Heavy Hardcover (2 to 4 lbs)

California

The Race to Rescue a Nation's Treasures from the Nazis

When Hitler's armies occupied Italy in 1943, they also seized control of mankind's greatest cultural treasures. As they had done throughout Europe, the Nazis could now plunder the masterpieces of the Renaissance, the treasures of the Vatican, and the antiquities of the Roman Empire.

On the eve of the Allied invasion, General Dwight Eisenhower empowered a new kind of soldier to protect these historic riches. In May 1944 two unlikely American heroes--artist Deane Keller and scholar Fred Hartt--embarked from Naples on the treasure hunt of a lifetime, tracking billions of dollars of missing art, including works by Michelangelo, Donatello, Titian, Caravaggio, and Botticelli.

With the German army retreating up the Italian peninsula, orders came from the highest levels of the Nazi government to transport truckloads of art north across the border into the Reich. Standing in the way was General Karl Wolff, a top-level Nazi officer. As German forces blew up the magnificent bridges of Florence, General Wolff commandeered the great collections of the Uffizi Gallery and Pitti Palace, later risking his life to negotiate a secret Nazi surrender with American spymaster Allen Dulles.

Brilliantly researched and vividly written, Saving Italy brings readers from Milan and the near destruction of The Last Supper to the inner sanctum of the Vatican and behind closed doors with the preeminent Allied and Axis leaders: Roosevelt, Eisenhower, and Churchill; Hitler, Göring, and Himmler.

An unforgettable story of epic thievery and political intrigue, Saving Italy is a testament to heroism on behalf of art, culture, and history.

Saving Italy

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Robert I. C. Fisher

Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

Maryland

One-of-a- Kind Experiences in Capri, Positano, Sorrento, and the Bay of Naples

Escape to the Amalfi Coast A spectacular new color guide that highlights the exceptional experiences of one of Italy's most evocative regions. Stay at the villa where Greta Garbo sought solitude Let this book inspire and guide you as you plan you Amalfi getaway. Each of the two dozen sites and experiences it highlights is a perfect gem -- as you'll see for yourself in more than 150 luscious photographs. Restore your spirit in a 13th-century convent Mix and match featured travel ideas like these to create a one-of-a-kind itinerary that showcases all the facets of this storied corner of Italy. Behold the bluest views in the world Catch a bus along the vertiginous drive that has dizzied travelers for centuries, then hike in the mountains high above. Visit Roman ruins that out-dazzle Pompeii's and spend the night in hotels that have coddled celebrities. Every sea-kissing-sky panorama will leave you breathless. Plan your escape today The planning section tells you about the costs, lodging options, how to get there, and more; detailed maps show you what's where. Keep this book by your bedside to sweeten your dreams, or pop it into your tote bag when you hit the road. And get ready for the trip of a lifetime.

Escape to the Amalfi Coast

28f0a189-231b-4c8b-873c-501d73b67777-1

John Berendt

West Virginia

Traces the aftermath of the 1996 Venice opera house fire, an event that devastated Venetian society and was investigated by the author, who through interviews with local figures learned about the region's rich cultural history.

The City of Falling Angels

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Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

A Novel

“A riveting adventure for the soul . . . just the kind of evocative historical fiction I love.”—Sara Gruen, author of At the Water’s Edge and Water for Elephants An epic, inspiring novel about one woman’s survival in the hardscrabble Italian countryside and her determination to protect her family throughout the Second World War—by any means possible Maria Vittoria is twenty-five when her father brings home the man who will become her husband. It is 1923 in the austere Italian mountain village where her family has lived for generations, and the man she sees is tall and handsome and has survived the First World War without any noticeable scars. Taking just the linens she has sewn that make up her dowry and a statue of the Madonna that sits by her bedside, Maria leaves the only life she has ever known to begin a family. But her future will not be what she imagines. The Madonna of the Mountains follows Maria over the next three decades, as she moves to the town where she and her husband become shopkeepers, through the birth of their five children, through the hardships and cruelties of the National Fascist Party Rule and the Second World War. Struggling with the cost of survival at a time when food is scarce and allegiances are questioned, Maria trusts no one and fears everyone—her Fascist cousin, the madwoman from her childhood, her watchful neighbors, the Nazis and the Partisans who show up hungry at her door. As Maria’s children grow up and her marriage endures its own hardships, she must hold her family together with resilience, love, and faith, until she makes a fateful decision that will change the course of all their lives. A sweeping saga about womanhood, loyalty, war, religion, family, food, motherhood, and marriage, The Madonna of the Mountains is a poignant look at the span of one woman’s life as the rules change and her world becomes unrecognizable. In depicting the great cost of war and the ineluctable power of time on a life, Elise Valmorbida has created an unforgettable portrait of a woman navigating both the unforeseen and the inevitable. Advance praise for Madonna of the Mountains “The moral and ethical questions raised propel the story beyond the particulars into the universal.”—Kirkus Reviews “It is a bewitching but entirely unsentimental portrait of one woman’s attempt to keep her family safe in turbulent times.”—The Times (UK), Book of the Month “A solid choice for readers who appreciate layered family sagas.”—Library Journal

The Madonna of the Mountains (First Edition)

6f46ea00-d20b-4690-ad83-42ab4b96eedb-1

Michigan

101 Reasons to Be Proud You're Italian

This exploration of all things Italian, presented as a combination tour guide, cookbook, historical and biographical record, celebrates the Italian-American contributions to American culture.

Italian Pride

aa7208a4-16bf-495e-9344-061b40debd73-1

Kentucky

"Richly evocative of the charms and contradictions of Italy. Brava!"--Chris Pavone, New York Times bestselling author

What if you found yourself in the middle of a war armed only with lipstick and a sense of humor? Abandoned as a child in Los Angeles in 1931, dust bowl refugee Sally Brady convinces a Hollywood movie star to adopt her, and grows up to be an effervescent gossip columnist secretly satirizing Europe's upper crust. By 1940 saucy Sally is conquering Fascist-era Rome with cheek and charm.

A good deed leaves Sally stranded in wartime Italy, brandishing a biting wit, a fake passport, and an elastic sense of right and wrong. To save her friends and find her way home through a land of besieged castles and villas, Sally must combat tragedy with comedy, tie up pompous bureaucrats in their own red tape, force the cruel to be kind, and unravel the mystery, weight, and meaning of family.

Heir to Odysseus's wiles and Candide's optimism, Sally Brady is a heroine for the 21st century.

Sally Brady's Italian Adventure

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Judith Martin

The Desire and Pursuit of Venice

The author shares her love for the Italian city of Venice and its landscape, landmarks, waterways, social life, and customs.

No Vulgar Hotel

ad504b13-b124-4b28-a824-0aacfe1d830a-1

Oregon

An immigrant saga reminiscent of Roots begins in a small Italian village and spans three generations and two world wars to capture the essence of the Italian-American experience. 300,000 first printing. $300,000 ad/promo. Tour.

Unto the Sons

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Frances Mayes

Illinois

The Sweet Life in Italy

The author explores life in the idyllic Italian countryside, offering authentic Tuscan recipes and intimately portraying the local people and the environment

Bella Tuscany

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Tennessee

New Jersey

The American Express Guide to Florence and Tuscany

879fb51f-36a6-4119-8cdd-2a3a77bd0b04-1

Louisiana

#hardcover #italy  #biography #Italianamerican

Neal I. Rosenthal

Missouri

On a Lifetime in the Vineyards and Cellars of France and Italy

A leading importer of limited-production wines of character and quality takes us on an intimate tour through family-owned vineyards in France and Italy and reflects upon the last three decades of controversy, hype, and change in the world of wine In the late 1970s, Neal I. Rosenthal set out to learn everything he could about wine. Today, he is one of the most successful importers of traditionally made wines produced by small family-owned estates in France and Italy. Rosenthal has immersed himself in the culture of Old World wine production, working closely with his growers for two and sometimes three generations. He is one of the leading exponents of the concept of “terroir”—the notion that a particular vineyard site imparts distinct qualities of bouquet, flavor, and color to a wine. In Reflections of a Wine Merchant, Rosenthal brings us into the cellars, vineyards, and homes of these vignerons, and his delightful stories about his encounters, relationships, and explorations—and what he has learned along the way—give us an unequaled perspective on winemaking tradition and what threatens it today. Rosenthal was featured in the documentary film Mondovino and is one of the more outspoken figures against globalization, homogenization, and the “critic-ization” of the wine business. He was also a major subject in Lawrence Osborne’s The Accidental Connoisseur. His is an important voice in defense of the individual and the artisanal, and their contribution to our quality of life.

Reflections of a Wine Merchant

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Adriana Trigiani

Texas

When Valentine Roncalli discovers a long lost shoe design, a family secret unravels that helps her take control of the company from a conniving relative, but first she seeks the counsel, and more, of her ex-fiancee, Bret Fitzpatrick, to help re-boot the business while she pursues a hot romance with a handsome Italian from her past. By the best-selling author of Very Valentine. 200,000 first printing.

Brava, Valentine

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Traces the aftermath of the 1996 Venice opera house fire, an event that devastated Venetian society and was investigated by the author, who through interviews with such locals as a suicidal poet, a surrealist painter, and a master glassblower learned about the region's rich cultural history. By the author of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. 

Imperfection in printing on back cover-see picture 

From Adriana Trigiani, “a master of visual and palpable detail” (The Washington Post), comes a lush, immersive novel about three generations of Tuscan artisans with one remarkable secret. Epic in scope and resplendent with the glorious themes of identity and belonging, The Good Left Undone unfolds in breathtaking turns. Matelda, the Cabrelli family’s matriarch, has always been brusque and opinionated. Now, as she faces the end of her life, she is determined to share a long-held secret with her family about her own mother’s great love story: with her childhood friend, Silvio, and with dashing Scottish sea captain John Lawrie McVicars, the father Matelda never knew. . . . In the halcyon past, Domenica Cabrelli thrives in the coastal town of Viareggio until her beloved home becomes unsafe when Italy teeters on the brink of World War II. Her journey takes her from the rocky shores of Marseille to the mystical beauty of Scotland to the dangers of wartime Liverpool—where Italian Scots are imprisoned without cause—as Domenica experiences love, loss, and grief while she longs for home. A hundred years later, her daughter, Matelda, and her granddaughter, Anina, face the same big questions about life and their family’s legacy, while Matelda contemplates what is worth fighting for. But Matelda is running out of time, and the two timelines intersect and weave together in unexpected and heartbreaking ways that lead the family to shocking revelations and, ultimately, redemption.

The Good Left Undone

0e14184d-a860-4331-8895-b54b7306985b-1

Idaho

Mary Doria Russell

Set in Italy during the dramatic finale of World War II, this new novel is the first in seven years by the bestselling author of "The Sparrow" and "Children of God." High school & older.

A Thread of Grace

32242a2d-468a-48b9-85cf-9db842d6797f-1

Christina Lynch

#hardcover #romance #relationship #family #novel #love

Florida

#exlibrary #renaissancescience #science #scientists #italy #leonardodavinci #influence #hardcover 

This book is a biography of Leonardo da Vinci that highlights his scientific approach to understanding the physical world.

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Robert M. Edsel

Saving Italy

Robert I. C. Fisher

Escape to the Amalfi Coast

John Berendt

The City of Falling Angels

Elise Valmorbida

The Madonna of the Mountains (First Edition)

Stephen Moramarco; Federico Moramarco; Brenda Jackson

Italian Pride

Christina Lynch

Sally Brady's Italian Adventure

Judith Martin

No Vulgar Hotel

Gay Talese

Unto the Sons

Frances Mayes

Bella Tuscany

John Berendt

The City of Falling Angels

Sheila Hale

The American Express Guide to Florence and Tuscany

Frances Mayes

Bella Tuscany

Gay Talese

Unto the Sons

Neal I. Rosenthal

Reflections of a Wine Merchant

Adriana Trigiani

Brava, Valentine

John Berendt

The City of Falling Angels

Adriana Trigiani

The Good Left Undone

Adriana Trigiani

The Good Left Undone

John Berendt

The City of Falling Angels

Mary Doria Russell

A Thread of Grace

Christina Lynch

Sally Brady's Italian Adventure

John Berendt

The City of Falling Angels

Adriana Trigiani

Brava, Valentine

Kathleen Krull; Boris Kulikov (Illustrator)

Leonardo Da Vinci