6/19/08

Between the Covers

Writer offers virtual trip to Italian countryside

by Mary Burns

Lady in the Palazzo

By Marlena de Blasi

(Algonquin, $14.95)

Travel to Italy was once best abetted by reading Frances Mayes’ “Under the Tuscan Sun.” While that book teases the reader to visit Italy, “The Lady in the Palazzo” authenticates the country and its people for us temptingly.

With her Venetian husband, the American author arranges custom tours of the Italian countryside for Americans. This book reads like a novel, with the basis being their quest for a home in the area. The two find a palace in Ombierto, in which they’re offered an incomplete apartment that was once the ballroom. Marlena speaks Italian well, but her husband is Italian: her understanding of the words cannot contest his knowledge of the culture and she despairs of ever moving into this place.

Her fondness for excellent food and people of all genres is woven throughout. She shares the histories of the wines and cheeses of the area, along with delightful stories of the people she meets.

As you turn the final page you will relish the exquisite pleasure of having dined at this lovely table while listening to the violinist across the courtyard playing Brahms, feeling that you might just get up for another waltz in the ballroom of the palazzo.

Mary Burns is owner of The BookWORKS, in downtown Marysville or online at www.marysvillebookworks.com.