Paula's Tour Talk

Delizia: The Epic History of Italians and Their Food

 

Delizia!: The Epic History of the Italians and Their Food by John Dickie is a wonderful book for anyone who loves Italian food. It's not a cookbook, but  a remarkably readable history of the food of Italy's greatest cities, including Rome, Venice, Naples, Florence, Bologna and more.

Dickie's compelling idea is that the food of Italy is city food. In the cities, he argues everything necessary for great food comes together: ingredients, talent, money, and power. He shows how taste, creativity, and civic pride combined with princely arrogance, political violence, and intrigue created Italian cuisine.

He takes readers on a journey through time from Milan's medieval marketplace to the banquets of Renaissance Ferrara; from the back streets of nineteenth century Naples to the tratttorie of modern Rome. And along the way, exposes many false legends and illuminates much that has been unknown.

You'll learn that Marco Polo is not responsible for bringing pasta to Italy form the Far East, for example, and that early pizzas were positively disgusting.

This is a dazzling history that reads like a story with characters like a Renaissance cook who plotted to murder a Pope renowned for his love of aphrodisiacs. The stories will take you from amazingly opulent wedding banquets with hundreds of dishes to the subsistence meals of thin soup in war time, while giving you a fresh understanding of origins of some of today's best loved recipes.

Delizia!: The Epic History of the Italians and Their Food is a history of Italy as told through its food.

Books Set in Florence and Venice

Thanks to author Michelle Lovric (more on her latest novel soon), I found a marvelous website: Fictional Cities.

Here, Jeff Cotton provides A-Z lists of novels set in Venice, Florence, and London. He offers clever, pithy, and short reviews of many of the books, too.  (Set off by itself,there's also a relatively new section on Berlin).

But that's not all. You will also find  a smattering of non-fiction books and a longer list of films.

Each city has its "extras" too. In the Venice section, Cotton gives you comics, and lovely pages on Vivaldi, and Venice and Cats, for instance. London offers bits on Cakes and also Postcodes.  And more.

It's a wonderful and beautiful site (he's also a website designer), simple and easy to navigate, ornamented with photos and art.

It's also a marvelously personal and eccentric work of love. Be sure to check out his Me page if, as he says "you're curious."

Can you tell I am completely delighted with this website? Check it out, I bet you will love it too.

The Glassblower of Murano by Marina Fiorato

Intrigue and secrets,treachery and betrayal, love and revenge. Plus,a fascinating glimpse into the art of glassblowing. This wonderful novel has it all.

For centuries Venice held the secret of glassmaking, and supplied all Europe with glass. She guarded the secet well. Glassblowers were confined to the island of Murano, across the lagoon from the city. This was not only a precaution against fire, but also protection of the monopoly.

Glassblowers were treated well and lived in comfort, but only a rare few ever gained permission to leave the island. And, to breathe the merest whisper about their art to an outsider meant certain death.

In The Glassblower of Murano, Marina Fiorato skillfully interweaves the tale of modern day Leonora Manin and her 17th century ancestor, Corradino Manin.

He was reputed to have been the greatest glass artist who ever lived, with marvelous mirrors and chandeliers still gracing the palazzos of Venice.

She flees London for Venice after a divorce, hoping her connection with Corradino and her small skill with glass will gain her a place among the male-dominated glass works.

 Leonora's illustrious name opens the door for her and she is hired as an apprentice glassblower. At first she is grudgingly accepted, but when her Botticelli looks give the factory owner the idea to use her in an ad campaign, ancient rivalries and accusations of treachery surface to menace her.

In her quest for information about Corradino, we enter the glittering, dangerous world of 17th century Venice. There are mysteries to unravel.

Was Corradino, as some allege, Venice's most heinous traitor? Was he the one who broke the Venetian hold on glass? Did he die an old man, or was he hunted down by Venetian assassins?

I loved how Leonora's story--complete with romance--and Corradino's amazing tale blend and complement each other. Modern day treachery and manipulation mirror the more deadly betrayals of the 17th century in elegant and surprising ways, as does devotion, friendship and true love in both times.

And I loved how Fiorato brings Venice alive. She draws vivid pictures of daily life in Venice, then and now.

Her portrait of Corradino was so compelling and seemingly true that you will want to learn more about this artist and his works. Unfortunately, as I discovered, Corradino Manin is completely fictitious.

This is a truly great read, with just the right amounts of history, mystery, suspense, and romance. I'm thinking of suggesting The Glassblower of Murano to my book group, and will add it to Time of Your Life Tours' list recommended books for Venice.

Four Seasons in Rome by Anthony Doerr

I broke with habit and actually read about 30 reviews of Four Seasons in Rome on Amazon. I kept reading them because I was intrigued by the wide spectrum of opinions from "I loved it" to "it was a waste of time and money."  Those who trashed it were disappointed because it was not what they expected. Four Seasons in Rome is not a travelogue or a guide to Rome. It's not about Romans past or present. There's not even much about the food.

Instead it's a lyrical, elegantly written account of a talented American writer, winner of many prizes and grants, who is the recipient of yet another award. On the very day that his twin sons are born, Doerr receives a letter telling him of his good fortune. He has won the prestigious Rome Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters-- a fairly substantial stipend and an apartment and writing studio in Rome for a year. He and his courageous wife decide to go for it.

Now, Mr. Doerr knows less than a handful of Italian words, nothing about Rome, and he's a brand new father. Oh, and he is supposed to be working on his next novel. So he is often confused, sometimes lost, usually exhausted, and occasionally really frustrated.  But he is also fine person with a generous heart, honest and open about his feelings and experiences, curious about the world and fascinated by nature.

It's a pleasure to spend time reading about his year in Rome. I loved walking along with him as he wanders the frenetic streets and quiet back lanes of this ancient city with his little boys in their double stroller. I enjoyed the fact that his impressions are fresh and not colored by prior research, knowledge, or expectations. Doerr writes about his experiences in Rome not about "the Roman experience."

He writes about the joys and anxieties of parenthood, the pleasures and perplexities of life in a city as vibrant and bustling as Rome with its layers and layers of history and culture. He writes about the reactions of ordinary people to Pope John Paul's death and about his Filipina babysitter. He includes excerpts from his reading of the ancient Pliny's Natural History and talks about his terror when his wife gets ill.

In short, Doerr lets us into his world, his heart, and his mind as he navigates unfamiliar territory during his year abroad. Given the incredible gift of a year to nurture his writing, he shares that gift with us, allowing us to come along and see what it was really like.

I am firmly among those who loved this book. It's charming and real and a pleasure to read. It has even made me long for Rome, a city I haven't spent nearly enough time in. I think a year would be perfect.

Venetian Tales

Venice has captured my soul. I can't imagine ever tiring of this mysterious, mesmerizing, thrilling city. Despite the crowds, despite the high prices, despite her problems and failings, I just can't get enough. I long to spend a year (or more) living in Venice, exploring her treasures, strolling her streets, crossing her bridges, and breathing her air.

And so, it's no surprise that I love reading about Venice. I brought two novels about Venice with me when Time of Your Life Tours visited my favorite city last month: The Floating Book and The Remedy. Both are by novelist and Venetophile Michelle Lovric, who was new to me. I was dazzled by her knowledge.

These novels are big, dense, rambling, and loaded with esoteric information. The Floating Book takes place in 15th century Venice, when she was at the height of her power and glory. Its main story is about Wendelin von Speyer, a real historical figure who brought the new technology of movable type from Germany to Venice and set up Italy's first printing press. It was an innovation fraught with risk and danger. The risk was partly financial, but the danger was deadly. The Church was extremely suspicious of this new-fangled invention and worried about the impact of a literate populace with access to books. More than one early printer was sentenced to death for printing works, particularly works by Classical Romans, that the Church deemed heretical.

Wendelin's business venture--a fascinating story--is the background for a series of interwoven stories. There's the story of his marriage to a lovely young Venetian, the story of the doomed affair of one of his editors and a Jewish prostitute and her love for a flamboyant scribe. But there's also the tale of the ancient Roman poet Catullus, whose love poetry has inflamed lovers' imaginations for centuries. Ultimately, Wendelin has to decide whether he will risk everything to print these poems.

The Remedy takes place in the decadent days of the 18th century, when Venice was no longer a world power, but a playground of vice and decay. It's the story of a Venetian daughter of the aristocracy imprisoned against her will in a convent, who escapes, and eventually becomes a spy for the Republic,  disguised as an actress. Her lover is a Londoner who reigns in the underworld of both cities as a king of patent medicines. Their story is one of betrayal, intrigue, loss, and redemption against the backdrop of two great cities. It's a tale, that like Venice herself, combines the Byzantine and the Gothic, full of mystery and marvels.

Neither of these novels is a quick or light read, but the rewards are many. Reading these books while in Venice, I felt like I was swimming through history, getting a privileged glimpse of my favorite city.  If you have a taste for the unusual and a literary bent, I think you will enjoy these books even if you are not lucky enough to be in Venice.  I loved learning about the history of printing, about convent life, about bizarre remedies touted by quacks, about glass-making, the theatre, and so much more as I was engrossed in labyrinthine tales of love. I was happy to discover that Lovric wrote a third Venetian novel called Carnevale. I'll be reading it soon.

Da Vinci Codes II and III

Although I found Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code rather amusing, it hardly changed the way I view Leonardo's fading masterpiece, The Last Supper. I can't say the same of Spanish author, Javier Sierra's fascinating novel, The Secret Supper, and recent articles about an Italian musician's new book about finding a short musical composition encoded in the painting.

Sierra's book, which has been a bestseller in 35 countries, is a great read. It's the story of a Papal Inquisitor sent to Milan to discover whether or not the mysterious missives of a religious fanatic who signs himself "the Soothsayer" are true. These cryptic notes accuse Leonardo Da Vinci of putting hidden heretical, even blasphemous, messages in his Last Supper. The action takes place as Da Vinci is finishing the work. 

The Secret Supper (there's a link under Books on the left of this page) is a work of intrigue, murder, politics and conspiracies, filled with suspense and plot twists, set in the final years of the 15th century. The reader learns a great deal about about Milan, the Cathar heresy, Church politics, monastic life, and, of course, Leonardo Da Vinci and his art.

Sierra provides the necessary keys to unlock the possible secret meanings encoded in the painting (including two carefully labeled reproductions of the painting) and a surprisingly satisfying conclusion. I think it's a far better book than Dan Brown's and well worth reading. I know I will never look at this most famous fresco in quite the same way again. It's also made me want to do some in-depth study of the work myself.

More recently, last Friday in fact, a new hypothesis about a secret hidden in the Last Supper was published by the Italian musician Giovanni Maria Pala. His book has not yet been translated, but you can read about his idea that the score for a short, solemn musical composition can be found in the painting. Experts are saying that his theory is "plausible."  Read more at Italian Musician Uncovers Hidden Music in this article from the Herald Tribune.

Finally, you might also enjoy taking a look at the official site for the painting housed in the Church and convent of Santa Maria della Grazie in Milan: the Cenacolo (Cenacolo is the Italian term for all Last Supper paintings).

Remember if you want to see the work when you are in Milan, you must have prior reservations. I'm working on a northern Italy tour for next year that will definitely include a visit on the itinerary.

Good news! My bag finally did arrive home from Italy completely intact. I am so happy to have my travel clothes, and especially all the books I bought on this last tour. Thanks to those who sent their good wishes...

 

Marlena de Blasi

The picture of author Marlena de Blasi that emerges from her books is of a sensual, artistic, loving, larger-than-life, vital woman, who can also, at times, be a bit self-centered, stubborn, frustrating, certainly outrageous and always rather charming. As you might guess, I find her books both incredibly intriguing and  occasionally annoying, and I'm always happy to read about her latest adventures about her life in Italy.

After A Thousand Days In Venice (the very romantic story of how she met her husband and moved to Venice, leaving her old life behind) and A Thousand Days in Tuscany (the story of their move to a small village, filled with tales of truffle hunting, grape harvests and the rhythms of daily life), The Lady in the Palazzo continues their saga. This latest installment details the couple's ups and downs while they renovate a former ballroom in an ancient palazzo in the Umbrian town of Orvieto. I think it's my favorite of the trio.

Perhaps because I haven't been there (yet), De Blasi's description of this hilltop town made me long to see it. Her tale of feuding aristocrats, rural laborers, and clannish townspeople is a true delight. Her lyrical descriptions of the sights, sounds, and smells make it seem as though you are right there, experiencing it all. Plus, she seems to have a knack not only for for making friends of nearly everyone she encounters, but also for revealing the depth and beauty of the people she meets and the places she loves. And then, of course, there's food.

In addition to these memoirs, De Blasi is the author of many articles and books about food, including Regional Foods of Northern Italy: Recipes and Remembrances and A Taste of Southern Italy: Delicious Recipes and a Dash of Culture. So, it's no surprise that her books about Venice, Tuscany and Umbria are laced with mouthwatering descriptions of feasts, simple but perfect meals, street food and treats--often with the recipes included. It makes me hungry just remembering...

At a time when bookstore shelves are loaded with books about the expatriate life in Italy, Marlena de Blasi's stand out for their authenticity, beauty, and warmth. You may not like everything about her, but there's no denying she is a generous, exceedingly warm-hearted, creative, and engaging author. Her books fairly glow with her love of life. I think they make great reading and great fuel for your dreams of Italy.

Let me know what you think!

The Sixteen Pleasures by Robert Hellenga

This  elegant, intelligent novel opens with the following words:

I was twenty-nine years old when the Arno flooded its banks on Friday 4 November 1966. According to the Sunday New York Times the damage wasn't extensive, but by Monday it was clear that Florence was a disaster. Twenty feet of water in the cloisters of Santa Croce, the Cimabue crucifix ruined beyond hope of restoration, panels ripped from the Baptistry doors, the basement of the Biblioteca Nazionale completely underwater, hundreds of thousands of volumes waterlogged, the Archivo di Stato in total disarray. On Tuesday I decided to go to Italy, to offer my servies as a humble book conservator, to help in any way I could, to save whatever coudl be saved, including myself.

That is, Margot Harrington, the heroine of The Sixteen Pleasures, sets off for Florence and becomes one of the hundreds of angeli del fango (mud angels), young foreigners who flocked to Florence to help clean up after the huge flood of 1966. Eventually she finds herself working to preserve the books in a cloistered convent library. When the nuns discover a priceless volume from the Renaissance, depicting sixteen sensual pleasures in poems and illustrations, Margot is asked to help them secretly sell it.  As the story unfolds, she finds adventure, intrigue and passion in this delicious novel.

I enjoyed so much about this book. I liked revisiting the mid-60's; I liked the behind-the-scene glimpses of life in a Carmelite convent; I learned a lot about the arcane world of rare book conservation.  Plus, Margot is a thoroughly appealing character, and The Sixteen Pleasures has some truly funny, occasionally laugh-out-loud funny, moments.

This is a great book to read before visiting Florence...maybe even on the airplane. It gives you the feel of the city and its inhabitants, a glimpse of daily life, a smattering of Italian words (and one hilarious episode about a linguistic mistake), and well, many other pleasures. It's sensuous, exciting, very sexy, and smart. Highly recommended.

FYI: I found a three and a half minute video on the mud angels and the 1966 flood on YouTube. It's worth watching if you have a few minutes: Florence Flood.

I, Mona Lisa : A Mixed Bag

I am always on the lookout for novels that will inspire, delight, and educate my readers about both the history and the realities of daily life in Renaissance Italy, novels that will enhance your travel experience.  So, I was filled with anticipation when I sat down to read Jeanne Kalogridis' latest novel, I, Mona Lisa. However, I had read only a few pages when I debated whether even to continue reading.

One of the benchmarks of good historical fiction is that the history must be accurate; the author must scrupulously adhere to the facts wherever known. Kalogridis' research was sloppy and it nearly prevented me from reading what turned out to be a rather wonderful book. But I kept reading and I'm glad I did.

It turns out that she played a bit fast and loose with a lot of incidental historical facts--some might call them details, but it drove me crazy. For instance, she mentions the goldsmith shops on Florence's Ponte Vecchio several times, even though when Leonardo was painting Mona Lisa's portrait, the bridge was lined with butchers' stalls where all sorts of refuse and stinking offal  was tossed into the river. It wasn't until 1595, more than 100 years after the events in the novel, that the smelly butchers were thrown out and the goldsmiths moved in. I was annoyed that this and other easily checked facts were wrong throughout the book.

However, though she often gets the dates and other facts wrong, Kalogridis does a fantastic job of getting the big picture right. And this makes I, Mona Lisa well worth reading--with one important caveat.

It is important to remember that we know almost nothing about the woman in the world's most famous painting. Even her identity as Lisa Gherardini and the wife of Francesco del Giocondo is not 100% certain. So, EVERYTHING about her life and her relationships, her personality and behaviour is pure fiction. The same goes for Kalogridis' imaginings about the other historical characters in the book, including Leonardo Da'Vinci. While she does include some factual information, much is speculation.

Okay, so what's good about I, Mona Lisa?  First, Kalogridis paints a brilliantly clear picture of life in Florence in the tumultuous days of the Lorenzo the Magnificent. After reading this book, you will be quite prepared to visit Florence because you'll have a real understanding of important aspects of its history during the height of the Renaissance. You'll understand the bizarre Pazzi conspiracy, the role of the Medicis, the allure of the monk Savonarola and his Bonfire of the Vanities--and you'll also know why he ended up being burnt at the stake. You'll get a sense of daily life, especially the constricted life of women in this time and place. You'll understand the swirl of intrigue between the Church and the various Italian city-states. And, you'll get a glimpse of artists like Botticelli and Michelangelo as they live and work in 15th century Florence.

Second, it's a thrilling story. Kalogridis presents us with a most fascinating Mona Lisa. Her fictional Lisa has a secret ancestry, a spirited personality, complex relationships with many of the rich and famous of her day, as well as intelligence and great beauty. She paints a picture of a passionate woman, willing to risk everything for those she loves. It's a great read.

So, go ahead and enjoy this interesting, suspenseful story that plays out in the streets and piazzas you'll stroll in Florence.  Immerse your imagination in the dangers and dark rivalries behind doors of the churches and buildings  you'll visit. Just remember, Mona Lisa's true story  is still a mystery.

A Glimpse of 15th Century Milan

Just in time for my visit to Milan on a final scouting trip, I finished a terrific new historical novel about the nobles, the betrayals, intrigues, romances, and the artists of the great courts of northern Italy at the end of the fifteenth century.  The novel is Leonardo's Swans by Karen Essex, and it really increased my understanding of the time period, and gave me exactly the background I wanted for Milan.

This wonderfully written, historically accurate book provides the reader with a window into the fascinating lives of the outrageously rich and famous during a very turbulent time. And it's a great read, too.

It centers on the two Este princesses, Isabella, called "The First Lady of the Renaissance," (pictured at left), and her no less illustrious younger sister, Beatrice. These two daughters of the Duke of Ferrara were mere teens when they married into the great Gonzaga and Sforza familes. They had to contend with jealousy, mistresses, intrigue, and war while maintaining some of the finest courts in Europe and producing as many heirs as possible. And they knew everyone who was anyone.

Interwoven with the story of the sisters and their woes and triumphs, is the story of Leonardo da Vinci's years in Milan under the patronage of Beatrice's husband, the larger-than-life Duke Ludovico Sforza. It is a more personal view of Leonardo than I've ever read; you get a real sense of the personality of this rather mysterious genius. You also learn all kinds of interesting information about his portraits, sculpture, and The Last Supper.

This is the perfect book to read before a visit to Milan, and a pleasure to read even if you have no plans for a trip. The story and the characters will stay with you a long time.

Click on the icon at the left, under Books we Love for more information or to purchase from Amazon.