Alumni Travel Reading Lists 2020: Flavors of Chianti

A quartet of essays on great European cities. Portraits of three Italian cities: Rome, Venice and Florence.

Traces the history of Tuscany to show how the region's modern conflicts and aspirations have contributed to forging its modern-day beauty.

Argues that past narratives have focused on a sanitized and fictitious view of the Medici-wise rulers, but that in fact their past was reinvented in the 16th century.

Tells the story of the ancient land named Chianti and the modern wine appellation known as Chianti Classico.

A family memoir from one of the oldest winemaking dynasties in the world.

This book situates music as the critical domain of religious life at the center of an examination of relic cults in medieval Tuscany.

Memoir that chronicles two decades of life in Tuscany, including the people, art, cuisine and lifestyle.

Introduction to the history, sociology, and musicology of contemporary Italian popular music.

A guide to the city's piazzas, palazzos, basilicas, and other architectural points of interest, as well as historical details regarding Florence's unique urban environment.

The hidden aspects and the real meaning of the Tower of Pisa are discussed

Tuscan gardens seen through the work of the photographer, Massimo Listri, with descriptive and historical texts from a team of experts

A novel in the Michele Ferrara detective series by former head of the Florence Police Force, Michele Giuttari. Giuttari is know for his role in re-opening the Monster of Florence case and jailing several key Mafia figures.

Bologna sets his novel in a Tuscan village once renowned for its thermal baths ... until the arrival of Ottone Gattai, who intends to wake things up by turning the baths into an ultra-modern tourist resort. Federico, son of a local landholding family, doesn't intend to let these changes happen without a fight. It is Federico versus globalization.

Winner of the 2015 Strega Prize for Young Authors. In this novel, Genovesi portrays a young girl who struggles with her brother's accidental death, her mother's depression, and fitting in at school.

Isaacson brings Leonardo da Vinci to life in this biography. Based on Leonardo da Vinci's notebooks and new discoveries about his life and work.

Shows how the increased desire for art objects exerted significant pressure on highly sought-after painters.

Explores the role and importance of the miraculous image in the art and devotional practices of Renaissance Italy.

Cucco provides insight into the personal and professional development of two masters of cinema's great neo-realistic tradition.

A study of fashion and Italian cinema from the era of silent film to the present.

Brings together a range of contributions aimed at a new understanding of the genre.

Combines personal narrative with authentic regional recipes and photography.

Tuscan recipes that the author has enjoyed over the years as an honorary Tuscan: dishes prepared in a simple, traditional kitchen using robust, honest ingredients.

Demonstrates the development of a distinctive, unified culinary tradition throughout the Italian peninsula.