Italian Style & Decorating & Gardens
at the Bookstore

Mitchell Beazley: Wineries with Style
by Peter Richards

An Amazon reader says: “I initially purchased a copy of this book as a Christmas present for a family member with interests in both wine and architecture. These are two subjects I know little about but, despite this, I was so taken with Wineries with Style that I went back and ordered a copy for myself! It's a fascinating book with stunning pictures, well written and beautifully produced. It certainly boosts the culture rating of my coffee table and I would recommend it as welcome and unusual addition to any home's bookshelves. Well done, Mr. Richards!”

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La Dolce Vita: Living in Italy
by Catherine Fairweather

La Dolce Vita invites us into the homes of artists, writers, eccentrics, and noblemen-both native and expatriate-living in Italy: artist Sandro Chia's austere monastery surrounded by vineyards in Tuscany, Gore Vidal's cliffside retreat on the Amalfi Coast, and the farmhouse in Chianti which inspired the film Stealing Beauty. With 180 color photographs showing off the rich variety of styles across the regions of Italy, from seaside palazzo to Venetian townhouse, this book will inspire readers to bring the loveliness of Italy into their own homes.

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Bringing Tuscany Home: Sensuous Style From the Heart of Italy
by Frances Mayes

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Restoring a Home in Italy: Twenty-Two Home Owners Realize Their Dream
by Simon McBride (Photographer), Elizabeth Helman-Minchilli, Elizabeth H. Minchilli

Three November titles from Artisan explore the pleasures of home and table at the most exalted levels. Elizabeth Minchilli provides both practical information (e.g., many local boards have imposed bans on new swimming pools) and reason to dream in the beautifully photographed Restoring a Home in Italy. The 22 featured residences include a compound of conical houses, called trulli, in Puglia, and a former candle factory in Rome, as well as plenty of traditional villas.

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Buying a Home in Italy, Second Edition
by David Hampshire

Amazon Reader's Review: "A must-have book if you want to know about the pitfalls as well as the pleasures of having a home in Italy - there is an incredible amount of information, presented in a pleasant and accessible style. Wonderful value!"

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Bringing Italy Home: Creating the Feeling of Italy in Your Home Room by Room
by Cheryl MacLachlan

A former associate publisher at Hearst magazines shows how to incorporate the very best of another country's decorating, entertaining, and kitchen secrets into American homes. The book guides the reader room by room in the house, then out into the marketplace and the garden to cover a country's full range of life and style.

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Mediterranean Style: Relaxed Living Inspired by Strong Colors and Natural Materials
by Catherine Haig

Vivid colors, bold simplicity, textural contrasts, stone, tile, and stucco--these are the hallmarks of this refreshingly unpretentious style, which is easy to live with and surprisingly simple to evoke at home. Vibrant photos and detailed, practical text explore all the elements of the look and explain what to do with your own walls and floors, windows and doors, furnishings and accessories to re-create the look. And the 12 step-by-step projects (including sand-textured or distempered walls, a pebbled floor, a fretwork window screen, studded doors, and a mosaic tabletop) prove that it doesn't take a huge effort or a huge budget to achieve the relaxed grace of this popular decor. The sun-drenched rooms filled with natural materials and accented with the occasional exotic touch (a filigreed lantern, Moroccan dishware, a kilim rug, Moorish arches, Spanish-style wrought ironwork) are extremely inviting--you'll want to sprawl on a cushy divan and sip a cool beverage as you drink in the enticing warmth of this wonderful style.

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Italian Style
by Jane Gordon-Clark, Simon Upton (Photographer)

From country villas to rural farmhouses, Italian homes seduce us with their color and exuberance. This gorgeous book inspires us all to recreate our homes in "Italian Style". Full-color photos throughout. Jane Gordon Clark is a designer and writer on interior design. Ten years ago she and her husband acquired a small castle in Umbria, which she has been gradually restoring, spending part of each year in Italy. She founded the design company Ornamenta in 1987 and creates their collections of hand-painted wallpapers, trompe-l'oeil decorations, and fabrics. Her innovative book on wallpaper, Paper Magic was published in 1991.

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Tuscany Interiors
by Paolo Rinaldi

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Tuscan Elements
by Alexandra Black, Simon McBride (Photographer)

The Tuscan house, whether a simple homestead or expansive villa, has become one of the most sought-after living environments. Its design is virtually unchanged since the Middle Ages, when landowners in the golden hills of Tuscany built country retreats with gardens, porticoes, and loggias. The landowners often drew upon the natural resources of the region-and it is these materials that give the Tuscan house its unique character. Tuscan Elements brings to life the colors, textures, and aesthetics of the Tuscan house-the magnificent stone and marble work; the hardwoods like chestnut, oak, and elm; earthy terra-cotta and brick; and the all-important water feature, used in ponds, fountains, and pools. This unique, visual sourcebook deconstructs the typical Tuscan home and examines its basic components in dazzling detail, from the tiled roof and floor, thick stone exterior walls, and vine-covered loggia to the exposed wooden beams, luminous frescoes, and the sunny courtyard garden with an ancient well or exquisite swimming pool. Filled with extraordinary photos by world-famous interiors photographer Simon McBride, Tuscan Elements emphasizes living life well with a home that nurtures and comforts, accentuates the importance of family and friends, and entertains with good food and drink. For anyone interested in infusing their present home and garden with a little bit of Tuscany, here is a delightful source of never- ending inspiration

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Festa Veneziana a Ca'Toga: The Imaginative World of a Venetian Artist in Napa Valley
by Carlo Marchiori

In the serene Northern California town of Calistoga, a splendid villa is fronted by stately wrought-iron gates and a small sign reading "Carlo Marchiori, Maestro d'Arte." Ca'toga, as the Palladian-style villa is named, is the home and workshop of Carlo Marchiori, a world-renowned Venice-born artist. In Festa Veneziana A Ca'toga, Marchiori serves as tour guide, leading us room by room through this live portfolio, providing deeply personal and mysterious explanations for the wonders that abound in his gallery-like residence. Sixteenth century-style frescoes hang in the main salon, hand-painted stone floors accent the library, and antler and bone sculptures embellish the Native American room. Roman ruins, Thai temples, a seashell-encrusted grotto, and an open-air theater sit in archaic splendor on this dreamscape-turned-landscape. A spontaneous and creative expression of his life and work, Ca'toga is Marchiori's artistic utopia-a work in progress that is a brilliant spectacle to behold.

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Private Tuscany
by Elizabeth Helman-Minchilli, Elizabeth Helman Minchilli, Simon McBride (Photographer)

Tuscany's hill towns and countryside have enthralled inhabitants and visitors for centuries--the golden light in the afternoons, the grape arbors, and the rolling hillsides dotted with rustic farmhouses and villas. Private Tuscany invites us into these dwellings, giving us a glimpse of how life is lived in this warm, inviting place.

The homes featured in this gorgeous volume are as enchanting as the Tuscan towns and hillsides they're built on. Many embody a style we've come to associate with Tuscany: dark-timbered kitchens with dried herbs and garlic ropes hung from the rafters, original terra-cotta tile floors, large-windowed living rooms, and artfully frescoed walls. There are centuries-old furnishings crafted by skilled Italian artisans and elegantly manicured gardens containing hidden grottos and classical statuary. But the homes also reflect the special touches of the people who occupy them. For instance, a theater lover displays his exquisite collection of miniature theaters in the salon; the daughter of a villa owner paints traditional murals on the walls and mosaic patterns on the floors.

Simon McBride's photographs skillfully capture the magic of these Tuscan homes and feature a variety of residences, from simple farmhouses to grand villas and palaces. The book's four chapters divide the homes into types: rustic, classic, grand, and modern. An index at the back serves as an introduction to Tuscany's pleasures, providing contact information for sampling the region's wine and produce, fine dining, hotels and houses, gardens, and crafts.

Several of the homeowners featured in Private Tuscany have gone to painstaking lengths to restore these buildings after decades, or even centuries, of neglect. The results, from the simplest farmhouse kitchen to an elaborately frescoed dining room, are breathtaking.

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La Foce: A Garden and Landscape in Tuscany (Penn Studies in Landscape Architecture)
by Benedetta Origo (Editor), Laurie Olin, John Dixon Hunt, Morna Livingston

Amazon Reader's Review: "La Foce is an attractive Tuscan villa which is presented here in text and pictures. The text offers a picture of one family's history, including interesting archival photographs and drawings. What makes this book truly spectacular, however, are Morna Livingston's photographs, presented in a beautiful layout and printed on a silky white paper which heightens the luminesence of the incredible Tuscan colors. In more than one hundred photographs Livingiston captures the villa's gardens in every light and season. There are stunning images of the broader landscape and fascinating details of both the architecture and the plants. For those who have wondered just what the attraction of Tuscany is, you will find the answer here. For those who already know, this will serve as a reminder."

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Garden Lover's Guide to Italy (Garden Lover's Guides to Europe)
by Penelope Hobhouse

This authoritative new series of guidebooks to the gardens of Europe is the perfect companion for any garden enthusiast, whether tourist or armchair traveler. Each title is a richly illustrated in-depth guide to over 100 gardens, from the famous to little-known hidden treasures, and features colorful photography and easy-to-read illustrations commissioned especially for this series. Also included are maps, directions, complete visitor information, special features, and neighboring sites of interest.

Each guide, written by a gardening expert, begins with a comprehensive background on the country's garden history and local climate. The most significant gardens in each volume are featured in even greater detail, accompanied by illustrated plans of the gardens and close-up views of particular features. The numerous color photographs and maps show travelers what awaits at each garden. The Garden Lover's Guides are indispensable aids for those planning European travel itineraries.

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Gardens of Italy
by Ann Laras

Amazon reader's review: "Long a mecca for gardeners, Italy boasts an enormous range of stunning gardens from lakeside idylls to cliff top retreats, formal palazzos and woodland sanctuaries. Author Ann Laras gives a highly personal account of her trip around 60 Italian gardens, using her love of Italianate gardens and horticultural history to punctuate her highly readable prose. With a keen eye on detail, plants and atmosphere, the picture she paints, along with the stunning photographs of Ake Eson Lindman, makes the reader almost believe they are walking around the gardens with her. Her descriptions of the many gargoyles, water features, statuary and grottoes reveal her love of the place and its people, its history and heritage. With theatrical flourishes, the gardens of Italy are more than just gardens as we know them. They are stage sets for romance, history, partying and reflection. With stunning backdrops these jewels of Italy are depicted to best advantage, sea, mountains, valleys and lake-side all falling perfectly into place with man's creations. From the famous Ninfa to Villa d'Este to the more secretive and harder to find Villa Gamberaia and Giardiini della Landriana, transport yourself to a horticultural paradise of designs old and new, traditional and contemporary from a land that could, possibly, rival that of England for their beautiful gardens."

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Italian Gardens
by Judith Wade

Since the earliest Roman settlements, Italians have been expertly cultivating their land into beautiful and creative displays of nature, where terraces and walkways, plants and flowers, water and statuary are combined to provide a unique ad inspiring setting. The Italian garden has greatly evolved throughout the ages, taking on different forms, favoring different plants, and serving different purposes. Early Italian gardens made use of citrus, still regarded as an essential element for its bright fruit and shiny leaves. The ancient art of the topiary was revived in the Renaissance for its drama and elegance, and the refined parterre was developed to spread forth from the great palazzos and provide a dramatic view from their upper stories. Later, in the nineteenth century, the influence of the English garden took hold, with its meandering paths, asymmetrical lakes, and blossoming trees.

In Italian Gardens, author Judith Wade explores more than five hundred years of this tradition, discussing each of these developments and transporting the reader to thirty-seven of the most captivating gardens of Italy. Eleven regions are visited, from Lombardy and Piedmont in the north, to the island of Sicily in the south. Both small and grandiose, historic and contemporary gardens are featured.

Travel with Wade to the aristocratic Villa Favorita in Lugano, where an avenue of cypresses welcomes those who approach; the English-style park of Villa Novare Bertani in Verona, with its seventeenth-century wine cellar; the eighteenth-century Avenue of the Camelias at Lucca's Villa Reale, where the American artist John Singer Sargent painted; and great examples of contemporary Italian landscapes, like La Mortella in Naples, which boasts more than eight hundred species of rare plants.

As "living works of art" these changing displays of nature grow and bloom with the seasons. Smell the roses and lavender, feel the light spray of the fountain, and listen to the sound of your footsteps on the pebbles-- each locale is vividly portrayed in words and pictures, bringing the experience of each garden to life.

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