In 1844, Charles Dickens embarked on a year-long visit to Italy, where he turned his perceptive views of the human condition toward a thoughtful appraisal of the country's soul and character. Combining travelogue with social commentary, he formed a kaleidoscopic portrait of nineteenth-century Italian life as seen by an outsider. Rather than serving as a guidebook, his "pictures" from Italy entertain rather than instruct. Dickens' eye for detail and...

Buying a villa in the spectacular Italian countryside is a wonderful fantasy -- even if 17 rooms and a garden in need of immediate loving care are included in the asking price. Frances Mayes -- gourmet cook, widely published travel writer, and poet -- changed her life by doing just that. Sprinkled liberally with delicious recipes for inspired Italian dishes, amusing anecdotes about the risks of being your own contractor, and a savvy traveler's reminiscences,...

Traces the author's decision to quit her job and travel the world for a year after suffering a midlife crisis and divorce, a journey that took her to three places in her quest to explore her own nature and learn the art of spiritual balance.

The author takes readers through parts of Tuscany that still remain largely undiscovered and into the kitchens of more than fifty restaurants whose cooks reveal their most authentic recipes.--Jacket flap.

"Mark Rotella's Stolen Figs is an evocation of Calabria and the Calabresi, whose way of life is largely untouched by the commerce that has made Tuscany and Umbria into international tourist destinations. A grandson of Calabrese immigrants, Rotella persuades his father to visit their ancestral home for the first time in thirty years; once there, they meet Giuseppe, a postcard photographer and an informal guide to all things Calabrese. Thus familiarized...

Text, maps, illustrations, charts, tables, and chronologies depict the history, society, and political life of ancient Rome and its vast empire.

Venice, a city steeped in a thousand years of history, art and architecture, teeters in precarious balance between endurance and decay. Its architectural treasures crumble--foundations shift, marble ornaments fall--even as efforts to preserve them are underway. This book opens in 1996, when a dramatic fire destroys the historic Fenice opera house, a catastrophe for Venetians. Arriving three days after the fire, Berendt becomes a kind of detective--inquiring...

An offbeat and witty odyssey into the heart of Italy and the Italian people captures the colorful character of the nation in a ten-day journey to thirty destinations that reveal Italys best, worst, and most authentic aspects, from the hypermarkets and train journeys to a church and a soccer stadium.