The best reads to make you dream of Italy.
Whether you are dreaming of art, food, or history, here are 16 of the best reads to romance your soul and help you prepare for your trip to the Bel Paese (beautiful country):
Beginning against a backdrop of Naples during a period of intense poverty and struggle, this four-part series follows the lives of two intelligent girls, Rafaella Cerullo and Elena Greco, whose friendship spans over sixty years. I’m currently reading Book 1 (My Brilliant Friend) and can’t put it down. You can either purchase the boxed set, which is newly offered in the United States, or each book individually starting with Book 1. HBO has also recently bought the rights to the Italian television series, but if you’re like us, you like to read the book before you watch the movie!
The Agony and the Ecstacy is a biographical novel of Michelangelo, and is a game changer if you are an art lover or a history buff. Not only did Stone himself live in Italy and apprentice as a marble sculptor, but he had Michelangelo’s nearly 500 letters translated in order to write the novel and bring Michelangelo’s story, as well as his works, to life.
The Birth of Venus is a historical novel set in Florence during a time of upheaval regarding art, religion, and romance. It’s the story of a young girl, Alessandra, who is forcefully married off to a wealthy, older man at the age of 15 after her enchantment with a painter that her father has hired to decorate the chapel walls of family’s palazzo. A captivating read for anyone who is fascinated with the Florentine Renaissance!
For lovers of food, culture, and history, this combines it all. In The Land Where Lemons Grow, Helena Attlee is able to explain Italy’s cultural history by telling the story of its citrus fruit. As individuals who can’t live without the smell of citrus blossoms in the spring, this book took us on a sensory voyage through each region of Italy.
As independent travel lovers and creators, we couldn’t leave this one off the list. In Italy for the Gourmet Traveler, Fred Plotkin takes us off-the-beaten path to Italy’s local wineries, cheese factories, olive oil distilleries, gelaterias (ice creameries), trattorias, markets and more. As if this isn’t endearing enough, he also includes drawn portraits, photos, maps, and history of each town/ city to create an incredible guide for the boutique, gourmet traveler.
When Frances Mayes set on an independent journey to Italy twenty years ago, never did she dream that she would fall so deeply in love with its culture and its people. This book is a tale of personal discovery in the Tuscan countryside, giving yourself enough grace to start over, and is a true testament to the beauty of taking a risk to give yourself the possibility of a better life. One of our personal favorites, we also recommend the movie version! Check it out HERE.
Also, the famedVilla Bramasole, played by Villa Laura, from the film is newly available to rent in Cortona! Check out some beautiful photos of the villa here and plan your visit!
At 34 years old, Daphne Phelps arrived in Taormina with the plan to sell a property that she had inherited unexpectedly. Instead, she fell in love with the home, naming it Casa Cuseni, and converted it into a pensione which she has now run for fifty years. This is her memoir of this experience, and a beautiful story of triumph and starting over.
Although this story doesn’t solely take place in Italy, it is still a great read for our independent travelers and those readers on a quest to discover their best lives. At 30 years old, Gilbert left her American life behind to travel through three different countries — Italy, India, and Indonesia — in order to find her own definition of success.
In this novel by Elizabeth von Arnim, four very different but equally unhappy women connect after finding the Italian medieval castle of their dreams in the classifieds ad of the local newspaper. Hoping to find their true selves again, they embark on a journey to find joy and decide to leave their husbands and lovers in London to rent the castle in the northern Italian village of Portofino.
A bestseller in Italy, Robert Saviano tells an insider account of the Camorra, an international organized crime network dealing in drugs, toxic waste, and high fashion, in and around Naples. After growing up in Naples, Saviano saw his first murder victim at thirteen and tells an account of how the group, told to be more violent than even the Mafia, has controlled and declined the city of Naples and its surrounding provinces. It is gripping, but don’t let it scare you away from visiting this magnificently beautiful city!
Forget your notions of what Italy is like and come along for a funny and entertaining ride in Severgnini’s account on a modern Italy behind its tourist face.
The Medici’s, wool merchants and bankers, were the wealthiest and most famous of the merchant families in Florence and ran the city during the Renaissance. Through their immense support of the arts, the Medici grew Florence into a center of wealth and power spanning from the 1430’s to the 1730’s. We recommend this book as Hibbert does an excellent job describing an in-depth account of the rise of the Medici family and their influence on the culture and economics of Florence and continues on through the time of Medici Popes, political corruption, and eventually the complete downfall of the Medici family.
SPQR by Mary Beard
Last, you can’t have a book recommendation list without including a book about the history of Rome. Azzurro Dream Travel recommends SPQR by Mary Beard as she gives a passionate, detailed account of this magnificent city spanning nearly one thousand years. This book not only challenges modern notions of what life was like in ancient Rome, but is also an engaging read and has won multiple awards.
