Italy Books

This is hands down, one of the finest cookbooks I have ever used. It teaches, rather than just tossing a bunch of mediocre recipes at you. He explains everything, going over myths, disputes, facts, and modifications one may have to make to the traditional italian ingredients. Not to say his recipes are anything short of marvelous! Everything is authentic and delicious. He even makes sure to point out the area of Italy things are from. A must have!

I grew up in an Italian restaurant, cooking for my Southern Italian Father. This book has taught me a tremendous amount about seasoning and braising, just to name some examples. The recipes are detailed and well explained. They generally require some time to prepare. However, the result was outstanding in every recipe that I have tried. If you are willing to take a little time to prepare, you will find this book most rewarding. This is not a quick dinner book, but one that explores the true sophistication of Italian cooking. Be sure to try the Osso Buco and Involtine of Veal recipes early on!

Several years ago there was piece in the Boston Globe magazine/food section called "Big Soup". In it there were 3 different minestrone soup recipes by Carlo Middione(La Vera Cucina:Traditional Recipes from the Homes and Farms of Italy). These soups are SPECTACULAR!!!! I just purchased the book today. I don't yet know about the rest of his recipes,but if these soups are any indication, the rest of the book must be wonderful!

Found the book while browsing at the public library. The broccoli soup made me borrow it and the results made me buy it. Simple, straight, delicious, no fuss food!

This is a reprint of the earliest known manual of bobbin lace patterns, along with a brief discussion of lace and needlework instruction books of the period, and some patterns worked out from the woodcut illustrations of the book itsself. This is not a book for beginners to work from, but an excellent resource for moderately experienced bobbin lacers and anyone involved with historic costumes of the mid-sixteenth century. A wonderful book.

I love this book. If you know the basics about bobbin lace, this book is for you. The patterns are exquisite and historically accurate. The explanations of some of the patterns are very helpful for all but the extreme beginner (never worked with bobbin lace before). I highly recommend this book!

For those who are interested in the highly controversial world of art conservation/restoration, this book is a must. For the first time in English, we have an in-depth account of the 20-plus year intervention on Leonardo's masterpiece, the Last Supper. The project, applauded by some and decried by many, is documented here with hundreds of color illustrations and an essay by the chief conservator of the project. This is largely the Italians' point of view, which is highly controversial. But as the English-language editors say in their preface, it is important that all informed voices be heard in the debate as to the originality of Leonardo's hand and just what sort of intervention was appropriate to this situation.

The focus of this book is the controversial restoration of Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper, an icon of Renaissance art and a fresco that was in trouble from the time Leonardo painted it using nontraditional fresco techniques. The difficulty of the restoration just completed lay in the problems of the original, which began to flake and and self-destruct soon after its completion. A number of attempts at restoration over the past several hundred years resulted in the destruction and/or replacement of a good deal of the original, and the contemporary restoration was an attempt to undo past mistakes and reveal as much as possible of the remaining original while preserving the piece. The extraordinary color images in this book depict virtually every square inch of the fresco before, during, and after the just-completed restoration. It is the best documentation we will ever have of a remarkable work and the struggle to keep it from vanishing.

Beautiful, well written glimpses into Galileo's daughter's life in the convent, her relationship with her father, his scientific work, and interactions with the Church. Easy, engaging, and rich read.

Virginia Galilei entered the Convent of San Mateo near Florence at the age of thirteen, taking the name Maria Celeste. From then on Suor Maria rarely saw her father, though she wrote to him nearly every day. Although the letters Galileo wrote to his daughter do not survive, he kept the letters he received from Suor Maria, hence this volume. "Letters to Father" is a collection of 124 of her letters spanning the years 1623 to 1633, translated into English by best-selling author Dava Sobel ("Galileo's Daughter") and printed alongside the original Italian.

The period in history during which Suor Maria wrote these letters witnessed the occurence of such events as The Thirty Years War, the outbreak of the Black Plague, the election of a new Pope and, last but certainly not least, the arrest and trial of Galileo for heresy. Suor Maria, though cloistered in a convent, exhibits considerable knowledge of current events of the day through her commentary contained in her letters.

Sour Maria's letters also illustrate the loving relationship she shared with her father (apparently Galileo had a great love for candied fruits, which Suor Maria cheerfully made for him), as well as details of her day to day management of his estate while he was being held by church authorities, such as maintenance of the house, decanting casks of wine in the cellar (lower quality wine was given to the servants, who presumably wouldn't know better), etc.

Suor Maria's letters provide insights into Galileo's private life as well as the important events of the day. In reading these letters I felt as though I were getting to know Suor Maria, and I found the experience to be fascinating and sometimes moving.

Sadly, Suor Maria fell ill and died shortly after the last letter reprinted in "Letters to Father". Her letters are a fitting memorial to her life and her love for her father.

Born the eldest son of the Marquis of Castiglione, St. Aloysius was heir to an ancient line of nobility and was expected, as such, to carry on the family tradition. Though well suited to his role, he chose instead to renounce the world and become a Jesuit. This meant he could never even become a member of the hierarchy, which his family would otherwise have surely seen to in his life as a priest. No. He renounced everything: His name, his titles, his heritage, his fame, his glory, his luxury - to become a Jesuit priest. It would be hard to believe that any other saint in the history of the Church ever achieved his religious vocation against more opposition. And yet, having achieved it, he was to live only another five years. However, St. Mary Magdalene di Pazzi saw him in vision shortly after he died and proclaimed, "O how great is the glory enjoyed by Aloysius, the son of Ignatius! Never would I have believed it, if Jesus had not shown it to me. It seems to me that there can be none greater in Heaven. I assure you Aloysius is a great saint. We have saints (relics) in our church (the Carmelite) who do not possess such glory. Would that I could go through the whole world and proclaim that Aloysius, the son of Ignatius is a great saint, and show everyone his glory, that God might be glorified!" What was the cause of such glory? What is there in the obscure life of St. Aloysius Gonzaga that Holy Mother Church wishes to hold before the young people of the world by proclaiming him "Patron of Christian Youth?" A reading of Father Meschler's biography will give that answer in a truly satisfying manner!

This is an excellent book on the life of one of the greatest saints of the Roman Catholic history, Aloysius. There are many facts about who he was, and what he did. It was an all around great book.

Venice has a unique place in western civilization. Understanding the issues and motivations that governed its remarkable survival are beautifully described in this work of magnificent scholarship and readability. I feel privileged to have found a work in English that explains so precisely the traditions of the Republic as well as the issues of the Foscari era.

Dennis Romano provides a carefully researched-analysis of a critical period of the Venetian Republic, one that survived a thousand years. Romano's description of the events in the life of Francesco Foscari is enlightening in itself, but it can offer perspective to contemporary Americans on the struggle to control the forces that would undermine a republic's internal cohesion as well as erode its external power.

The life and legacy of possibly the most famous doge of Venice. For the reader interested in the mysteries of the Serenissima, this is the perfect book. The politics of the Council of the Ten; the wars of expansion and their mercenary generals (Carmagnola, Gattamelata); the plague which ravaged Venice over and over; the torture, trial, and exile of the doge's son, Jacopo; Foscari's powerfully symbolic architectural additions to the city. This and much more can be found in this beautifully written and thoroughly researched book. The reader will be able to understand why authors like Lord Byron, G. Verdi and Delacroix were inspired by the life of this great doge. A very impressive work.

The 'Vita Nuova' is more than anything else a prelude to 'The Divine Comedy'. The Beatrice Dante falls in love with and longs for is on the one hand a figure unattainable, the love- goddess of courtly love. On the other hand she is to become the very essence of the spiritual and to guide Dante later through the Paradiso of the Comedy. The real figure and her life who he falls in love with truly is transformed in myth and mind to a kind of image and essence of Divine Beauty.
As with Petrarch and his Laura the love Dante writes of ' La Vita Nuova' does not somehow strike me and move me in the deepest way, and seems somehow too literary and artificial. Lines of love of Rilke and Kafka sound more authentic to me, but perhaps this is because I am a poor reader and no medievalist.
In any case this is a small classic which is prelude to a far greater one. And the real Beatrice is a small figure beside the mythic one Dante will transform into a literary immortal.

Genuine romance and passion is missing from most books, either fiction or nonfiction, and I don't think I've ever come across both in such quantity as there is in "La Vita Nuova" (translation: The New Life), the unsung masterpiece of poet Dante Alighieri (who wrote the classic Divina Comedia).

It is a series of poems centering around the life-changing love of Dante for a young woman named Beatrice. The two first met when they were young children, of about eight. Dante instantly fell in love with her, but didn't really interact with her for several years. Over the years, Dante's almost supernatural love only increased in intensity, and he poured out his feelings (grief, adoration, fear) into several poems and sonnets. During an illness, he has a vision about mortality, himself, and his beloved Beatrice ("One day, inevitably, even your most gracious Beatrice must die"). Beatrice died at the age of twenty-four, and Dante committed himself to the memory of his muse.

I have never in my life read a book overflowing with such incredible love and passion as "La Vita Nuova"; it's probably the most romantic book I have ever seen. It's only a little over a hundred pages long, but it's a truly unique love story. Dante and Beatrice were never romantically involved. In fact, both of them married other people.

But Dante's love for Beatrice shows itself to be more than infatuation or crush, because it never wanes -- in fact, it grows even stronger, including Love manifested as a nobleman in one of Dante's dreams. There is no element of physicality to the passion in "La Vita Nuova"; Dante talks about how beautiful Beatrice is, but that's only a sidenote. (We don't hear of any real details about her) And Dante's grief-stricken state when Beatrice dies (of what, we're never told) leads him to deep changes in his soul, and eventually peace. (And though Beatrice died, because of Dante's love for her and her placement in the "Comedia," she has achieved a kind of immortality)

One of the noticeable things about this book is that whenever something significant happens to Dante (good, bad, or neither), he immediately writes a poem about it. Some readers may be tempted to skip over the carefully constructed poems, but they shouldn't. Even if these intrude on the story, they show what Dante was feeling more clearly than his prose.

It's impossible to read this book and come out of it jaded about love or true passion. Not the sort of stuff in pulp romance novels, but love and passion that come straight from the heart and soul, in a unique and unusual love story. Every true romantic should read this book.

This is a wonderful book from many perspectives.
1st, there's the recipes. Easy, fun, and essential Italian fare.
2nd, there's history and stories.

You might ask why have narratives and stories in a cookbook. Well, as any Italians reading this will attest, Italian culture is more than just eating. Eating is a celebration, tied closely with family, culture, and history. You cannot separate one from the other. The story on the history of bruchetta is as important as the recipe itself.

This book combines both aspects as is wonderful way for 2nd and 3rd generation Italian-Americans to appreciate and understand their roots.

Ciao!

This is a terrific cookbook. Every recipe I have tried has been fantastic. Last night, I threw a dinner party and decided to add a soup to the menu. I was a little nervous because I hadn't tried it out before serving it to guests, but (just like every other recipe in this cookbook) it turned out to be fantastic. One thing to be aware of, however: While the recipes are fantastic, the directions are not always clear or complete. This cookbook is probably best suited to cooks that already have some experience in the kitchen.

Beautifully written, beautifully illustrated, and filled with detailed historical information. This book is a real find!

In my opinion this is a classic that fell through the cracks. I can't fathom how this book went out of print. It isn't possible to read Mein Kampf or a number of other books, inluding art, without reading Lives of the Courtesans for any kind of insight.

The price is high. I found a copy for about $60. It takes a little search.

*I recommend the Mein Kampf, 1943, By Houghton Mifflin Company if a person is going to read Adolf Hitler.