Akron Public Library

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,...

"They had met and married on perilously short acquaintance, she an American chef and food writer, he a Venetian banker. Now they were taking another audacious leap, unstitching their ties with exquisite Venice to live in a roughly renovated stable in Tuscany. Once again, it was love at first sight. Love for the timeless countryside and the ancient village of San Casciano dei Bagni, for the local vintage and the magnificent cooking, for the Tuscan...

Now fully redesigned with a new layout and beautiful images, this guide is packed with customizable itineraries with top recommendations, detailed maps of Florence and Tuscany, and exclusive tips from locals.

"Hidden Tuscany vividly displays the coastal areas of Tuscany, a territory often overlooked by visitors to Italy eager to see Chianti, Florence or Siena. Veteran journalist and Italophile John Keahey points out the keen distinctions that the western cities maintain: in food, lifestyle, and the way its artists are paving new directions in art that differ mightily from the Renaissance-rich interior. Keahey interviews sculptors and their artigiani,...

Presents a collection of travel writing on the Tuscany region of Italy, providing fiction, poetry, essays, and letters about this region of the world,including selections from Lord Byron, Bruce Chatwin, Charles Dickens, Kate Simon, and more.

In 1945, Will Mills and his fellow soldiers in the 10th Mountain Division scaled Italy's treacherous Riva Ridge in the frigid night to break through the nearly impenetrable German line of defense. Severely wounded, Will was rescued by Italian partisans and one, a beautiful girl, tended his injuries until he had the strength to rejoin the U.S. troops. Tormented and haunted by his decisions and actions during wartime, Will knows he has unfinished missions...