Trip to Italy

We would certainly benefit from knowing where in Italy you are going.

I haven't read it, but after reading the book review in the Wall Street Journal, I ordered "What the Ermine Saw" by Eden Collinsworth, and I can't wait for it to arrive. The book is all about the history of Leonard Da Vinci's painting "Lady with an Ermine".

Here's a link the the NY Times review, and a brief excerpt from the review: Eden Collinsworth’s fourth book, “What the Ermine Saw: The Extraordinary Journey of Leonardo da Vinci’s Most Mysterious Portrait,” traces the tumultuous history of Leonardo’s painting, from Sforza’s Renaissance court to Enlightenment-era Poland to the portrait’s theft by Nazi looters during the Second World War [...] “What the Ermine Saw” bolts through wars and empires, art-making and state-making across the continent in the last 500 years.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/23/books/review/what-the-ermine-saw-eden-collinsworth.html

I really like the Commissario Brunetti detective series by Donna Leon that's set in Venice. There are about 30 or so books in the series, so perhaps start with the first one: Death at la Fenice. The city of Venice is a main character in all Leon's stories.

There are some mystery novels about P.I. Sandro Cellini by Cristobel Kent that are set in Florence: here's the Goodreads link that lists them.

The Venice Sketchbook by Rhys Bowen is a historical novel that goes back and forth from the WWII era to present day.

Hope this helps!

The first several Inspector Montalbano books set in Sicily: The Shape of Water, The Terra-Cotta Dog, The Snack Thief, Voice of the Violin, etc. The Italian TV series is really good, too.

A Room with a View (and the movie)

Not fiction, but if you are going to Venice, read Venice by Jan Morris.

Trick by Domenico Starnone

Ties by Domenico Starnone

anything by Elena Ferrante (rumored to be a pen name of Domenico Starnone...)

The Light in the Piazza by Elizabeth Spencer

The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim

The "My Brilliant Friend" series (also called The Neopolitan Series) by Elena Ferrante chronicles the lifelong turbulent friendship between two women from Naples, starting shortly after WW2, up to the present. It's also set in Pisa and Florence. There's an excellent HBO adaptation which has so far covered the first 3 books (there are 4 total).

Not a book, but if you feel like some fluffy Italian TV, there's a new series on Hulu called "Le Fate Ignoranti" (translated as "The Ignorant Angels") which is based on the movie of the same name that came out about 10 years ago. It's very melodramatic and soap operatic, but its Roman setting makes Rome almost an additional character in the ensemble cast. Without giving too much away, it centers on an intergenerational group of LGBTQ friends in current-day Rome.

The Skystone by Jack Whyte. It’s the first in the series called The Camulod Chronicles. It’s excellent. Started off a bit slow, but then got really great and I sped thru the series. Just read the read the first before you go,, then You’ll have the others for Later. It takes place in Ancient Rome and Italy. It really whetted my thirst for learning more about it. It’s a great fictional story telling you about the “real” sword in the stone. You’ll get pulled in and love the characters.

Yes, most of Elena Ferrante’s books. Pompeii by Robert Harris. Everything else on my shelf is nonfiction with regards to Italy.

I concur on “Pompeii” by Harris, any of the Donna Leon books set in Venice. “Venice Black” is fun and I liked Rhys Bowen’s “The Tuscan Child.”

“Beneath a Scarlet Sky” is technically non-fiction but it reads like a novel and one of the best books I have read in the past five years.

There are lots of choices, but very dependent on where you are going, and what your interests are.

My Son, an Engineering student, had to read "Brunelleschi's Dome" before going to Florence, and had a great tour as a result. The romantics like books set in places, ala "Under the Tuscan Sun", others like History, others food related.

Myself, I like movies as well, if in Rome, "Roman Holiday" is a must, though some six decades plus old, most of the places are still there.

Basically, find something you like to read (mystery, romance, history) then travel and see if you can find remnants of that book or movie.

The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone would be my top pick, a fictionalized biography of Michelangelo. There's a lot to quibble with historically, but it is the best introduction to Florence and Renaissance art and of course Rome where a lot of the story takes place. While other books suggested focus on one place or one time, this one encompasses all of the artists of the time, the politics, religion, and brings it all to life brilliantly.

Sorrento, a popular tourist destination located on the Amalfi Coast is a town overlooking the Bay of Naples in Southern Italy.

You can explore the historic ruins of Pompeii, the Amalfi Coast and the island of Capri through Sorrento.

Best Places To Visit In Italy

The natural heavenly views of Naples, Vesuvius and the Isle of Capri can be seen in this Sorrentine Peninsula.

The transportation system in Sorrento is served by ferries or boats from Naples or Capri.

Main Sights Of Sorrento

1. Amalfi Coast
2. Marina Grande, port of Sorrento
3. Marina Piccola, small port of Sorrento
4. Park of Villa
5. Piazza Tasso
6. Museo della tarsia lignea (intarsia)
7. Museum Correale (Museo Correale di Terranova)
8. Via San Cesareo, Sorrento’s main shopping street
9. Cathedral of Sorrento (Santi Filippo e Giacomo Cathedral)
10. Church of Santi Felice e Baccolo

The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna
by Juliet Grames

Another vote for “Venice” by Morris. Essential reading in order to understand what Venice is all about.
Also books by Philip Gwynn Jones. A series set in Venice, written in the first person, the person being Nathan Sutherland, Hon. British Consul in Venice. Start with The Venetian Game.