This unique guide to one of today's hottest tourist destinations combines fascinating articles by a wide variety of writers, woven throughout with the editor's own indispensable advice and opinions-providing in one package an unparalleled experience of an extraordinary place.

This edition on Tuscany and Umbria features:

● Articles, interviews, recipes, and quotes from writers, visitors, residents, and experts on the region, including Frances Mayes, Mario Batali, Erica Jong, Barbara Ohrbach, Faith Willinger, and David Leavitt.

● In-depth pieces about Florence and the hill towns of Tuscany and Umbria that illuminate the simple pleasures of local cuisine, the dazzling art treasures of the Uffizi, the civilized wilderness of Tuscan back roads, the many varieties of olive oil, the endearing quirks of the Italian character, and much more.

● Enticing recommendations for further reading, including novels, histories, memoirs, coookbooks, and guidebooks.

● An A-Z Miscellany of concise and entertaining information on everything from biscotti to Super-Tuscan wine, from the history of the Medicis to traveling with children.

● Spotlights on unusual shops, restaurants, hotels, and experiences not to be missed.

● More than a hundred black-and-white photographs and illustrations.

Barrie Kerper is the editor of numerous other books in the Collected Traveler series. For more, see www.thecollectedtraveler.com. 

Introduction
 
ITALY
My Italy, by Erica Jong
Welcome to my Rented Nightmare, by Mary-Lou Weisman
Buon Viaggio: A Bouquet of Reminders, by Kate Simon
Recommended Reading
 
TUSCANY
The Trouble with Tuscany, by Fred Plotkin
Market Day in a Tuscan Town, by Frances Mayes
Italy’s Best-Kept Secret, by David Leavitt
Only in Tuscany, by Dan Hofstadter
Coming Home to Chianti, by Gini Alhadeff
Lucca: A Tuscan Treasure, by Lorraine Alexander
Siena in Three Acts, by William Zinsser
Recommended Reading
Interview: Barbara Milo Ohrbach
Interview: Frances Mayes
Interview: Charlie Conrad
 
UMBRIA
Perugia, by Nadia Stancioff
Spoleto: A Town for all Seasons, by Nadia Stancioff
The Hills of the Sublime, by G. Y. Dryansky
Recommended Reading
Interview: Joan and Roger Arndt
 
FLORENCE
The First Time I Saw Florence, by Sallie Tisdale
The Other Side of the Arno, by Jo Durden-Smith
Florence, Then and Now, by Adam Begley
Learning to Live with Arrivederci, by Susan Jacoby
Recommended Reading
Interview: Lisa McGarry
 
LA CUCINA ITALIANA
Beaneaters & Bread Soup, by Lori DeMori
Italy’s Original Garlic Bread, by S. Irene Virbila
Tuscan Olive Oils, by Faith Heller Willinger
Italy’s Vin Santo: A Sip of Hospitality, by S. Irene Virbila
Nach Waxman and Matt Sartwell’s Favorite Food Books: An Interview
Interview: Sergio Esposito
 
A TAVOLA!
Florentine Trattorias, by Faith Willinger
Florence: A Restaurant Renaissance, by Faith Willinger
Valle del Serchio and Garfagnana, by Beth Elon
Recommended Reading
Interview: Faith Willinger
 
PIAZZE, GIARDINI E MONUMENTI
Back Roads of Tuscany, by William Sertl
Botticelli’s Primavera, by Roy McMullen
The Cloisters of Florence, by Louis Inturrisi
The Last Supper, Seen Six Ways, by Louis Inturrisi
Recommended Reading
 
A TUSCAN AND UMBRIAN MISCELLANY