This book belongs to Edward Mayes, my husband, as much as it belongs to me. A great Italian driver, he took us on many journeys into the heart of Italy, always with a sense of adventure. Extensive wine research, endless reservations, early trains, translations of obscure texts, and so much more—he was on it. He’s the consummate traveler; I’m in luck to take to the road with him. We were also lucky to have on some of our most fun trips grandson William Mayes King, age fifteen, then sixteen. Expert at directions and playlists and full of curiosity about every stop, he added sunlight and joy. Thanks to my daughter Ashley King and Peter Leousis, his parents, for allowing us to take him away for so long, and thanks also for the grand welcome home dinners.
I met hundreds of people along the way, too many to list, but they endure in my memory of each place. I’d like to thank especially the chefs who shared recipes so generously. Their names are in the book. Two kitchen geniuses, Susan Wyler in the USA and Gilda Di Vizio in Cortona, helped enormously with the testing. All fun! Charlie Conrad, Todd Alden, Sheryl Turping, Kip Keenan, Ondine Cohane, Steven Rothfeld, Robert Draper, Fulvio Di Rosa, and Aurora Patrito gave me great tips, and Coco and Jim Pante and Susie and Rowan Russell tasted and commented. It’s a privilege to be able to share the innovative recipes from some of our favorite restaurants. As always, Silvia and Riccardo Barrachi, owners of Il Falconiere, cooked, poured, and cheered this project along. And mille grazie to Giorgio Zappini.
And speaking of luck, Peter Ginsberg has been my superb agent since Under the Tuscan Sun. I depend on his humor as much as his sound advice. I’m fortunate to work with the brilliant team at the Crown Publishing Group, especially Rachel Rokicki, director of publicity. Elina Nudelman and Elena Giavaldi, thank you both for the design, and Melissa Esner for good outreach ideas and tech help. Copyediting this book must have been tough, with all the facts to verify, variant spellings, italics, on and on. This person is anonymous but a big thanks goes out to you; thank you to Cindy Berman for keeping everything on track. I’m grateful to Maya Mavjee and Molly Stern for their continuing support of my work. Sopratutto, above all, my gratitude to Claire Potter, my editor. She lavished attention on every page, with astute queries and perceptive comments. She is a delight to work with start to finish. I’m glad this book sent her off traveling to Italy.