I am betting that most of you are like me--in that you always have a book about Italy (fiction or nonfiction) in progress. I'm curious to know what you are reading right now, and if you would recommend it to the rest of us.
I'm about 1/3 of the way into Prince of Foxes by Samuel Shellabarger. I found it difficult to get into--but I think that was due more to my sporadic reading of it (half a chapter here, half a chapter there) rather than the writing. I am now really into the plot, the characters, and if I can just stay awake, I'll greatly enjoy the rest of it.
Here's the listing and brief description of it on Amazon.com. Eleven readers gave it a rating. The author was a reknown Renaissance historian, and I believe this historical fiction is quite accurate because of that.
It was pretty sappy (chick book), but I just finished (last night) The Last Promise by Richard Paul Evans...Just a love story, set in Tuscany. It was a quick read and I would recommend this book to anyone who likes romance novels that take place in Italy...easy and fun!
Posts: 136 | Location: Coconut Grove, Florida | Registered: 16 June 2006
Just finished biography of "Leonardo, the Artist and the Man". Prior to that, it was "The Genius in the Design", about the rivalry that transformed Rome, between Bernini and Borromini. On deck, Machiavelli's, "The Prince".
Does anybody have any good suggestions for future consideration? I prefer non-fiction.
On the recommendation from Jane and because I adore Assisi, I am presently reading "The Reluctant Saint: The Life of Francis of Assisi" by Donald Spoto. So far I am totally fascinated and I'm not really a non-fiction kinda gal.
This is so much fun, for Christmas I received a gift of 2 books by Iris Origo," War in Val D'Orica "and "Images and Shadows" along with "D H Lawrence and Italy", which are little treasures that I look forward to reading this winter. Next to my bed I have been reading Charles Dicken's, "Pictures From Italy", a narrative of his travels to Italy in 1844. Very interesting to read about tourism and his experiences set in that time period. Always making notes of good reads for the future on my favorites, and will have to check out some of these recommendations, Thanks, LisaT
I just received a coffee table book, Rome 360. As i randomly opened the book the page was of the Campo dei Fiori, and I actually cried. I am such a sap. Merry Christmas to all. Ellen
Posts: 55 | Location: long island, ny | Registered: 29 April 2004
I am trying to read The City of Falling Angels but find myself spending more time on this board than I am reading the book and I have already renewed it from the library once. Great thread. I hope a lot of good books about Italy/books that take place in Italy are posted for future reference.
On the recommendation from Jane Thumbs Up and because I adore Assisi, Thumbs Up I am presently reading "The Reluctant Saint: The Life of Francis of Assisi" by Donald Spoto.
Pokey, I'm glad you are enjoying this--I did and Ken just finished it and he thought it was excellent. I was going to recommend it so thanks for doing it.
The Miracles of Santo Ficoby by D.L. Smith is a good, sweet, quick read. And I just finished Emperor The Field of Swords by Conn Iggulden. This is one more book about Julius Caesar--facts filled in by imagination.
I will get back to this thread to pick up ideas when we return next week--good idea, DogMother
Keep in mind, it's a little "sick and twisted" but I imagine Florene was just a bit of that during the the Renaissance! I also felt like I could "walk through the story" when walking around Florence. A good read before or during a stay there...
I liked this book also....and I just finished In the Company of the Courtesan by the same author. Set in Rome and Venice in the early 16th century, I think she really gives the reader of sense of the time and place.
At this moment it is David Hewson's "Lucifer's Shadow". In an ancient burial ground on an island off Venice, a young woman's casket is pried open, an object is wrenched from her hands, and an extraordinary adventure begins...
I liked this book also....and I just finished In the Company of the Courtesan by the same author. Set in Rome and Venice in the early 16th century, I think she really gives the reader of sense of the time and place.
OK, Jim, so we are in fact NOT twins separated at birth. I could not read the "Birth of Venus". But this thread has give me an idea: Since others like it, I will try to remember to bring it to the GTG Thursday.
I received La Bella Figura A Field Guide To The Italian Mind by Beppe Severgnini for Christmas. He also wrote Ciao, America! It is suppose to be a comical treatment of the hearts and minds of his fellow Italians.
Posts: 216 | Location: West Virginia | Registered: 25 October 2005
I'm currently reading "Secrets of Sant'Angelo" by Jeff Shapiro, and am enjoying it so far. For Christmas, I was given an 'iou' - a copy of John Julius Norwich's "A History Of Venice" due out in March 2007. I can't wait to get my hands on that one.
Posts: 777 | Location: Toronto | Registered: 18 February 2006
I'm about a third into "Satyr Square : a year, a life in Rome" by Leonard Barkan. It has just been published; I believe I saw a reference to this in the New York Times book review section which piqued my interest. So far, so good.
From the Library Journal Review: "During the 1980s, Princeton professor Barkan spent a yearlong sabbatical in Rome as he began the research for his book Unearthing the Past: Archaeology and Aesthetics in the Making of Renaissance Culture. He took an apartment on the fifth floor of a building on Piazza dei Satiri and, after a lonely start, immersed himself in the life of the city. Here he weaves together his passion for food, wine, art, literature, and people with his fascination for all things Italian to tell a complicated story about the self-exploration of a disillusioned middle-aged man."
The Piazza dei Satiri by the way is just east of the Campo and right around the corner from the apartment we rented a year ago November.
Peter L
Posts: 48 | Location: Seattle | Registered: 27 January 2006
Great topic...I find myself searching for books on Italy that are historical or one person's real life accounts of being there. Right now I am reading "A Thousand Bells at Noon" by G. Franco Romagnoli. It is a Roman revealing the secrets and pleasures of his native city. For Christmas I received a coffee table filled with beautiful colored pictures of Rome, Venice, Tuscany, and Sicily. The book is titled "The Best of Italy". Looking at all the pictures gives me an idea of where I may like to travel to on some future trips to Italy. Best Regards, Richard from Indiana
i'm reading "vanilla beans and brodo" by isabella dusi - all about montalcino and the wonderful people who live there.... including her! and, yes, it makes me laugh, and sigh, and yearn, and love italy even more.
Posts: 958 | Location: smack dab midwest | Registered: 06 September 2004
American poet Wallis Wilde Menozzi, who lives in Parma, has written a complex memoir about her life there entitled Mother Tongue. Another interesting short piece by an American writer is Umbrian Spring by Patricia Hampl, often anthologized.
I am sure that by now, everyone that loves Venice have read Alberto Toso Fei's Venetian Legends and Ghost Stories - A guide to places of mystery in Venice. I took the tour last time I was in Venice (November 2005). Very exciting...!
A book I recently read was the Agony and the Esctacy, an old book of course, but great. I enjoyed reading about Italy and especially Florence, but more so about the character of Michlangelo. He was a non-commercial artist. He worked from the heart and never compromised on the quality of his work.
Haven't started this one yet, but next on the agenda is "The Sack of Rome" by Alexander Stille, subtitled "How a beautiful European country with a fabled history and a storied culture was taken over by a man named Silvio Berlusconi."
On a lighter note, I've been dipping into "Al Dente" by William Black. Kind of a combination travelogue, book on food, and search for the family roots. Not brilliant, but entertaining.(I bought it in Britain a while back, and I don't know whether it's out in the US.)
Posts: 820 | Location: San Francisco Bay Area | Registered: 28 June 2006
Has anyone read Tim Parks' new essay, "Trenitalia" ? It was published in Granta's 2006 issue on Travel Writing (Volume 94). It's well worth a read - funny, empathetic, and right on target. Anyone who has spent a significant amount of time on Italian trains (particularly those not of the Eurostar class) will enjoy it immensely.
This thread is really useful for me. We have created an amazon affiliate accounts and I am trying to build links to all the interesting titles about Tuscany on our website. I will add these suggestions too! Thanks for the precious ideas!
Haven't started this one yet, but next on the agenda is "The Sack of Rome" by Alexander Stille, subtitled "How a beautiful European country with a fabled history and a storied culture was taken over by a man named Silvio Berlusconi."
KT, I read this one. Very, very interesting although a bit repetitive after the first few chapters. Stille is a wonderful writer; his "Benevolence and Betrayal", about the fate of various Jewish communities in wartime Italy, is excellent.
I recently read "A Thousand Days in Venice" and "A Thousand Days in Tuscany" by Maria de Blasi. She's not only an author, but a chef too and her books include recipes. Her books are about her life while living in Venice and Tuscany. They are funny and warm and give you the feeling of wanting to move into a little town and become a part of the Italian lifestyle.
I have read "Vanilla Beans and Brodo" also. Marian, "Benevolence & Betrayal" sounds like very good reading - will try it. I've also read "The Stonecutter's Aria" by Carol Faenzi "The Rise and Fall of the House of Medici by Christopher Hibbert "Dances with Luigi" by Paul Paolicelli and "Italian Days" by Barbara Grizzuti Harrison Good grief, just listing these books makes me yearn for Italy and I just got back the end of October! Laroma
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Posts: 113 | Location: St. Louis, Missouri | Registered: 31 July 2003
"The Best of Italy" is a coffee table book & oh so much more... The photography is absolutely stunning. The lone horse drawn carriage waiting in the fog in an empty courtyard at St. Peter's. A single young girl climbing the steps of Viale Glorioso in the Roman spring. Venice and her gondolas under a blanket of snow. the snipets of letters, poems and verse sprinkled throughout the almost 600 pages will absorb you for hours on end. This book will take you back to places you have been and show you places you want to be. What an extraordinary Christmas present from my daughter and grandson. Regards Martha
Just before I started Prince of Foxes (which I'm still reading), I read The Stones of Florence, which had been sitting on my bookshelf for several years. I think my timing was right for reading it--because I have spent a lot more time in Florence since I purchased the book. It is a fantastic book for people who have already been to Florence and have at least a little background in art history. I really can't imagine enjoying the book if I had never been to Florence and didn't have some knowledge of Renaissance art.
It is certainly a classic, and a book any Firenzephile should read. I really lucked out with my first edition copy, which I found at a secondhand bookstore in Cooperstown, NY. It includes many black and white photos.
Nice touch! I really like seeing your book in situ--and makes me think that would be a great way to show off our books! I'd love to see the front and insides of some of the gorgeous coffee table books some of you are raving about!
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The Silver Spoon.... I just can't put it down!! 
