Pages As Planes: Italy
These posts continue to bring me endless joy as I put them together. It is so fun to dig through my favorite reads from the past and discover new ones to love in the future, all centered around a gorgeous and dreamy location.
Today’s destination was one of the most requested and I can’t say I blame anyone! Italy is one of the most magical countries on Earth. It is rich with history, romance, and a way of life that I wish we could adopt here in the US. Ciesta, anyone?
Pages As Planes
Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch—I read this book over the summer and it was a delight! It’s about a young girl who loses her mother and is on the quest to learn about her father. Her quest brings her to Italy, along with her late mother’s journal, where she discovers the truth of her mother’s romantic past and begins one of her own. it’s great on audio too!
Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter—This book will have you dreaming of the Amalfi Coast! It’s about a love affair that never had it’s time in 1962 but is rekindled in Hollywood years later.
A Thousand Days in Tuscany by Marlena de Blasi—A little Nonfiction! This is the true story of an American food writer and Venetian banker who met and married very quickly. Their pattern of love at first followed in regards to their home as they set out to renovate a Tuscan villa.
Living in a Foreign Language: A Memoir of Food, Wine, and Love in Italy by Michael Tucker—Another true story of an American husband and wife who found themselves empty nesters and the new owners of a charming Italian cottage. They vow to shed their American ways and fully embrace the Italian way of life in this delicious memoir.
Call Me By Your Name by Andre Acime—If you haven’t seen this stunning film yet, you must! And you must read the book. It is one of the most romantic stories, about identity and forbidden love set in the gorgeous Italian countryside in the summer of the 1980/s.
The Juliet Club by Suzanne Harper—Another fun YA pick! “Kate Sanderson has been burned by love. From now on, she thinks, I will control my own destiny, and I will be reasoned and rational. But life has other things in store for Kate. Namely, a summer abroad studying Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet in the very town where the star-crossed lovers met, Verona, Italy. Kate is thrown together with two other American teens and three Italians for a special seminar - and for volunteer duty at the Juliet Club, where they answer letters from the lovelorn around the world. Can Kate's cool logic withstand the most romantic summer ever? Especially when faced with the ever-so-charming Giacomo and his entrancing eyes...?” —From the publisher
Sex & Vanity by Kevin Kwan—One of the hottest books of Summer 2020 that takes place in NYC AND Italy. Another story of forbidden love and finding yourself amidst familial obligations. Based on the classic, A Room with a View.
A Room With a View by E.M. Forrester—And here’s that classic!
Aqua Alta by Donna Leon—”In Leon's fifth Commissario Guido Brunetti mystery, the beating of renowned art historian Dotoressa Brett Lynch draws the contemporary Venetian police detective out of his warm and loving home and into the yearly onslaught of acqua alta, the torrential winter rains. Brett, an American who spearheaded a recent exhibition of Chinese pottery in Venice, lives with her lover, Flavia Petrelli, the reigning diva of La Scala. With his open mind and good sense, Brunetti finds himself more fazed by Flavia's breathtaking talent than by the nontraditional relationship between the two women. Brunetti's deliberate and humane investigation to uncover a motive for Brett's beating takes him to dark, wet corners of Venice and into a sinister web of art theft, fakery, and base human desires.”—from the publisher
From Rome with Love by Jules Wake—”Romance is the last thing on Lisa’s mind when she finds herself staying in a beautiful apartment with her childhood-friend-turned-arch-enemy Will Ryan…no matter how hot he is! Lisa’s got more important things to focus on, like hunting down her estranged father. Except when her search falls at the first hurdle, Will doesn’t just help her get back on track, he also shares the romantic sights – and exquisite tastes – of Italy and Lisa starts to wonder if it’s not just Rome seducing her. Only, as Lisa and Will dig into the past, neither of them is prepared for the long-buried secrets they reveal. Secrets that will turn both their world’s upside down. “ —from the publisher
Juliet by Ann Fortier—A novel of intrigue and identity, as a young woman discovers her that her fate is irrevocably tied to that of Juliet, literature’s most famous star-crossed lover.
Italy is My Boyfriend by Annette Joseph—It seems like Italy is the perfect place to write a memoir! “Annette Joseph’s years in Italy revealed this truth: Italy, in all its multifaceted, glorious history and culture has to be experienced in full. Over almost three decades, Italy has fed, entertained, confused, excited, lured, promised, lied, satisfied, occasionally disappointed, and utterly enchanted her. She’s left, but can't stay away—she’ll always return. Always. Just like a beloved partner…Italy Is My Boyfriend will take you through the journey of finding love, life, and a sense of home. While often times a lonely, challenging place, never once did the love for this special place waiver. See how one very determined lady finds her dream place in the Tuscan sun.” —from the publisher
The Midwife of Venice by Roberta Rich—”At midnight, the dogs, cats, and rats rule Venice. The Ponte di Ghetto Nuovo, the bridge that leads to the ghetto, trembles under the weight of sacks of rotting vegetables, rancid fat, and vermin. Seeping refuse on the streets renders the pavement slick and the walking treacherous. It was on such a night that the men came for Hannah.Hannah Levi is famed throughout Venice for her skills as a midwife but, as a Jew, the law forbids her from attending a Christian woman. However, when the Conte appears at her door in the dead of night, Hannah's compassion is sorely tested. And with the handsome reward he is offering, she could ransom back her husband, currently imprisoned on the island of Malta. But if she fails in her endeavours to save mother and child, will she be able to save herself, let alone her husband” —from the publisher
Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn —A gripping piece of historical fiction about a young woman who finds herself the mistress of the Emperor and she holds his life in her hands.
The House at the Edge of Night by Catherine Banner —A novel about a multigenerational family who live on a sweeping island off the coast of Italy.
Cleopatra’s Daughter by Michelle Moran—The story of Marc Anthony and Cleopatra’s daughter! This is HIGH on my list!
Under The Tuscan Sun by Frances Meyers—One of my FAVORITE movies of all time. Seriously. A must watch if you don’t read the book!
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert—I’m sure we’ve all seen this movie and even read the book, but how could it not inspire a trip to Italy? So good!
Rome in Love by Anita Hughes—I LOVED this book. It’s about the making of Roman Holiday starring Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn. When Sophie is cast in the remake of the movie years later, she finds a stack of letter written by Audrey herself to inspire her own performance as life begins to imitate art.
I can’t wait to fly somewhere new next week! Where should we go next?