True Stories by Tim Parks, Frances Mayes Barbara Grizzuti Harrison, Luigi Barzini, Matthew Spender, Stanley Crouch, and many more
Edited by Anne Calcagno
Introduction by Jan Morris
“This wonderful collection features some of the finest writers—travel or otherwise—around…this is travel writing at its glorious best.” —Chicago Tribune
Enter the land of seduction: Italy, a country rich in art, religion, food, and culture, and one of the most favored of travel destinations. Come to the mountains, the vineyards, the cafes and family tables. Drink the wine, eat the food, and savor the aromas. In Travelers’ Tales Italy (Updated), see Italy through the eyes of the travelers who’ve gone before. Some of these storytellers are there for the first time, others just can’t stay away, but all are entranced.
In Travelers’ Tales Italy, readers will:
- Search ancient marble quarries for Michelangelo’s signature with sculptorMatthew Spender
- Discover the thrill—and risk—of climbing the dome of St. Peter’s withJeanne Conte
- Experience the mystic legacy of Saint Francis on a trek to Assisi withPatricia Hampl
- Journey deep into the forest in Puglia for the Feast of the Black Madonna with Fred L. Gardaphe
- Receive an invigorating lesson in manners, Florentine-style, on a shopping expedition with Duncan Fallowell
- Peer into the arcane world of Italian bribery with Tim Parks
- Take a steamy gondola ride on a summer night in Venice with Jan Warner…and much more.
As Jan Morris states in her introduction: “…the world recognizes in Italy an essential idea of beauty: beauty of landscape, beauty of learning, beauty of art, beauty of human romance and affection. All these response, all these varied judgements, are expressed in the pages of this book.” Newly designed, with an updated resource section, Travelers’ Tales Italy provides a definitive answer to the question, “What’s it like to be there?”
About the Editor
Anne Calcagno was raised in Milan and Rome, and is both bilingual and a dual national. She came to the United States to attend Williams College, and remained. She now lives in Chicago, where she is an Assistant Professor of English at DePaul University. For her short story collection Pray For Yourself, variously set in Italy and in the U.S., she won the James D. Phelan Award, a national Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, and two Illinois Arts Council awards. She is currently at work on a novel about Italy and Eritrea during World War II. Her travel writing has appeared in The New York Times.
About Travelers’ Tales
Founded in 1993, Travelers’ Tales publishes the best in travel and spiritual writing from world-famous authors as well as new writers. Our goal is to inspire and enlighten readers through true stories by travelers who have explored the depths of their experiences. The series includes: country and regional guides; books which explore the themes of women’s travel, spirituality, food, humor, and adventure; travel advice books; Footsteps: The Soul of Travel, a series that features single-author travel narratives; and Travelers’ Tales Classics, a series which introduces out-of-print favorites of travel literature to a whole new audience. Travelers’ Tales Italy is one of twenty-one country and regional guides.
Travelers’ Tales Italy (Updated)
Edited by Anne Calcagno
Introduction by Jan Morris
Travelers’ Tales, October 2001
$18.95 ($29.50 Canada), trade paperback, 472 pages, 5 1/8″ x 8″
ISBN: 1-885211-72-4