Synopsis
SALENTO BY 5 is an informative book about Salento, a region at the southern tip of Puglia, in the heel of Italy's boot. The book is written (in English) by five authors: three Salentinians and two travelers from California who have been visiting the area for many years. The Italian contributors are each teachers of English-related subjects in Italian high schools and each brings his or her own singular voice to their writing.Together, the five authors introduce themselves and write about Salento and why they love the area. The Italians also write about their family history, the land, the distinctive pizzica music and, of course, the traditional food of the area. Although the book contains various tips for travelers to Salento, it is primarily a Travel Memoir and Salento Love Fest. Sixty-one drawings and sketches in the book are contributed by one of the authors and colorfully depict the sea, the ancient towns, the olive trees, and more.The authors' stories and descriptions are each from a different perspective—on the book's cover, they identify themselves as The Traveler, The Raconteur, The Music Maker, The Sketcher, and The Cook—and each offers the reader a more insightful picture of Salento than is typical of the usual travel guide. Dr. Vincent Fausone, former President of the Board of San Francisco's Italian Museum observes, "Each contributor reveals his/her personal and family history, blemishes and all. . . . What particularly strikes me is that the inhabitants, representative of the peasant class (contadini), were able after World War II to attend institutions of higher learning, thus entering the middle class, an economic and social status previously denied to them. Being of Northern Italian heritage, I am also struck by the uniqueness all Italians share as revealed in this book. Their values, their superstitions, their faith and most of all their passionate love of family, the land and its bounty are something that everyone who is not Italian recognizes as defining attributes of Italians, be they from the Alps or the heel of the Peninsula. I highly recommend this delightful book of personal stories, recipes and descriptions of enchanting vistas."
About the Authors
Audrey Fielding is the lead author and editor of SALENTO BY 5. She is a former U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer (Peru 64-66). She has worked as a classroom teacher and literacy coach in San Francisco and the Bay Area, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Peru and Namibia. She has authored personal and professional essays, co-edited two books on academic literacy, and facilitated the development of a set of readers for young Namibian learners. When not traveling, she is at home in San Francisco studying Italian, watching birds and writing. As "The Traveler," Audrey captures the enchantment of the Adriatic and Ionian Seas, the whisper of wind in the olive groves and the tastes of earthy greens, ear-shaped pasta, and bowls of steaming mussels. As editor/writer, Audrey was introduced to Italy via a teaching sabbatical in 1992. Serendipitous events brought her to Salento in 2003 and ever since, she has returned yearly to an apartment facing the sea.
Luciana Cacciatore is an Italian resident of the town of Taviano in Salento, Italy. She has studied in Pisa, London and Edinburg. She is currently a Special Education teacher in Salento. She is an avid reader in multiple languages. In her spare time, she tends the land she inherited from her grandfather. As The Raconteur for the book Salento by 5, Luciana writes about her family and the trials of land ownership and cultivation of her beloved olive trees and family garden in Salento, contrasting the past with the present.
Carlo Longo is and Italian resident of the town of Taviano in Salento, Italy.. He is an actor and musician and a retired high school American Literature teacher. For a number of years he has been an actor in community drama productions and the lead singer, songwriter and musician for his band in Salento, Bluesalento. As The Music Maker for the book, Salento by 5, Carlo discovers the roots of his band's music in the stone-filled ancient fields where peasants toiled and called to one another.
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