I just returned from a 2 wk trip to Italy, seeing much of the incredibly beautiful Tuscan countryside. I want to like this book. I really do. I am currently reading her Under the Tuscan Sun and listening to the audioversion of Bella Tuscany in my car.Both are slowly driving me nuts. For some personal reason, Ms. Mayes' reading voice is irritating me to the point of distraction.( And I live in the south and love southern accents.) She DOES sound elitist and condescending as other readers have commented. Maybe I'm missing her point but I am hearing her essentially repeat throughout both books that she had to run to Tuscany to find inner peace after her hectic life style in SF. Oh, poor dear. I live in a small southern city, and some of the slower life style qualities she admires/craves in Tuscany remind me of life in a small Southern town. I think it's enriching and life changing to travel etc but kept thinking how ridiculous (pompous?)(sad actually?) of her to think she has to leave the US to find peace. Don't one's problems follow them (?).....and inner peace is found within, wherever one may land...not bought in Euros ! PS...who really is Ed to her?
PSS Am also currently reading Irving Stone's hist fiction about Michaelangelo, The Agony and the Ecstasy.Now THAT is a good book!

I had re-read Under the Tuscan sun, I love Frances Mayes style of writting and I love I Italy, I could litterly see it in her writing and when I did see actual pictures it was as I imagined love the book and will re-read it to at some time, have gotten her other 2 books as well

I had re-read Under the Tuscan sun, I love Frances Mayes style of writting and I love I Italy, I could litterly see it in her writing and when I did see actual pictures it was as I imagined love the book and will re-read it to at some time, have gotten her other 2 books as well

I cannot understand why the first book was a best-seller. It was about an ultra-rich, ultra-materialistic women that has only a very superficial understanding of Italy and the Italian people. I bought this book to read for my book club. It was even worse than the first. No more Frances Mayes for me, ever! One of the most self-absorbed authors the book club has ever read. Hope she finds happiness in her eternal quest for the perfect stuff.

I LOVE IT!!! When I read the words,I feel as if I'm there. Wonderfully written.

Lovely, light book all about Tuscany and life in the author's adopted village and her renovated old stone house and garden with such a view! Wonderful characterizations of people, great foods, travels here and there. Enjoyable and very well written.

Lovely, light book all about Tuscany and life in the author's adopted village and her renovated old stone house and garden with such a view! Wonderful characterizations of people, great foods, travels here and there. Enjoyable and very well written.

I had heard about UtTS and how wonderful it was, so when a copy of Bella Tuscany came my way, I grabbed it happily. Perhaps I didn't give Mayes enough of a chance: I assumed she would be a female version of Peter Mayle, and write with joy and humor.



After about a third of the way through, I was thoroughly sick of her whining and sniveling. Her descriptions of food and landscape and wine, I thought, were less than dazzling, less than enamoured - they were more like descriptions from a creative writing class. Mayes became a traveling companion that annoyed me, someone who could not appreciate her good fortune, a drain on anyone's good humor.



I never did finish the book. I couldn't see my way to spend another moment with Mayes.

I had heard about UtTS and how wonderful it was, so when a copy of Bella Tuscany came my way, I grabbed it happily. Perhaps I didn't give Mayes enough of a chance: I assumed she would be a female version of Peter Mayle, and write with joy and humor.

After about a third of the way through, I was thoroughly sick of her whining and sniveling. Her descriptions of food and landscape and wine, I thought, were less than dazzling, less than enamoured - they were more like descriptions from a creative writing class. Mayes became a traveling companion that annoyed me, someone who could not appreciate her good fortune, a drain on anyone's good humor.

I never did finish the book. I couldn't see my way to spend another moment with Mayes.

I had heard about UtTS and how wonderful it was, so when a copy of Bella Tuscany came my way, I grabbed it happily. Perhaps I didn't give Mayes enough of a chance: I assumed she would be a female version of Peter Mayle, and write with joy and humor.

After about a third of the way through, I was thoroughly sick of her whining and sniveling. Her descriptions of food and landscape and wine, I thought, were less than dazzling, less than enamoured - they were more like descriptions from a creative writing class. Mayes became a traveling companion that annoyed me, someone who could not appreciate her good fortune, a drain on anyone's good humor.

I never did finish the book. I couldn't see my way to spend another moment with Mayes.

I get that it is the sweet life in Tuscany. I get that Frances Mayes works her [...] off planting roses and whirling all over the country side searching for the prefect tile for the butterfly bathroom. I get that she became an overnight success and very well know because of a movie based so loosely on her book Under the Tuscan Sun it was an eerily reminder of Demi Moore's version of The Scarlet Letter. I have never set foot in Italy although I know people who have. Frances Mayes is not one of them. Bully for you. I feel very put out by the book jacket glossing over all the really depressing things that run all over the "sensuous and evocative prose." And what was in the package Ed had in his suitcase for her for Christmas - what is the bloody point in saying how small it was if we don't get to find out what it was! It was like reading the ramblings of a spoiled child.

I am about half way through the book and can't bring myself to read another page. I only read this far hoping that soon it would become as interesting as her first book, but sadly I feel I've wasted enough time listening to the boring rants of wine, gardens, and other writers... If you'd like to read whole chapters devoted to describing gardens and flowers and if you like to whole chapters devoted to recipes she's come across while in Tuscany, you'll enjoy this book. The only parts I enjoyed were her travels to other parts of the country.

Francis Mayes returns to Tuscany from her teaching job in San Francisco, and while continuing to work on Bramasole, she takes the time to make trips to other areas of Italy. She is feathering her nest with the beautiful pottery, great wines and cheeses, clay tiles and other treasures that she discovers as she travels beyond the village she has made her own. I love food, gardening, shopping and planning a household myself, so Mayes' accounts of her adventures in Italy really appeal to me. She has a wonderful way of describing color and texture and flavor, that makes the armchair traveller feel as though they are really in Italy. Like some other reviewers, I am unnerved by Mayes' prosperity and elitism, but I still really enjoy the fantasy of living the "sweet life", buying beautiful things, finding myself in ancient places as the sun sets, and eating wonderful food which Mayes so skillfully brings to life.

Francis Mayes returns to Tuscany from her teaching job in San Francisco, and while continuing to work on Bramasole, she takes the time to make trips to other areas of Italy. She is feathering her nest with the beautiful pottery, great wines and cheeses, clay tiles and other treasures that she discovers as she travels beyond the village she has made her own. I love food, gardening, shopping and planning a household myself, so Mayes' accounts of her adventures in Italy really appeal to me. She has a wonderful way of describing color and texture and flavor, that makes the armchair traveller feel as though they are really in Italy. Like some other reviewers, I am unnerved by Mayes' prosperity and elitism, but I still really enjoy the fantasy of living the "sweet life", buying beautiful things, finding myself in ancient places as the sun sets, and eating wonderful food which Mayes so skillfully brings to life.

The book itself is beautifully bound with thick hand cut pages. I found it to be pleasurable simply to hold it as I read it. Frances took me on a gentle journey through various small towns, museums and trattorias throughout Italy, along with shadowing her personal journey during that 6 or so years. The book had everything I want from Ms. Mayes Tuscany stories. If you are looking for an escape to an Italian dreamland, you will like this book.

This effort by Frances Mayes should be considered on its own merits. Like Mayes I have an ongoing love-affair with Tuscany and the people who live there. Mayes continues her whimsical account of life in Tuscany inspiring my flights of fancy and thoughts of my next visit to Tuscany. Her descriptions of Italy whether it be its food, places or people are so sensual and compelling that you put down the book only to long for that next visit to Italy. That is what I expected when I read this book, and Mayes delivered the goods. I was thoroughly satisfied with this book.

an easy reading account of a special journey through Tuscany's simple life we should all experience.

A wonderful continuation of UtTS. I enjoy Mayes' style and thorough descriptions. Though this story line was not as compelling as UtTS, one must remember that this is not a contrived story, but a memoire.

This book is fabulous. More so than Under the Tuscan Sun, and both are better than the movie. Mayes has such a lightness to her writing, yet her words leave you filled. She writes of the travels her husband and she make to various regions of Italy, describing the local foods, customs, and topography. She includes wonderful recipes and paints life in Tuscany as a beautiful thing. Read on an empty stomach and a full wallet (so you can hop on the next plane to Italy). I read this before and after a month long trip to Italy and both times Bella Tuscany proved a great way to whet my appetite for the trip, and a nice way to reminisce afterwards.

The reader can discern that Frances Mayes has a love of poetry. Her style is impressionistic. Mayes uses words like paint daubs, distinct points of color, creating a mosaic of her experience of Italy. The written word is never without bias, and we certainly see Sicily and the Tuscan countryside through the colored glasses of Mayes life experiences. That is actually when I enjoy the book most: moments of contrast and unison, between memory and the present, as when the sight moonlight falling on the pavement in an ancient Etruscan town brings back memories of a first kiss of a girl in Georgia. Her words in themselves paint vignettes, but from a distance the book also says something of memory, moments, and the unexpected travels the mind takes when stimulated by the richness of experience- that of Italy, in this case. The book is also interspersed with lovely recipes, some purely Italian, some delivered with Mayes Southern accent.

Readers who have already experienced Italy will be whisked back by these recorded moments. The book is not really a travel guide or quite a travel journal. It is rarely self-reflective. Instead, it seems to be a collage of collected memories and we watch as Mayes turns from idolizing Italy (less a place in itself, instead, more a time when she can slow down from trying to "make it" in life and appreciate the small moments which give it meaning) to the understanding that here, we may also experience la dolce vita. It is not stated or even implied, as it would be too clich�, but true enough. And it is a good message nonetheless.

A post note: other reviews criticize this book for Mayes wealth-enabled experiences but Mayes voice is not snobbish. While jealousy may writhe in my belly as well, the reader must understand that in life we are all granted a unique cornucopia of experience; shall we be angry too at the figure skater for her ability to skate or hate the eagle because he has wings?

The author travels to Sicily, Venice and other Italian areas, while continuing the reconstruction of the vintage Tuscan house. Her descriptions of sites and food, once again lures the reader into thoughts of a trip to Italy.
If I had to choose between her two books, Under the Tuscan Sun would be my favorite, but this one is close in character. She has a way with descriptions of places and people that truly starts one to hungering for the sounds and tastes of country life. A number of recipes are sprinkled throughout the book, so the reader can try first-hand Paolo's Fennel Fritters or Sea Bass in a Salt Crust.
Besides the travel, people and food, the book details the restoration of the gardens in the centuries-old villa. Luxuriate in the Tuscan experience through the eyes and words of Frances Mayes.

This book is like a second course in a sumptuous dinner. Frances and Ed have now cpmpleted most of the major alterations to their villa in Tuscany and are now able to spend more time touring the rest of the region, sampling the local wines and cuisine, enjoying the magnificent architecture and generally continuing their love affair with Italy.
This book definitely inspires the reader to visit this wonderful sounding region of Italy and to be able to feel part of such a warm, rich culture.

Who has not dreamt of escaping to a colorful villa in Europe, preferably Provence (France), Tuscany in Italy or some obscure hillside in Central Europe? Frances Mays did just that! She describes the delicious details of this idyllic existence in this precious and charming book.Her sensitive, seductive descriptions are irresisible reading.

The reader is introduced to the sights, sounds, and smells of this magnificent dreamy region of the world. The book is interspersed with Italian phrases, increasing the allure of her exotic choice for a second home, Tuscany, Italy. All the senses of the reader are aroused into full alert by the aroma of freshly baked bread, the smell of newly turned earth awaiting seeds for the vegetable garden, and the enticement of early morning capuccino ...One can just hear the Italian accent in the greeting, "Buon giorno, una bella giornata" ("Good morning, a beautiful day")!

Along with the author, the reader participates in selecting flowers for a garden path and making a trip to the wine region for "sfuso" (house wine) ... bought from local vintners from their own local brew. We take side trips to Venice, and a gondola ride down the main canal, reminiscing of the past. We take a trip to the famous Capella Palatina, a former residence of kings. It has Arabic and Byzantine architechtural influences from many hundreds of years historical importance ... We go to Sicily and taste the local seafood at a restaurant recommended by the hotel clerk, who assures us, this the restaurant the locals choose for the "best seafood". Indeed, there is no disappointment, the appetizer is "futta di mare", a variety of fried fish and a spicy eggplant dish made with cinnamon and pine nuts. We are served stuffed squid and veal, rolled around with a layer of herbs and cheese. The day concludes with a visit to the market, where lamb, fish, shrimp, candied fruits and various cooking utensils as well as a large variety of food is sold.

This book is richly detailed with the experience of creating a new life in a foreign country. The reader along with the author is learning many things ... building a garden with hearty plants that survive all year round, planting the proper vegetables by the right season, remodeling a home, and partaking of customs and religious feast days of the region. It has wonderful descriptions of side trips to local and distant places of historical interest and of physical beauty ...I have never read Frances Mays first book so have no basis of comparison. However, this book is clearly an artistic achievement similar to a painting on canvas. This author possesses the power of selecting the right words to create nostalgia and longing in the reader ... to experience *her* Tuscany. Erika Borsos (erikab93)

Mayes is a treat. I loved this book as much as her previous Italy book; can't understand the attacks herein, but it doesn't matter. I love all of the Italian references. The imagery is so powerful that it almost felt as though I were in Italy. It enriched my reading experience by teaching me the finer parts of Mediterranean culture -- and Mayes has done the same in a unique and memorable way. This is a wonderful book and I highly recommend it to anyone without an ax slung over their shoulder.

This is a great book! It actually take you to a portal of Italy. Well written of Italian culture, Frances Mayes capture the bella of Italy. I love this book very much, I visited Italy before and I miss it so much. When I read this book, I feel that I am there again. I love the detail of it, I actually love when she talked about food, the market and the italian word with english beside it. I learned from the book.
If you love Italy, this is a must read.
One thing I agree with the other reader that if there's pictures and map included would make this book a plus. I really wants to see the pictures she mentioned and the map for my quick reference. I love the part she talked about mushroom and market with fresh food.

OK--Many of the customers who wrote previous reviews about Bella Tuscany have some valid complaints. It is several chapters too long and we do get tired of Mayes' whining. We have little pity for her trying to restore two houses at once and we don't need to hear about every meal and shopping excursion. It certainly does not surpass her first effort, "Under the Tuscan Sun." Still, as someone who has never been to Tuscany (or Italy for that matter), many of the descriptions in "Bella Tuscany" are little treasures. Who wouldn't want to live where you can go to one local farm for ricotta, another for pecorino romano and a third for wine? Or where Roman and Etruscan ruins are to be found in so many unsuspecting places? Or where fabulous meals can be made with only the simple ingredients you grow in your garden? Or where every small local church has a major work or art or two? I do have two recommendations that would have made this book more enjoyable; a map of Tuscany and Italy would have been helpful in identifying the many places Mayes visited. Also, I would have enjoyed more photographs other than those on the dust jacket. Maybe the few "teaser" pictures are to whet our appetite for her 3rd book, "In Tuscany." In any case, while this book has some character flaws, I think potential readers need to try to overlook these and to dig deeper for the jewel within.

The Mother of the Tuscany books! The second in her series, about her home in Tuscany, not as good as the first but very good.

SHE WRITES A GREAT BOOK ABOUT ITALY.
HAVING BEEN THERE I FEEL I AM GOING BACK AGAIN.
GREAT.

Just as good as the first book, this time the author focuses more on daily living in Tuscany, rather than the restoration of the house. I love the descriptions of her garden and her fascination with making it a lovely place. If you enjoyed the first book, you'll love this one too.

The magic of Tuscany fades with this novel, where Mayes looses her objective and foreign voice, and trades it in for a more settled and self-centered opinion.

Understanding that it is the journal of the love of a house and a country, i finished the book. Yet, i couldn't help but feel, that this novel was more of a documentary of her lame trials: juggling a great career with finding the "right" home in California, dealing with her personal relationship, and getting tired of friends wanting visit her in Tuscany (who could blame them!). Rather than be the continuing saga of a great house in an amazing region, with some of the strongest cultural roots on the planet, Bella Tuscany folds itself into the day in-day out of a privedge and educated woman.

The first novel was fresh and new, maybe because Tuscany wasn't as "discovered" by the time the second one hit the shelves. All in all, I simply feel that Mayes' voice of discovery has abandonded her, with Bella Tuscany.

the one you show is for 2001,, we are now at the end of 2002 and going into 2003 do you think you can update the site?

I have just finished reading Bella Tuscany during our family holiday in the hills east of Florence. 2 years ago at the same old Tuscan farmhouse, I read and thoroughly enjoyed the first book Under The Tuscan Sun. This follow up, started off reasonably well but by half way, it began to loose its grip on me. Being in Italy I could relate to quite a few of the passages but began to wonder what the purpose of this book was. Jumping back and forth across the Atlantic, from present to past, by the end I realised that one third of the text should have been in the first and the rest was simple padding out. The recipes especially are a waste of pages particularly those from the deep south of the US. One passage that summed it all up for me was the section about tourists in Venice - the author appears to look down on those, like myself without realising that She too is just another tourist in Venice. Bramasole was an interesting conversion project but is still a holiday home.

The current book I am reading, started whilst we were still under the Tuscan sun, is a very different matter - Tim Parks' Italian Neighbours is a joy - a real ex-Pat living and working near Verona - this book captures the real Italy without the distractions contained in Bella Tuscany.

I have still to read the third book In Tuscany which I bought for the photographs (coffee table top book!!) - sorry Frances, if I wanted recipe book I would have bought another one to match those in the cupboard. If Under The Umbrian Sun appears on the book shelves, I don't think I'll bother.

Ms. Mayes has, yet again, managed to upstage a land as magnificent as Italy. For yet another time we are treated to the self-absorbed ramblings of this gastronomo-llectual jet-setter. If you want to read a treatise on life as it can (apparently) be lived in a charmed and timeless European setting, try Peter Mayle's "A Year in Provence". He is mercifully less full of himself.

Ugh, not believing that this could possibly be worse than "Under the Tuscan Sun", I have again subjected myself to Ms Mayes take on Italy. Never again!! At least her previous work had some decent recipes in it.

We are now privy to Fran's ramblings on her ingrate houseguests, the Mafia, various odd phobias, the inconvenient timing of Ed's mothers death, along with the fact that she is apparently unable to recognise the father of her own child at her daughter's wedding. Oh the horrible burden of having to jet back and forth between Tuscany and San Francisco. The financial hardship of renovating not one but two homes simultaneously (oh the inhumanity, make it stop!!) All this with that shop till ya drop attitude that makes Fran twitch with excitment in her quest to find the perfect 400 thread count sheets.
And what about dear Ed? I think he is either a figment of Fran's imagination or he must spend a great deal of time in a vino induced state to endure her.

This book is NOT about the real Toscana, it is pure unadulterated drivel.

Last night my book club got together to discuss this wretched book. All of us absolutely *did not* like the book.
Mayes shallow, stereotyped images disgusted me, it was as though she presented a Disney-fied version of what the citizens of Tuscany were like. Mayes comes across as a snob, and one who doesn't even live an interesting life. She's rude, but not outlandishly so, I couldn't even qualify this as a guilty pleasure reading.

After reading Under The Tuscan Sun several times I was so happy when this book came, more wonderful Italian living from Frances Mayes' pen. And I was not disappointed. As I did with the first book I have also read this one several times.

Together with her husband, Frances Mayes have bought and restored an old Italian country house. The first book was mostly about the restoration, in this one we meet the couple living long summer months and also other parts of the year in Tuscany. They also travel to other places of Italy, and all the time we meet the country using Frances Mayes' eyes and writing hand as glasses.

Mayes has a deep love for Italy, and she shares her love with us in a way that we can never be untouched. I remember last year driving southward in Italy, through Tuscany on my way to Rome (for my first time) it was like visiting a country I already knew. I had read so much about it in Mayes' books, and know I will read the books again and again.

I'm always waiting for more books from Mayes' pen, and it was a pleasure to find an article in Traditional Home by Bramasole, Frances Mayes Italian home this month.

Britt Arnhild Lindland

I enjoyed the book a little more than "under the tuscan sun" but the "money is no object" lifestyle. I guess we all know these two people have money, but someone with a little more class would not make this fact so abundantly clear....and does not add to the book. I really did not care about the "New" House in San Francisco. Most of the book read like a family christmas letter and what happened over the year. You will get a better insight into some of the regions and towns that they travel to, but again it is thur the eyes of Frances Mayes.....if you want a travel book buy Rick Steves.

I've spent many wonderful summers in both Tuscany and Lombardy and I think Frances Mayes captures the spirit of Italy perfectly in this lighthearted and entertaining book. I smiled at the sections that depicted Tuscan life and laughed out loud at the spoofs. When Mayes writes about food she makes my mouth water; her shopping trips left me with memories of my own days browsing through the shops of the many little towns that dot the Tuscan hillsides.

Mayes' writing is not only wonderfully descriptive, it's absolutely flawless. It's smooth and flowing and the pages simply fly by. Bella Tuscany has made me decide to visit Italy again very soon (and to visit more of it) and, more importantly, to buy every Frances Mayes book as soon as they are published.

La vita e bella, and Mayes proves it with this book. I want more.

This book was a real disappointment. I had hoped to learn much about Tuscany, but actually learned very little, apart from Ms. Mayes' appreciation for material wealth. I, too, was annoyed by the "money is no object" approach to Ms. Mayes' life. But, then, I'm no Marxist. She has the right to live that way. But if she's going to write a travel memoir she should focus on the people of Tuscany. The only Tuscans we get to know are the ones she's contracted to renovate her house. All I got was a great deal of shopping, with but a little site seeing.

On top of all that, we have to read about her buying a new house in California as well. The real irony of the story is that she returns home to find her partner's mother (future mother-in-law) near death; someone she describes as devoted to family and not wealth; someone she has unfortunately only met twice in her life. So much Ms. Mayes could have learned from her family if she had spent more time with her and less time using Italy as a mall.

Finally, this book is full of such inappropriate imagery, like the flower that reminded her of her first open-mouth kiss. Her metahpors are generally pretty wierd. Please don't read this book.

I randomly picked this book out of a friend's collection and was not expecting anything special. Little did I know that I would find an absolute treasure of a novel. Mayes' descriptions of the Tuscan countryside and the other Italian regions she visits (Sicily, Venice...) are totally engrossing. It makes you long to hop on the next flight to Italy! I adored the lush description of her home in Cortona and the local recipes included in the book. More than that, I was really struck by how much Mayes loves not only her own Tuscan home, but the people and the culture of Italy. Her deep affection for her Cortona neighbors gave this book a strong emotional core, and I was really moved by the experience of reading it.

Her descriptive language is well thought out, but almost no emotion comes through in this humorless travelogue. She shares very little about herself and her feelings and the book is left with being a very well written still life.

After a chance encounter with Frances's first book chronicling her adventures in Tuscany I could only hope that she would follow it up. This follow up book does not disappoint! I love the way she weaves classic Italian recipes into her story telling of harvesting her gardens. The insight into the local people is both engaging and exciting to read. If the first book didn't make you want to move, this one will have you calling your real estate person.

I don't understand why so many people think Frances Mayes hates having guests. She wasn't complaining about all of her guests; just the clueless and boorish ones who invited themselves, slept until noon, and didn't understand that she and Ed had work to do and couldn't spend every waking minute entertaining them. And for those of you who keep comparing Mayes to Peter Mayle, Mayle also criticized/made fun of guests he didn't like. Remember Tony from A Year in Provence?? Even if that wasn't his real name, Mayle still took the time to physically describe him so that the man would no doubt recognize himself when he read the book.

While this book was enjoyable in parts, I just don't see what sets this book apart from other travelogues. I'm glad the author enjoys living and entertaining in Tuscany (who wouldn't) and tending to her garden, but the bottom line is that I just didn't find these vignettes all that interesting. Maybe it's because I'm not a gardener - I tended to identify more with the eating and cooking aspects of the book which were at least lively and interesting. If you're visiting Italy or just like armchair travel you may enjoy perusing this book. It's passable, just not the most exciting book I've ever read. I think most generic travel guides (like the Rough Guide) are more interesting reads.

Plus, even though she claims to be the sensitive American living in Italy, she has so many silly mafia stereotypes and "canned" portraits of Italians that I almost didn't recognize Italy from the actual weeks I've spent travelling through the country. Mediocre by any standard.

Quick and simple...bad. I have lived in Italy for the past 3 years. As an American, I am embarrassed as Ms. Mayes personifies the term "Ugly American". A pleasant writing style is no excuse for bad manners. I think that Ms. Mayes should know how to embrace the customs and ways of another country.

This is a very frustrating book, especially for anyone who is involved with Italians or things Italian. The book is generally well and lyrically written. The real problem with both "Bella Tuscany" and "Under the Tuscan Sun" is that they are not actually about Italy. Rather, they are set in an imaginary Italy whose only citizens are stereotypes of the most astonishing obviousness. One is tempted to compare Mayes's project with older elitist visions of Italy--the tradition of James, Hawthorne, and Waugh. Here too the protagonists travel from the complexity and corruption of the metropolis to a bucolic paradise where the simple inhabitants have little more to do than laze around in the sun eating pasta and drinking wine (although at least in these earlier narratives Italy became a theatre in which the political and social dramas of the "first world" were played out). The concerns of Italians--inhabitants of a modern, richly complex and changing society--are completely elided by the narrative. Indeed Mayes doesn't seem to speak enough Italian--after several years there (!!)--to communicate with them substantially. This book is good for those who are looking for a fantasy Italy with which to exorcise the demons of modernity, but is utterly useless for those who love or who wish to understand the real country and its people.

This book was not as engaging as "Under the Tuscan Sun" which was Frances Mayes first book on her experiences in Italy. I found the chapters to be way too long. I don't know why this matters, but it just struck me that way. Maybe some ideas were "over covered"? However, this book had it's own charm.

I did find her discussions of meals and food to be a bit too much at times. I guess too many details that attempt to display her growing knowledge of the local cuisine, that are not useful facts to me as a reader. Also the recipes are limited for use in the average suburban home here, as the ingredients are not that common. However, this was true for Under the Tuscan sun as well. It just did not seem to be emphasized as much.

Her momentary concentration on the "Mafia" in Italy, I was prepared for as I read previous reviews. Her vehemence struck me as been one that one feels when they find a flaw in a cherished item. Her illusions of Italy are ones of an idyllic place and the presence of the Mafia or anything that does not fit that, obviously struck a dissonant chord with her. She may very well be relating the opinions and attitudes of the people around her and not just her own. I find it hard to think that these opinions as a foreigner here were not influenced by the local people she deals with. Some of the comments struck me as ones only a local could perceive.

What I did find a bit rude was her characterizations of some of her visitors. I certainly hope this was shared with them prior to publication. Like Ann Landers says you can't be taken advantage of if you don't allow yourself to be (or something like that).

If you are looking for more on Bramasole, this book may disappoint. This book featured more of her trips beyond Cortona and even into Venice. Some people may find her self-absorption a bit over done at times, as she relates bits of her childhood and life outside of Italy. However, I found it interesting to see how the "other half" lives. I liked her way of relating her current thoughts with past actions. Like collections and family life. It is nice to get into her head. I think we all do that to some extent and when we get a glimpse of what another thinks, it shows first that we are not so weird after all, but just how different or similar another's experiences are.

I guess what makes these books special to me is her way of describing the day to day surroundings as an American would see them. This I feel makes them real for me. She is going in with American expectations and when these are different she relates this. I then feel like I have been there right along with her. I wonder how a local feels when they read some of this?

All in all, it was a decent follow on to Under the Tuscan sun. Not as good, but close. The couple of pictures on the dust cover and the diagrams inside helped flesh out the area she was referring to. The engagement calendar, does an even better job at that.

I have bought the next book she does on her life in Italy (In Tuscany)and am about to start it. I feel she has a lot to offer as a writer. In Bella Tuscany, she experimented a bit more in her writing, with some successes and failures. I hope to see how she reacted to Bella Tuscany's impact with "In Tuscany". Also I'm looking forward to the pictures included in "In Tuscany" to further flesh out this world.

This is a pretentious, boring, self-absorbed book. I couldn't finish it. The writer comes across as someone I would never want to meet or spend time with, although I'm willing to believe that this was just the effect her writing had on me. Her attitude toward Italy and the Italians I found patronizing and uneducated. And if I buy a book about Tuscany, I'm not looking to read about the author's family and childhood, etc. Highly UNrecommended. Read MFK Fisher for good food writing, and anyone else in the world besides Mayes for good travel writing.

This description of life in Italy is wonderful. Reading it, I felt like I was there with the author.

Many of the previous reviews slam or praise "Bella Tuscany" the book. I'm only 1/3 of the way through that and have no comment yet. However, this review is specifically for the engagement calendar.

This engagement calendar tempted me since reading Under the Tuscan sun and starting on Bella Tuscany. I wanted to see some of the scenes in my head courtesy of Frances Mayes fleshed out. I was not dissappointed.

This engagement calendar (and I'm not someone who normally buys these) is wonderfully prepared. From the choice of golden and ochre border to the golden suffused pictures inside. It will be a pleasure to use through out the year. It will not get discard at the end of the year either but stored safely with my copies of Under the Tuscan Sun, Bella Tuscany (partially read at this review) and In Tuscany (recently purchased).

Thank you Frances Mayes for painting this portrait of Italy from an American's eyes.