Italy Books

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.

Rome, the eternal city, capital of Italy!

We all have images of Rome in our heads, whether created by personal visits or simply by what history has taught us about that city. In the end, Rome impresses even the most stubborn of people and this book brings Rome to your reach in a unique and lovely way.

The city is often a place of contradictions and confusion, but in Rome things flow easily from one sphere to the next. The soft writings which richly engages the reader into aspects of Roman culture, architecture, ambiance, and general lifestyles is truly impressive. This city comes to life in its most sophisticated way, it becomes a city that is being unrolled in a personal, almost private manner. Few books are able to portray a city in such a personal way, and few cities lend themselves to such protrayal.

However, Living in Rome does just that and more. It's a wonderful book of a wonderful city for wonderful people from around the world.

Living In Rome is an informative and visual celebratory tour showcasing the beauty and charms of Rome as well as some of the most unique treasures its has to offer. Included are introductions to Rome's lush gardens, gleaming family palaces, colorful markets, architecture, art, artisans and artists. Living In Rome takes the reader on a tour of intimate museums and off-the-beaten-path restaurants not typically included in conventional guidebooks. The cultural background of the structural and visual qualities of this remarkable place is enhanced for the reader with valuable resource information on hotels, cafes, and other points of interest. Whether an arm-chair traveler or on-site visitor, Living In Rome will prove a most remarkable and rewarding reading experience.

I bought this for my wife, after visiting Luca, in Tuscany! This book captures the memories! Excellent book!

A very beautiful and detailed book. A place to think about living out the golden years there. Becoming part of the local living.

I have been cooking and collecting cookbooks for fifteen years, and this is one of the most interesting and practical books I own. Anyone who cooks for parties must know how handy it is to have a platter ready for guests...something good for your friends, just as they come in. Can anything be better? This book has dozens of excellent recipes. I can't say I have made them all (or would even try!) but I have made many, and the ones I won't try lay temptingly in the future.

This is a good book!

Helena Chamber

I first heard about this book through another chef that once attended a cooking course with Ms De Medici in Italy. It is a hard to find book and one day I found it on the Amazon Marketplace and ordered it.

The book is all about Antipasti, and it starts with a chapter about the history of Antipasti illustrated with beautiful pictures of old portraits and of an italian market. The next two chapters are about Types of Antipasti and the Antipasto Pantry, where the author carefully explains the different ingredients utilized in this kind of foods.

The recipes are organized in Finger Food, Fork Food, and Preserves and Basics - in this cookbook you will find many recipes for Bruschetta, Crostini, Tartine, Bocconcini (little bites), Grissini (breadsticks), Foccace, Torte, Frittate (italian omelettes), carpaccio, salads, antipasti with fish, chicken, cheese, vegetables, and marinated foods.

I love this book. Every chapter has an introduction where she explains about the dishes, their names, and their history. It contains beautiful photos both ancient and modern. I recommend "Antipasti" to anyone that collects cookbooks and to anyone that loves real Italian Food.

Marina Warner is always interesting and worth reading, but for those of us who have lost a father, especially early in life, THIS book will hold a special fascination.

It is really about the quest for identity in individuals and in families, the difficulties of this challenge which confronts all of us, and the ways in which these difficulties are enhanced by the absence of a male authority figure who is, say, taken by death, before we can define ourselves in opposition to or in reaction against him.

For a young woman without a father, the task is to enter adulthood unescorted, without a test of her feminine power to charm; for a young man in that situation, it is to define himself without an Oedipal struggle or test of courage and manhood that involves the defeat -- if not literally the "killing," as Freud alleged by way of the Greek tragedy -- of the older "self."

Myth and the dreaming faculty are shown in this work to be essential to human beings, who most genuinely and meaningfully "live" only in the stories they construct all the time. We are dreaming creatures, symbol-making animals, and our most powerful symbols eventually define us.

Like Hamlet, whose words to his father's ghost are quoted in the title of this review, we aim to please most those fathers who are absent forever -- and whom we are, therefore, least likely to succeed in pleasing.

Read this book.

Marina Warner's multiple award winning "Lost Father" is nothing less than a minor classic. Beautifully romantic and lyrical in style and content, it recalls one of those magical realism tinged three generation family sagas so typical of Latin novelists of today. The narrator is Anna, daughter of Fantina and grandaughter of second generation patriach Davide Pittagora of Rupe, Italy. Once married to but now divorced from an Englishman, Anna lives in London but undertakes a personal project of tracing and writing her family's history by interviewing her own mother. Piecing together bits and pieces fitfully remembered and sometimes imagined by Fantina (Davide's youngest daughter), Anna's story takes us from the Pittagoras' hometown of Rupe, then briefly to their new immigrant home in New York before their final return to Italy in the 1920s. It is a colourful story, filled with memories of love, friendship, loyalty and honour but also treachery and deceipt which tainted the unrequited love affair of Rosa and her brother Davide's best friend Tommasso, and spawned the mythological duel fought between Davide and Tommasso in defence of Rosa's honour. All this is told in grandiosely sweeping style against a backdrop of political upheaval as Italy enters its Fascist period under an unnamed "Leader" with ambitions to dominate the world. The flow of words from Warner's pen is unmatched in the incandescent beauty it produces. "Lost Father" positively shimmers. Jumbled up, its poetic and dreamy sequences resemble fragments snatched from the recesses of fading memory. It is a tour de force and should not be allowed to languish on old bookshelves. Go buy yourself a copy and read it.