Untitled

I love to read books that take place in Italy. They fling me around through its history; give me a chance to see the country through a different lens. They take me beyond guidebooks, bringing another layer to my experience of a destination.

Sometimes I’ll get caught up with historical fiction—delving into the lives of cloistered nuns in Renaissance Ferrara with Sarah Dunant’s Sacred Hearts. Or on my last trip to Rome, I reread Tennessee Williams’ The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone, a hoot of a melodrama, which brings La Dolce Vita days back to life. What was there to do after I finished it, but get myself to the Rosati in Piazza del Popolo and order a Negroni.

When I’m not in Italy, reading one of the many memoirs that’s come out over the past decades has been an excellent way to hold me over until my next trip. I’ve gone along, vicariously restoring several farmhouses and getting over various heartbreaks. Wondrously, there’s that “reading as communion” thing that happens when these writers pour their passion for Italy on the page. That’s me on the couch, sighing.

While writing this book, I’ve been thinking about some of my favorite female writers who’ve taken me around “their” Italy. So I checked in with them to talk about Italian travel. Each generously shared with me some of their favorite places, so now I share them with you…