Synopsis
When Isobel Dusi visited Italy with her Australian husband Lou, little did they imagine that life would change forever. But, utterly besotted with the fragrant warmth and good-natured conviviality of Southern Tuscany, they decided to sell up their lives in the big city and move thousands of miles to follow the dream of a life more in keeping with ancient rhythms and time-honoured traditions of the Mediterranean. After months of searching they settled upon Montalcino, an intriguing hilltop medieval village with a reputation for some of the finest wine in Italy. VANILLA BEANS AND BRODO is an account of Isobel's hard-won acceptance into this tempestuous, warm-hearted and proudly independent community, whose voluble passions for home grown wine and Tuscan cuisine, for football and ancient traditions and festivals, puts paid to the myth that life in rural Tuscany is tranquil. Isobel and Lou are gradually transformed into Isabella and Luigi in this charming account of Tuscan village life that really gets to the beating heart of an Italian community - its joys, pleasures, anxieties, but above all, its absorbing eccentricities.
Reviews
This isn't just another "we moved to a foreign country for a better quality of life" book. Instead, it is a leisurely exploration of a medieval Tuscan village and its people, from a tortured past to a thriving present. Montalcino, which has perched for centuries atop a hill in Tuscany, is noted today for its exceptional Brunello wine and the annual Sagra, an archers' tournament. Australians Isobel and Lou Dusi arrived there as empty nesters. Over time, as they found acceptance among the Montalcinesi, they became Isabella and Luigi. But their book is less about cultural adaptation than about paying meticulous attention to every facet of Italian life. Culturally sensitive, Dusi avoids the trap of mocking the unfamiliar or seemingly bizarre. She takes small steps to insinuate herself into social life, always mindful of a history that is not her own. She introduces us, without prejudice, to the ancient animosities between the country and village people, enthusiastically supports the local soccer team, and works to save a church in her Pianello quarter. Most of the stories, though, belong to the Montalcinesi Duci's landlords, shopkeepers, village officials, historians, hunters, and amateur archaeologists. This m lange of adventure and social history is recommended for large travel collections or where there is interest in Italian life. Janet Ross, formerly with Sparks Branch Lib., NV
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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