 Before heading off to a foreign land, I like to read all about it. Inevitably a trip is a hundred times better when one knows something about the culture, the customs, the history, the people and why they are the way they are. What follows is my own personalized selection of books on Italy and wine. There's nothing systematic in this list; it's simply the books I've run across over the years and enthusiastically recommend. Guide books are not included, because that's not what I curl up to, and also because they're so easy to spot at the bookstore. Instead, I've provided a more idiosyncratic collection of titles that take you deep into the history and culture of Italy, written by travelers, essayists, poets, historians, and wine critics with a strong authorial voice. Good reading, in a word. - Patricia Thomson  Mary McCarthy, The Stones of Florence (Harcourt Brace, 1959) Far from mute, the stones of Florence reveal a whole world to essayist Mary McCarthy. She begins on the streets of present-day Florence, and as she looks around at the rusticated palaces, graceful bridges, and proud civic sculptures, she telescopes back into history, telling us stories of Renaissance politicians and their battles, artists and their place in the fabric of Florence. This is by far the best synthesis I've read of the art, history, and politics of Renaissance Florence and their bearing on the modern-day city and its people. Mary McCarthy, Venice Observed (Harcourt Brace, 1956) Like The Stones of Florence, this earlier volume first appeared as essays in the New Yorker. It, too, effortlessly blends modern travelogue and historical anecdotes. Among the characters who populate this book are the merchants of Venice, the architect Palladio, the painter Veronese, and a procession of beleaguered Doges. Frances Maynes, Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy I feel compelled to list Maynes' book about renovating an old Tuscan villa mostly because her book has turned so many people on to the magic of this land. And indeed, her stories of the frustrations and foibles of renovating a centuries-old house ring are funny and dead-on (the latter according to my Italian husband Claudio, who has renovated a few of his own). However, Maynes always remains an outsider, a visitor who hangs out with other expatriates and never really steps over the threshhold into an Italian way of life. Lisa St. Aubin de Teran, A Valley in Italy: The Many Seasons of a Villa in Umbria (Harper Perennial, 1994) I much prefer this book to Maynes' better-known title. They're superficially similar-both are by foreigners who move to Italy, set up home in a dilapidated countryside villa, and chronicle its restoration. But St. Aubin de Teran has a few secret weapons: the cultural curiosity and diligence of a sociologist, and two children. The local Italians fling their doors open to her curly-headed young son and teenaged daughter, then allow her to pass through as well. St. Aubin de Teran makes the most of this, and fully infiltrates village society, producing a book that's full of detail about country life and traditions. What's more, she has a novelist's eye for character, and turns herself (a rather ditzy, disorganized British poet), her family, and her neighbors into a full-fledged, colorful cast. Dario Castagno, Too Much Tuscan Sun: Confessions of a Chianti Tour Guide (Edizioni Rasna, 2002) The title says it all. This hilarious book is written by someone who has experienced firsthand the flip side of the "American in Tuscany" craze, now a literary subgenre. A native Tuscan and tour guide, Castagno presents the Italian side of this culture clash, recounting his experiences with American tourists of all types - from the condescending and silly, to the charming and culturally curious. Available in English through www.toomuchtuscansun.com Luigi Barzini, The Italians: A Full-length Portrait Feature Their Manners and Morals (Simon & Schuster, 1964) For a true insider's view, however, try this book. Barzini, a former newspaper correspondent and author who was confined by the Fascists, has an eye attuned to Italy's imperfections as much as its glories. Unlike the rose-colored glasses many foreign writers wear, Barzini has a lucid and penetrating vision. In this book he tries to reconcile the "two Italys"-one seductive and tremendously talented, the other inept and hopelessly disorganized. Along the way, he looks at foreign tourists, the obsession with antiquity, the power of the family, Sicily and the Mafia, the problem of the south, and the relevance of Guicciardini in post-fascist times. A truly fascinating read. Matthew Spender, Within Tuscany: Reflections on a Time and Place (Penguin Books, 1992) Spender, a British sculptor living in the Chianti, provides a series of essays on his idiosyncratic areas of interest. There are chapters on his excursion to Michelangelo's marble quarries in Carrara; on playing the clarinet in the Gaiole band; on visiting the Medici villa Poggio a Caiano and its famed frescoes by Pontormo; on his battle with tulip-eating porcupines; and on his experience carving a wooden crucifix for a parish church and running up against local ordinances and parochial fiefdoms. A personal view of Italy that's entertaining and refreshingly different from the norm. Alice Leccese Powers, ed., Italy in Mind: An Anthology (Vintage, 1997) Italy has long been a magnet for writers, who are often inspired to produce diaries, essays, and notations of every kind. In this volume, editor Powers gathers the work of two centuries of novelists, poets, and essayists, from Lord Byron to D.H. Lawrence, Edith Wharton to Cavlin Trillin. Good in itself, and a great jumping off point for further reading. Ferdinand Schevill, The Medici (Harper Torchbooks, 1949) Yes, this book is old and out of print, but it's still one of my favorites. So head to your local library or used bookstore if you want a truly comprehensible picture of Italy's seemingly incomprehensible, topsy-turvy political history. At center stage are the Medici, the banking family that effectively ran Florence from 1434 to 1537 and were the catalyst for some of its greatest art. Anyone interested the Italian Renaissance has to start with Florence and the Medici, and this book is a great place to begin. Christoher Hibbert, The Rise and Fall of the House of Medici (Penguin Books, 1974) If you can't find Schevill, Hibbert's book is a close second. It, too, traces the rise of Cosimo di Medici and runs through the generations that followed, from the sublime (Lorenzo di Medici) to the ridiculous (Grand Duke Francesco). But Hibbert marches on, following the tribe well into the 18th century, when Tuscany became a mere appendage of the Austrian empire. Barbara W. Tuchman, A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century (Ballantine Books, 1978) While this is in fact a book about France, not Italy, it's one of the most vivid social histories of medieval times that I've read. Tuchman structures her history by following the fortunes of a mid-level knight. In so doing, she's able to paint a picture of male education and child care, the code of chivalry and its ultimate undoing of the French in battle as new armaments (like the strong bow) came along; and the devastasting impact of the Black Death in 1348-50. It's dense, detailed, and fascinating.  Joseph Bastianich & David Lynch, Vino Italiano (Clarkson Potter, 2002) This fat book looks like a dry reference book. In fact, it's a very nice read. Lynch, a former magazine journalist, introduces each of the wine regions of Italy with a colorful and information-packed essay. These are followed by "fast facts" on the region, recommended tastings, and recipes by television chefs Mario Batali and Lidia Bastianich (mother of Joseph). A worthwhile addition to any Italian wine-lovers library. Burton Anderson, The Wine Atlas of Italy (Mitchell Beazley, 1990) This book was recommended to me by a worldly sommelier, and it has become our bible. There's a chapter on every region, complete with a general overview, a list of grapes grown, and breakdowns on the individual wine zones. The latter sections in turn offer nuggets on the types of wine produced, and comments on virtually every estate and grower (as of 1990). Plus, there are detailed maps with DOC and DOCG borders and estates clearly marked. This atlas may be out of print, but it's worth looking for, as are any books by Anderson, one of the top specialists on Italian wine. Stephen Hobley, A Traveller's Wine Guide to Italy (Interlink Books, 1999) This book is smaller, paperback, and more geared to the wine tourist. Its chapters on the wine of various regions are informative and are supplemented by helpful sidebars with wineries' phone numbers, regional food specialities, and colorful maps of the wine zones and wine roads. Guide to Wine Tourism in Italy (Guida al turismo del vino in Italia) Touring Club Italiano, 1998 Much like Hobley's guide, this offers a mix of descriptive and practical information for wine travellers. It's a bigger book, but a good third of that is advertising (which sometimes can be informative in its own fashion). Maria Concetta Salemi, Chianti: Legend, History, and Quality of the Prince of the Table, Symbol of a Territory (Nardini Editore, 1999) This belongs to a series of Italian wine books that I absolutely love. They're probably not available in the U.S. (although they are translated into English), but whenever I see one of these slender hardbacks in Italy, I snatch them up. Each is filled with a colorful history about the wine under discussion, with stories, myths, and colorful characters. (The volume on Chianti is where I learned about the ghost of the harsh Baron Ricasoli still roaming the forests surrounding the Brolio estate where he first invented this blend.) Recipes for local specialities made with wine round out these charming books. Nicolas Belfrage, Barolo to Valpolicella: The Wines of Northern Italy (Faber & Faber, 1999) More plodding than charming, Belfrage nonetheless provides a solid overview of northern Italian wines. It's partly a reference book, and reads as such, and it contains no illustrations or maps, but it's one of the only in-depth books available on this region. Jay McInerney, Bacchus & Me: Adventures in the Wine Cellar (The Lyons Press, 2000) Given to me as a Christmas present, I truly enjoyed reading McInerney's foray into wine journalism. Better known as a novelist (Bright Lights, Big City), McInerney has evidently always been a wine geek and several years ago landed a job as wine writer for House & Garden through a publishing friend. In contrast to the technical writing found in many wine magazines, his prose is informal (but informative), anecdotal, and goes down as easy as a glass of Prosecco on a hot summer day. He covers the world, so there are only a few chapters on Italian wine, but that's okay; his enthusiasm is infectious, and anything that inspires people to get out of the rut and explore new wines is a good thing. Copyright © 2001 - La Dolce Vita Wine Tours, Inc. - All rights reserved. Website Design & Programming: Aaron Design, Inc. & Canfield Design Studios, Inc. |