Frances Mayes Always Italy

I eagerly awaited my "Always Italy" new release and even sent it to my 80-year old sister so we could enjoy a tour of Italy to talk about while in isolation from the Pandemic. I was appalled to receive my copy today. The font is so small I can only read it with a magnifying glass *( about a 6 pt font) and the NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC photos are fuzzy. I had a difficult time discerning if they were photos or artist rendering. I am totally disappointed! I looked forward to this as a get away for us during isolation... but it's a total disappointment and below National Geographic picture standards.I do not recommend buying this version of the book.....it's not acceptable. I expected a wonderful journey with narrative. I am requesting a refund for my purchase for myself and my gift.

In my opinion this author has plummeted from being the outstanding, lyrical writer who wrote about a place she calls home in her phenomenal, best seller “Under the Tuscan Sun.” She has now created a listing of the essential places that she thinks tourists need to experience when they encounter Italy. There is a difference! Italy through her microscopic eye was so much better when the author focused on her own microcosm and not all of Italy. When she wrote of one magical place she knew, she allowed you to breathe Italy as it actually is. Cortona enabled her to give her writing life and in turn the writing gave life to the author we now know as Frances Mayes. Perhaps, this book is not for reading and pleasure, but a book for travel research and I am mistaken to take it for reading like a novel and judge it as so. But when you are an Italophile, you read everything you can find and read it as if it were a novel – cookbooks too. However, I search for something more than the unsatisfying glimpses that I found in this book. Like life, what may be satisfying for me, may not be satisfying for others... “Always Italy” is a finite guide composed of towns, sites, hotels, wines, and restaurants that any curious person could find on the Internet. It is the information found in so many other types of travel guides based on similar tastes and budgets. You could write the book too, one just needs to be inquisitive and peruse the Internet and books with care. Every now and then, Frances shares an opinion piece about what she considers to be the best places. Italy is full of those fashionable towns with trendsetting boutiques, classy hotels, restaurants du jour and the local wines that are wonderful almost everywhere. That information is out there – you just have to find it – and now you can in that new, how-to-book “Always Italy!” That excellent book does the research for anyone who does not want to think and is satisfied with only what is presented. If you like someone choosing where you visit, sleep, eat, shop, drink and trust their judgment, it may be the perfect book for you. Unfortunately, it is not that perfect book for me as most are not the places where Italians would choose to go as they would consider them tourist havens. To see the real Italy, we need to go where the Italians go – and that would not be many of these touristy spots. If you think Italians would choose Amalfi, think again! Some do, most do not – although they do consider it a beauty spot, as do I. Ask any Italian where they are from and watch the expression on their face and the light in their eyes as they begin to tell you about a wonderful little place they will always refer to as home – la città natale. As they speak, you watch that glow on their face intensify as they relate the romance of their hometown and you wonder why they left that tiny Utopia. As for leaving, there are many good reasons – mostly economic. But they always return when they can for that little bit of renewable energy to give them a boost. The image and memories of home never leaves them. The paesi will not have stores chocked-full with Gucci and Prada, and you may never be lucky enough to find the town on a detailed map, but places like that have a special lure of their own that is created by the romance of the memories of its inhabitants. After all, there is no place like home and fortunately, in Italy you can usually return home again as very little ever changes. Those places where real people live are always inviting and even more wonderful when you participate with the locals. You get to see the real Italy by experiencing the Italians. Never having to speak English is a major criteria in my selection of a place. It is those places where I sometimes lose myself with a pad of paper and a writing instrument to draw picutres in case they only speak dialect – and that is part of the Italian adventure… Do you want the real Italy or the Italia turistica? If you choose the book, then your tourist adventure begins with tiny print that just cannot be small enough. The blurry edges in the photos appear as if they were taken from a fast moving car eager to get from one tip of Italy to the other and accomplish the photography job.. Had I browsed through the book in the bookstore, I would have never purchased it because I can barely see the book to experience it. After carefully examining the book with a magnifying glass, I think it is your choice to buy it or not. It just is not the book for me. I prefer to blindly visit Italy and have the time of my life with the surprises of the adventure...The saddest part of the book was that the places I know intimately were inadequately described and explored. The quick ride through town, just did not yield the glory of the place. That, of course, colored my impressions of the rest of the book. It caused a great deal of wondering about what was really in those other places to lure me...Of course, that is just my opinion. You are certainly welcome to yours...

I was longing for a great travel book to help deal with the sheltering at home. This gorgeous book with the most insider anecdotes and travel notes is just what I needed. The photos are glorious. The stories and locales are magical. You can tell these ladies - Ms Mayes and Ms Cohane - are intrepid travelers who possess style and taste. I just bought 4 of these for Christmas stockings.

I travel to Italy two times every year. Once in the Spring for 6 weeks and again in the Fall for 6 weeks. I stay in Abruzzo, there are no tourists, everyone speaks Italian, the food and wine are always amazing. The people are such good people and they work so hard. I had traveled to 16 of the 20 regions when I finally got to return in June 2021. I bought “Always Italy” and started reading it the moment it arrived. I wanted to know what Frances thought about Abruzzo. I brought it to Italy with me so I could plan some side trips. This book is amazing if you truly love every bit of Italy. It changed my trip! I learned to love Rome like I never had before. I visited Montefalco just to try the Sagratino wine. I went to Norcia and bought a truffle to share with my friends when I got back to Pescara. I went to Ravenna and saw the Mosiacs and to Bologna to see this beautiful city and eat the food. After this trip, I only need to visit 2 regions to complete my goal. This book was invaluable to me in my adventure. I wish it came in the kindle format so I could keep it with me always!

This is the definitive book to buy about the pleasures of Italy, whether you are dreaming, planning, remembering, exploring. Frances Mayes and Ondine Cohane have exquisite taste and offer real favorites and former secrets that they have, up until now, only shared with friends. Don't waste your time googling places when you can have all of these tremendous insights in one place with stunning photography. Brava!

I am enjoying this book very much as I have been to Italy and am planning to return at some point postCovid. I love the arrangement by region and find the highlights of that region useful. For the price of the book however I would have appreciated a higher quality paper. Pictures of this country are not given justice with this cheap paper. Disappointing.

Sent to three dear septuagenarians girl-friends & my brother. We met at the Overseas School of Rome (Italy) during high school. We fell in love with Italy as teenagers and have remained enamored now for over 50 years. Frances Mayes understands why when asked “if you could travel now, or for me, any time, where would you go?” The answer is always the same - Italy. Maybe I should buy one for myself!

I love this book. I got it for Mother's Day. It summarizes all the regions of Italy in such beautifully written detail. I can't even say how gorgeous the photographs are! You feel like you are on vacation when you are reading it. Perfect for the pandemic. Would make a lovely gift for anyone! If you are even thinking about going to Italy at some point in your life, you should definitely buy this. It will really help you narrow down where to go, and what to see, eat and do there.

Wow - this book exceeded my expectations on every level. I ordered it on a lockdown whim and when it arrived I could not stop looking at it. Italy is a magical country and Frances Mayes and Ondine Cohane have done a thorough job with this book. I did not expect it to be so detailed and the photographs are so inspiring that my heart skips a beat when I turn a page. I really did not know what to expect when I ordered; I just knew that Frances Mayes wooed me with Under the Tuscan Sun and Bella Tuscany. The book is laid out regionally and gives you some good tips if planning a visit. The writing is detailed and combines history, story and personal experience. It is a jewel and will delight forever. If the writers ever stop for a book signing in London I will be there.

I love Italy and like to read about the country but find this book somewhat boring - basically it is factual descriptions of regions, manufacturers, foods etc so is more like a very in-depth guide book - though too big and heavy to take with you. However, I am reading it slowly - a page every now and then and it does look good on the coffee table!for a good read about Italian life I recommend Ms Mayes other books.

Love Italy.. beautiful book

Perfect for planning and preparing

Fabulous book, its like you are along with them on the journey, very informative.