Travel to Europe

The Lady in the Palazzo: At Home in Umbria

Format: Hardcover
Author: Marlena de Blasi
ReleaseDate: 21 December, 2006
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Rating:

Beautifully written.
It chronicles her search for a home in Orvieto, in Umbria. There is a lot to love about this book, which is the third - and I think the best - of her books on life in Italy. She and her husband find an ideal place, an apartment in what was once the grand palazzo of the Ubaldini family - a home dating back to medieval times. Unfortunately, the apartment had been sitting vacant for 13 years and was in dire need of restoration. They could not live in their home during the construction. So they waited. And waited. And waited! This story follows the author as she adjusts to life in her adopted community during this long wait, and it culminates with a lavish dinner party held in her new home.

As usual, with de Blasi, you can expect a book filled with sensual talk of wine and food; with regional recipes; with cultural and historical tidbits . But the real heart of this book - the soul of this book - is in the people to whom we are introduced. Some of them are given space to tell their life stories in their own words - and their stories are deeply moving.

"Let life shape itself" is the underlying theme of this book.

I can think of no author to compare to Marlena de Blasi. Part chef, part philosopher, part travel guide, part poet. . she is an original.

Highly recommended.

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