, each title in the series features illustrated instructions for basic techniques and a collection of 75 recipes to inspire readers.

Branded: How Italian Immigrants Became 'Enemies'


Lawrence Distasi - 2016
    Called a "gold mine of personal narratives, records from National Archives, and a variety of newspaper sources," Branded fills a large gap in the WWII story that has come to be known as Una Storia Segreta.

Making Lemonade


Muriel Ellis Pritchett - 2016
    Instead, a university student totaled her car, her boss – after 16 years of loyal and excellent service – gave her a letter of termination, and her professor husband of 32 years asked for a divorce so he could marry his post-doc student with the 18-inch waist and perky boobs. Half a century old, jobless, and with only a high school diploma, Missouri must take the lemons that life has thrown her and make the best lemonade ever – even if it means traveling to Italy alone to do it.

Italy Invades: How Italians Conquered the World


Christopher Kelly - 2016
    From the Pope’s Machine Gun to General Custer’s Last Stand, Italy Invades: How Italians Conquered the World, uncovers more fascinating facts about Italian influence in shaping the world we know today. With personal photos, maps and an index to assist readers, Italy Invades is an instant treasure for all fans of Italian and military history. Italy Invades outlines Italian military activity around the globe, from the ancient Romans up to the present day. This popular history documents many of the little-known triumphs, tragedies and even oddball involvement of Italian forces and reveals how:Italian explorers played a major role in the Middle Ages and the centuries afterwards, opening up the world to contact with EuropeThe design for the American Pentagon is based on Italian star fortification plans used during the RenaissanceThe Italians have often been at the forefront of military science and engineeringThe map of Roman military conquests influenced the development of languages around much of the worldThe largest invasion in world history has an Italian nameAnd much more!

Italian Renaissance Courts (Renaissance Art)


Alison Cole - 2016
    The princes who ruled these city-states, vying with each other and with the great European courts, relied on artistic patronage to promote their legitimacy and authority. Major artists and architects, from Mantegna and Pisanello to Bramante and Leonardo da Vinci, were commissioned to design, paint and sculpt, but also to oversee the court’s building projects and entertainments. Bronze medallions, illuminated manuscripts and rich tapestries, inspired by sources as varied as Roman coins, Byzantine ivories and French chivalric romances, were treasured and traded. Palaces were decorated, extravagant public spectacles were staged and whole cities were redesigned, to bring honour, but also solace and pleasure. The ‘courtly’ styles that emerged from this intricate landscape are examined in detail, as are the complex motivations of ruling lords, consorts, nobles and their artists. Drawing on the most recent scholarship, Cole presents a vivid picture of the art of this extraordinary period.

The Battle of Monte Cassino: The History of the Battle for Rome during World War II


Charles River Editors - 2016
    Lucas Germany's North African defeat opened up the possibility of taking the war in the west to the European continent for the first time since France's lightning conquest by the Wehrmacht in 1940. The British and Americans debated the merits of landing in France directly in 1943, but they ultimately opted against it. The Soviets railed at the Westerners as “bastards of allies” – conveniently forgetting that they aided and abetted Hitler's violent expansionism in eastern Europe for over a year starting in 1939 – but a 1943 “D-Day” style landing in France might have proven a strategic and logistical impossibility anyway. Thus, in 1943, the theater of Allied operations shifted from North Africa to Europe – Operation Husky, a mixed victory wresting control of Sicily from the Axis. The action also caused Benito Mussolini's downfall, his imprisonment, and subsequent dramatic rescue by the scar-faced Otto Skorzeny – removing significant portions of Italy from the fascist camp, but nevertheless failing to prevent a long Italian campaign. In fact, the lackluster Allied showing on Sicily and the escape of most of the island's garrison encouraged Hitler to alter his plans and defend Italy vigorously. With its rugged mountain ridges, deep valleys, and numerous rivers, Italy contained tens of thousands of natural defensive positions. The Wehrmacht exploited these to the full during the ensuing campaign, bogging down the Anglo-American armies in an endless series of costly, time-consuming engagements. Even the rank and file German soldiers showed a clear awareness of the Italy's strategic significance: “’The Tommies will have to chew their way through us inch by inch,’ a German paratrooper wrote in an unfinished letter found on his corpse at Salerno, ‘and we will surely make hard chewing for them.’” (Hastings, 2011, 408). Indeed, it was a tough slog, and few places were tougher on the Allies than Monte Cassino, which witnessed a series of Allied attacks along the German line that aimed to create a breakthrough to Rome. Ultimately, the attacks would force the Germans into retreat, but not before they had inflicted over 50,000 casualties at a cost of about 20,000 of their own. The battle is perhaps best remembered today for the destruction of a historic abbey that dated back to the 6th century, and the controversial decision to bomb it is still widely debated today, but regardless, Monte Cassino and other operations around Anzio made it possible for the Allies to take Rome on June 4, 1944. 2 days later, the Allies would land at Normandy. The Battle of Monte Cassino: The History of the Battle for Rome during World War II chronicles the crucial 1944 battle. Along with pictures of important people, places, and events, you will learn about Monte Cassino like never before, in no time at all.

Sicily's Rebellion Against King Charles: The Story of the Sicilian Vespers


Louis Mendola - 2016
    For historians, the chronicle is a key source in the study of the Sicilian Vespers uprising of 1282, an event that changed the course of European and Mediterranean history.It is also the earliest known narrative prose (rather than poetry) in a vernacular Italian language, pre-dating by decades the first works of this kind written in Tuscan. Most medieval chronicles were written in Latin, but this one was meant for ordinary people. Middle Sicilian is the language that was spoken in Sicily, southern Calabria and parts of Apulia until around 1370. (So little has ever been published in English about this medieval tongue that, until now, it was rarely even identified by a specific name, yet it differs from modern Sicilian almost as much as Chaucer's English differs from what is spoken today.) This chronicle is the longest work in Middle Sicilian to find its way into English translation.John of Procida was a leader of the revolt that sparked the war of 1282. The chronicle recounts his efforts to plan the fall of King Charles I of Naples, culminating in the monarch's loss of Sicily.Largely overlooked until now, this most remarkable chronicle offers us timeless lessons that transcend languages and centuries. Issues like achieving justice for rape victims (Procida's daughter) leap from its pages.Presented by the author of some of the most readable histories of Sicily, the telling of Procida's story in these pages never lacks for style. Mendola's translation, while faithful to the medieval manuscript, makes for an interesting read. Indeed, the chronicle has been suggested as an early example of what today is known as narrative journalism, or creative nonfiction.Useful to students of literature as well as those studying medieval history, the book also includes the original Middle Sicilian text (with a glossary), a chronology, 5 pages of genealogical tables, 10 pages of clear maps, concise biographies of persons mentioned in the narrative, an engaging prologue, an introductory chapter setting forth the history of the Kingdom of Sicily up to the time the chronicle begins, heraldic information, and dozens of photographs of historical sites in Sicily, Aragon and Catalonia. It presents notes on the Sicilian language and the background of the chronicle and its manuscripts.Based largely on original research, the commentary is the lengthiest examination of the chronicle ever published in English. Not only is Mendola familiar with the history of the Vespers and the Mediterranean, his knowledge of medieval Romance languages shines as he cites examples in Catalan, Norman-French, Italian and Sicilian, along with Latin. His research in contemporary sources (like the royal decrees of King Peter III from 1282 conserved in Barcelona) reveals that the telling of Procida's adventures, despite the obvious fictionalizing of certain details, relies overwhelmingly on historical facts.The Middle Sicilian text is the first complete transcription of the Spinelli Codex, the chronicle's earliest surviving manuscript, to feature clear quotations and orthography (for example the letters U and V are clearly distinguished). The Spinelli Codex itself came to light only in the nineteenth century.Among the extensive supplementary material included is Ciullo of Alcamo's poem The Dialogue (il Contrasto) with an English translation; composed before 1240, this is the longest complete work in an Italian language known to survive from the reign of Frederick II. It is the lengthiest poem of the Sicilian School and a classic of the courtly romantic genre of its era.There is enough material in this book to make it a useful study guide on the War of the Vespers, and a fine introduction to two of the most important works in the Middle Sicilian canon. Lou Mendola, whose first scholarly article dealing with the Sicilian Vespers was published in an academic journal in 1985, is intimately familiar with Sicily, Calabria, Aragon and Catalonia, the regions that are the story's focus. Research for this book was conducted in Italy, Spain and the Vatican. Considering the knowledge of history and languages required to bring this work to us, Mendola is one of just a few people in the world who could have written it.Destined to become a literary and historical reference, this book will appeal to scholars as well as casual readers interested in the kinds of sources consulted in the writing of history. Its appeal will be found on every level. Whether the reader's interest is 13th-century history, medieval storytelling, the expressive language once spoken in southern Italy, the chronicle's unique literary form, or its timely message, it will be found in these 328 pages.The chronicle is a singular work. Its publication in English, after seven centuries, is a milestone in the study of medieval European literature.