Best Umbria Travel Guides

When Michelle Damiani dreamed of living in Italy, she imagined her family as it was in Virginia—her husband filling every moment with work, her teenage son experimenting with sarcasm, her daughter smiling at the scent of lilacs, her baby-cheeked son methodically clicking Legos together, and herself hovering over the happiness of them all—only surrounded by ancient cobblestone alleys and the sound of ringing Italian. Il Bel Centro: A Year in the Beautiful Center is the profoundly moving story of Michelle and her family’s adaptation to the people and culture of Spello, Italy. Il Bel Centro will sweep you into the heart of Italy, where for bakers, pants are optional, and a good lunch will take you straight through till dinner. “I so enjoyed reading Michelle Damiani's tumbling expedition into the heart of Italy which brought her and her family into the heart of their own evolving lives.”. Her heart, however, is in Spello, Italy, where she and her family spent a year growing accustomed to being fish out of water, grappling with the hardships of parenting on foreign soil, and ultimately cleaving into the soul of Italian village life. Before that year abroad, Michelle wrote short fiction--one of her stories was recently awarded first place in the Hook Short Fiction contest, juried by author John Grisham.

An authentic culinary journey―part memoir, part cookbook―introducing readers to the people, places, and food of Umbria Veteran food critic Suzanne Carriero spent a year and a half in Umbria, and this is her intimate look at its ancient recipes, traditions, and the people who pass them on. SUZANNE CARREIRO has worked in the food industry for over twenty years, having written for The San Francisco Chronicle, Cooking Light and others.

Fodor's correspondents highlight the best of Florence and Tuscany, including renowned Renaissance art, stunning churches, superb wineries, and charming hill towns. “Fodor’s is pitched a few notches higher….aimed at a fairly discerning traveler with an appetite for background and the occasional surprise.” – New York Times.

British Theatre director Malachi Bogdanov moves to Sardinia with nothing but a Fiat Punto full of his worldly possessions and a few Italian swear words.... A humorous travelogue, cookbook and celebration of Sardinian culture revolving around food, theatre and the rich, diverse tapestry of life in the Med.

Check out Fodor's travel guides to Rome; Venice; Florence & Tuscany; and The Amalfi Coast, Capri & Naples. “Fodor’s is pitched a few notches higher….aimed at a fairly discerning traveler with an appetite for background and the occasional surprise.” – New York Times.

Check out Fodor's travel guides to Rome; Venice; Florence & Tuscany; and The Amalfi Coast, Capri & Naples. “Fodor’s is pitched a few notches higher….aimed at a fairly discerning traveler with an appetite for background and the occasional surprise.” – New York Times.

Starting in the capital, Palermo, the couple come across some exciting street food that features tasty Arancini (rice balls stuffed with meat sauce and cheese) to lesser know gems such as Panelle (garbanzo bean fritters), and Sfincione, a thick Sicilian pizza, topped with tomatoes, onions, anchovies, and casciocavallo cheese. KATIE and GIANCARLO CALDESI are the owners of London's Caffé Caldesi, Caldesi in Campagna, and La Cucinca Caldesi cooking school.

St. Mark's Square Tour St. Mark's Basilica Tour Doge's Palace Tour Frari Church Tour St. Mark's to Rialto Walk Rialto to Frari Church Walk St. Mark's to San Zaccaria Walk. Rick produces a best-selling guidebook series, a public television series, and a public radio show, and organizes small-group tours that take over 20,000 travelers to Europe annually. He also contributes to Rick's public television series, produces tours for Rick Steves Audio Europe, and is a regular guest on Rick's public radio show.

Full of lighthearted humor, sumptuous food, the wisdom of an Italian mother-in-law, and all the atmosphere of Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels, this warm and witty memoir follows American-born Katherine Wilson on her adventures abroad. Thanks to a surprising romance—and a spirited woman who teaches her to laugh, to seize joy, and to love—a three-month rite of passage in Naples turns into a permanent embrace of this boisterous city on the Mediterranean. From that moment, Katherine’s education begins: Never eat the crust of a pizza first, always stand up and fight for yourself and your loved ones, and consider mealtimes sacred—food must be prepared fresh and consumed in compagnia . Immersed in Neapolitan culture, traditions, and cuisine, slowly and unexpectedly falling for Salvatore, and longing for Raffaella’s company and guidance, Katherine discovers how to prepare meals that sing, from hearty, thick ragù to comforting rigatoni alla Genovese to pasta al forno, a casserole chock-full of bacon, béchamel, and no fewer than four kinds of cheeses. While Katherine is used to large American kitchens with islands and barstools, she understands the beauty of small, tight Italian ones, where it’s easy to offer a taste from a wooden spoon. And, if you ever plan to visit Naples, tuck this in your suitcase: It’s the best primer I’ve ever read as a guide to this bustling, vibrant southern Italian port city.” —Adriana Trigiani, author of The Shoemaker’s Wife. You’ll want to share this book with friends and family over a big bowl of rigatoni alla Genovese .” —Julie Klam, author of Friendkeeping “This thoroughly enjoyable love letter to Naples is a tribute to the author’s irrepressible mother-in-law, a larger-than-life figure who teaches Wilson (and us) not just how to cook a true Neapolitan lasagna complete with tiny meatballs, but how to approach life itself with gusto and a healthy appetite. Read this and you’ll find yourself pining for your very own sequined Italian mother-in-law.” —Luisa Weiss, author of My Berlin Kitchen and founder of The Wednesday Chef “ Only in Naples is a cozy, funny, heartfelt love letter to Katherine Wilson’s adopted city and beloved family-by-marriage, especially her mother-in-law, the gorgeous, indomitable Raffaella, whose cooking fills these pages with luscious ricotta and chewy octopus alike.

Tornatore's Cinema Paradiso took James Shaw back to the sweet memories of his childhood and the Italian family who operated the hometown theater. But James was convinced there was a reason why the Renaissance was born in Tuscany and Italy has given the world Saint Francis, Michelangelo, da Vinci, Galileo and now Benigni, whose film Life Is Beautiful, showed the world that the Italian zest for living can even make a heaven of a hell. And so, after a lifetime of thinking about Italy James became convinced that the way to find out why Italians are the way they are, would be to eat with them at their kitchen tables. And James began seeing their unique human quality that attracts people to Italy and keeps pulling them back again and again. To discover the heart of Italian life, James had to travel back to World War II Italy. Review appeared in the Summer Issue 2012 of. FARMING Magazine. David Kline - Editor. His trip to Tuscany takes him to carefully selected farms where he helps harvest the olive crop. What begins as a romantic pilgrimage for the author soon evolves into a story of the plight of the independent farmer struggling to sell farm products for a fair price. Farmers are turning to creative ways to generate income, inviting guests to share the farming experience and selling directly to the consumer.

This is the most comprehensive book on the paintings and frescoes of Florence ever undertaken, with nearly 2,000 beautifully reproduced artworks from the city's great museums and churches-produced in the same manner as BD&L's The Louvre and The Vatican . "...an art lover's dream come true--a collection of nearly 2,000 images that includes every painting and fresco on display in the Uffizi, the Galleria Palatina of the Pitti Palace, the Accademia and the Duomo, and works from 28 additional museums and churches....It's fascinating to see these treasures of the Western world collected in one volume, with page after page of magnificence, including the works of Uccello, da Vinci, Correggio, Titian, Michelangelo and more. The paintings and frescoes of the birthplace of the Renaissance get a lavish, full-color treatment in this new book from Canadian historian and novelist Ross King, whose previous work includes "Brunelleschi's Dome: The Story of the Great Cathedral in Florence. "The next best thing to a Tuscan sightseeing trip is a tour through the pages of "Florence: The Paintings & Frescoes, 1250-1743"...which opens the doors of the Uffizi, the Accademia, the Duomo and countless Florentine churches to the armchair traveler.

Check out Rick Steves Best of Italy . Since 1973, Rick Steves has spent about four months a year exploring Europe.