Il Bel Centro: A Year in the Beautiful Center - Couverture souple

Damiani, Michelle

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0692480110 ISBN 13 : 9780692480113

Editeur : Rialto Press, 2015

Synopsis

A witty and warm-hearted memoir of abandoning fast-paced American days in favor of discovering the Italian secrets of food, community, and life.

Moving across the globe meant Michelle Damiani soon found herself untangling Italian customs, delighting in glorious regional cuisine (recipes included), and creating lasting friendships. From grandmothers eager to teach the ancient art of pasta making, to bakers tossing bread into fiery ovens with a song, to butchers extolling the benefits of pork fat, Il Bel Centro is rich with captivating characters and cultural insights.

Throw in clinking glasses of Umbrian red with the local communists and a village all-nighter decorating the cobblestone streets with flower petals; as well as embarrassing language minefields and a serious summons to the mayor’s office, and you have all the ingredients for a spellbinding travel tale.

Exquisitely observed, Il Bel Centro is an intimate celebration of small town Italy, as well as a thoughtful look at raising a family in a new culture and a fascinating story of finding a home. Ultimately though, this is a story about how travel can change you when you’re ready to let it.

With laugh-out-loud situations and wanderlust-inspiring storytelling, Il Bel Centro is a joyous and life-affirming read that will have readers rushing to renew their passports.

“This is one of the most beautiful book I’ve ever read.”

“I absolutely couldn’t get enough of this book.”

“This book made me want to pack my bags.”

“I loved, loved this book. Fabulously written, engaging, and entertaining.”

“A magical read.”

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

With dreams of la dolce vita, Michelle Damiani, her husband, three children, and two cats abandoned their suburban life for Spello, an Italian hill-town. Escaping a lifestyle of helicopter-parenting her children and obsessing over soccer snack schedules, Michelle hoped to find a slower-paced way of living, as constant as time-worn hands kneading pasta. What she found was more than she bargained for. She discovered that the armor formed over years of a predictable existence hid a fear of falling short and making a fool of herself. She discovered that even with her training as a child psychologist she was ill-equipped to protect her children from the old-world disciplinary style at the local public school. She discovered that making mistakes provides opportunities for warm instruction and care. She discovered not only that connecting with people can transcend language, but also how to cleave into the heart of village life, through festivals, celebration, and discussing how to properly cook pig skin. During the hospitalization of a family member, she learned the advantages of community gossip chains, which made her aware of the isolation that was the hallmark of her American days. She discovered the deep joy that comes from spending afternoons leaning out of windows chatting with neighbors about town happenings as pasta sauce burbles on the stove and the afternoon light slants along the cobblestone streets. Il Bel Centro: A Year in the Beautiful Center is a celebration of Umbrian life, a guide to the treasures of the region. More than just what to see, the book offers a lens through which to appreciate what has been termed, “the green heart of Italy.” Seduced by Umbrian wine and food, Michelle lovingly recounts stunning meals at Umbrian tables groaning under the weight of home-cured salami and tagliatelle with sausage, mushrooms, and cream sauce. For those wanting a taste of Umbria, Michelle includes recipes for local specialties (including step-by-step instructions for how to roll pasta like an Umbrian grandmother, and how to dress that pasta in swoon-worthy sauce). Through four seasons, she recounts the shifts in landscape from achingly green hills and azure skies to stone walls steeped in fog laced with Christmas lights and the heady scent of grilling meats to the emergence of poppies nodding their jewel-like heads at the foot of the mountains. But more than this, she provides a window into the people of Umbria—their deep-seated pride, warmth, humor, and welcome. In an entertaining style, Michelle provides historical background of the region and tells how Umbrians keep their culture alive today. With lyrical prose interspersed with professional-quality photographs, she paints a picture of Umbrian life that has been unchanged for generations. And weaves a spell not soon forgotten. The book, written in a daily style, is an intimate account of a family’s change over the course of a year. At turns laugh-out-loud funny and heartbreakingly tender, Michelle tells the story of her family’s transition from anxious outsiders to honorary townspeople, as they adapt to the gentle rhythms of Umbrian life. Il Bel Centro: A Year in the Beautiful Center evokes the pleasures of small town Italy and opens the gate into a world where a good lunch will take one straight into dinner. "I was not prepared for Italy
Luckily, Italy was waiting for me anyway.” Amazon Bestseller in Italian Travel

Présentation de l'éditeur

“Top 10 Fascinating Books about Living in a Foreign Country” --Huffington Post

Fall under the spell of an Italian village.

Il Bel Centro: A Year in the Beautiful Center is the story of an American family coming-of-age in a medieval hill town.

With a moving and unabashedly honest style, Michelle Damiani immerses the reader in authentic village life by opening the door to an Italy rarely glimpsed by passing travelers. Live vicariously through hilarious moments, joyful discoveries, dramatic upheavals, embarrassing miscommunications, and mouth-watering meals. This is, after all, Italy, where a good lunch will take one straight through till dinner.

At once uplifting and enchanting, this spellbinding journey feeds the soul as it sweeps readers into the heart of Italy.

Turning the last page of Il Bel Centro, the breathtaking tale inspires a sense that we have all discovered a home in the green hills of Umbria.

“A magical read.”

“I absolutely couldn’t get enough of this book.”

“I was instantly transported to Italy.”

“This is one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read.”

“Could not put it down.”

“I just want more." 

Il Bel Centro: A Year in the Beautiful Center includes recipes for delicious Umbrian dishes as well as professional-quality photographs.

Amazon Bestseller in Italian Travel
“Top 10 Fascinating Books about Living in a Foreign Country” --Huffington Post

"I was not prepared for Italy.

Luckily, Italy was waiting for me anyway."

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Rialto Press
• Date d'édition: 2015
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0692480110
• ISBN 13: 9780692480113
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 478
• Coordonnées du fabricant: Manufactured by Amazon on behalf of the author; https://www.amazon.fr/hz/contact-us; ; c/o Amazon Media EU S.à.r.l., 38 Avenue John F. Kennedy; Luxembourg; L-1855; Luxembourg