About this book From the
bestselling author whose memoirs Under the Sun and
Bella Tuscany have captured the voluptuousness
of Italian life comes a lavishly illustrated ode to
the joys of Tuscany's people, food, landscapes, and
art. In Tuscany celebrates the abundant pleasures
of life in Italy as it is lived at home, at festivals,
feasts, restaurants and markets, in the kitchen and
on the piazza, in the vineyards, fields, and olive groves.
Combining all-new essays by Frances Mayes and a chapter
by her husband, poet Edward Mayes, with more than 200
full-color photos by photographer Bob Krist, each of
this book's five sections highlights a signature aspect
of Tuscan life:
La Piazza--the locus of Italian village
life.ÄÄWith photgraphs of the shop signs,
the outdoor markets, medieval streets, people, their
pets and their cars, and snippets of conversations overheard,
Mayes reveals the life of the Piazza in her town of
Cortona as well as out-of-the-way places such as Volterra,
Asciano, Monte San Savino, and Castelmuzio.
La Festa--the celebration. Essays
and photos of feasts and celebrations, such as the Christmas
dinner for twenty-seven at a neighbor's house and a
donkey race around the church at Montepulciano Stazione,
illustrate how the Tuscans celebrate the seasons--their
open ways of friendship, their connection to nature,
and most of all, their sense of abundance.
Il Campo--the field. Here Edward Mayes
evokes the deep sense of the shift of seasons as he
picks olives before he and Frances head off to the olive
oil mill and enjoy the first bruscette with new oil.
La Cucina--the kitchen. An intimate
view of the all-important role of the kitchen in Tuscan
culture, including photographs of her own kitchen and
gardens, menus from great local cooks, the elements
of the Tuscan table, dishes with cultural and culinary
notes on each, and, of course, delectable recipes.
La Bellezza--the beauty. From the
quality of the light falling on sublime landscapes in
different seasons and Tuscan faces in moments of laughter
to a silhouette of cypress trees in the early evening
and a wild bird perched on a neigbor's head, In Tuscany
features views of beauty that reveal the singular splendor
of one of the world's best-loved and most artistic regions.
|
