From the bestselling author whose memoirs Under the Sun and Bella Tuscany havecaptured the voluptuousness of Italian life comes a lavishly illustrated ode tothe... » 

From the bestselling author whose memoirs Under the Sun and Bella Tuscany havecaptured the voluptuousness of Italian life comes a lavishly illustrated ode tothe joys of Tuscanys people food landscapes and art. In Tuscany celebratesthe abundant pleasures of life in Italy as it is lived at home at festivalsfeasts restaurants and markets in the kitchen and on the piazza in thevineyards fields and olive groves. Combining allnew essays by Frances Mayesand a chapter by her husband poet Edward Mayes with more than 200 fullcolorphotos by photographer Bob Krist each of this books five sections highlightsa signature aspect of Tuscan life La Piazzathe locus of Italian villagelife. With photgraphs of the shop signs the outdoor markets medieval streetspeople their pets and their cars and snippets of conversations overheardMayes reveals the life of the Piazza in her town of Cortona as well as outoftheway places such as Volterra Asciano Monte San Savino and Castelmuzio.La Festathe celebration. Essays and photos of feasts and celebrationssuch as the Christmas dinner for twentyseven at a neighbors house and adonkey race around the church at Montepulciano Stazione illustrate how theTuscans celebrate the seasonstheir open ways of friendship their connectionto nature and most of all their sense of abundance. Il Campothe field.Here Edward Mayes evokes the deep sense of the shift of seasons as he picksolives before he and Frances head off to the olive oil mill and enjoy the firstbruscette with new oil. La Cucinathe kitchen. An intimate view of theallimportant role of the kitchen in Tuscan culture including photographs ofherown kitchen and gardens menus from great local cooks the elements of theTuscan table dishes with cultural and culinary notes on each and of coursedelectable recipes. La Bellezzathe beauty. From the quality of the lightfalling on sublime landscapes in differen «