La Libreria
While websites are wonderful for some things, there are times when what you really want is a book:
- It's chilly, and you want to curl up in front of the fire with a glass of good wine….
- You've got friends coming to dinner and you want to serve up an authentic Tuscan meal….
- You need to know all about a particular topic….
With the help of the folks at
Amazon.com, the world's leading on-line bookstore, we
have put together a selection of our favorite books, books we turn to when we
need information, inspiration, or simply relaxation.
How it works: Read the descriptions (some have links that lead to more detailed information), and, if you decide you'd like to buy a book, click on the link that says, "I'd like to see the order form." This will lead you to Amazon.com's order form for the book. Fill in the order, send it off, and Amazon will bill you and send you the book. We do get a commission on some of the books ordered through our website, so we ask that if you would like several of the books we have listed, you order them all through our pages. Thank you so much!
And good reading!
Guides, Diaries and What Living Here is All About
- Giravino, La Guida Ufficiale del Movimento Turismo del Vino The official Guide to ItalianAppellations and wine producers from the Movimento del Turismo del Vino, one of the driving forces behind wine tourism in Italy. Quite useful if you plan to explore the countryside. Sounds Good! I'd Like to See the Order Form. Read a longer review.
- The Innocents Abroad, by Mark Twain. This of course not new. Quite the contrary, it's one of his first books, a travelogue he cobbled together in 1869 from newspaper pieces he wrote during a Grand Tour of Europe and the Holy Land. A fascinating window onto the past, and beautifully written too. Sounds Good! I'd Like to See the Order Form. Read a longer review.
- Osterie D'Italia 2004, by Slowfood Editore. A listing of more than 1600 traditional eateries throughout Italy, assembled keeping value for money in mind as well. The only drawback is that it's in Italian, but this won't stop you from flipping though to the cities or towns you plan to visit, which are listed alphabetically by region, and seeing which restaurants (or tripe stands, or whatever else happens to be a local tradition) they suggest; the dishes of note are helpfully printed in red. I'd Like to See their website.
- La Terra In Piazza: an Interpretation of the Palio of Siena, by Alan Dundes and Alessandro Falassi. The Sienese say that to understand the Palio you have to be born there, and they may be right. There's a tremendous amount going on under the surface that the casual spectator will never even realize he is missing. Dundes and Falassi, one an American the other Sienese, have done a superb job explaining it all. If you plan to see the Palio, buy the book: Things are so much more fun when you can understand what is going on! I'd Like to See the Order Form. Thinking about it? Read The Dirt Goes Down, our article on the Palio.
- In The Hills of Tuscany, By Kyle M. Phillips, Jr. Our WebWeaver's father was an archaeologist, and dedicated much of his life to the excavation of Murlo, an Etruscan hill-top sanctuary south of Siena. This book, published after his death, contains his reflections on the site and its importance in the Etruscan world. If you've ever wondered how an excavation works, and how the conclusions are reached, this book will give you a good idea. I'd Like to See the Order Form.
- Italian Neighbors, Or A lapsed Anglo-Saxon in Verona, by Tim Parks. Tim Parks has been living in Italy for many years, but has the advantage of having grown up elsewhere. So what we take for granted is new and wonderful (or frustrating) to him. A delightful book about the joys and pitfalls of settling into Italian life. I'd Like to See the Order Form.
- An Italian Education: The Further Adventures of an Expatriate in Verona, by Tim Parks. More joys and pitfalls in Verona, at the shore, and elsewhere: Raising children is fraught with surprises in a land where they're treated like kings. I'd Like to See the Order Form.
- Benvenuto Cellini: Autobiografia. Benvenuto had a high opinion of himself, which is a good trait for a person writing an autobiography. He also lived in interesting times, which he made all the more interesting for himself by being as quick with a sword or gun as he was deft with the tools he used to shape his sculptures. A fascinating account of life in the High Renaissance. I'd Like to See the Order Form.
- The Craftsman's Handbook, by Cennino Cennini. The classic Renaissance treatise on how to make art, covers everything from grinding pigments and making brushes to preparing a wall for frescoing. Interesting, and something that artists and art historians should be familiar with. Historians especially: a friend of mine, a professor of architectural history at the University of Florence, has recently done a critical re-evaluation of the book, and found it quite accurate. I'd Like to See the Order Form.
- Vita degli Artisti, by Giorgio Vasari. Vasari was a great devotee of Michelangelo; in his Lives of the Artists he sees Giotto as the man who broke with the early traditions, Masaccio as the great revolutionary, and Michelangelo as the supreme master. While this vision is simplistic, Vasari does have lots of interesting things to say about the artists. This translation is by Louisa MacLehane. I'd Like to See the Order Form.
- La Leggenda Aurea, by Jacobus de Voragine. Jacobus assembled his Lives of the Saints in the late Middle Ages, and it was extremely influential throughout the middle Renaissance. Though the book then fell into disrepute because it presents all sorts of superstitions as truth, it is still interesting reading, and is ideal for figuring out what's going on in those paintings from the 1400s. Also good for finding out about the saints who bear your name. This is a 2-volume set, translated by W.G. Ryan. Volume 1. Volume 2.
- A Room With a View, by E. M. Foster. A magnificent book in which a young English woman meets the man who isn't what she'd dreamed of, but is certainly right for her, in Florence. Foster, whose depictions of English life are at times excruciating, shows how the English adapt (with varying degrees of success) to life as transients in a foreign land, and then examines the unexpected effects travel can have. I'd Like to See the Order Form.
- A Wing and A Prayer, by Harry Crosby. Not fiction, but rather the story of one of the navigators flying in the US 8th Air Force's "Bloody 100th" Bomb Group during WWII. Crosby has a way with words, and you feel as if you're in the plane with the rest of them, getting shot at… Highly recommended by our WebWeaver, who was much reminded of stories he heard as a child from a friend who was in the Regia Areonautica during the war. I'd Like to See the Order Form.