The Mountains of Umbria – Return to Valetto by Dominic Smith

It's always a joy to find a "new" writer and learn that they have already published multiple books of interest. That's especially true for me when the books are set in Italy, my favorite country abroad, and in other atmospheric and appealing locations. 

Return to Valetto revolves around history professor Hugh Fisher, a widower with a grown daughter. His Anglo-Italian family, the Serafinos, are some of the last residents of Valetto, a dying village in Umbria. His grandmother, a centenarian, and his three elderly aunts reside in a large villa there with a small cottage on the property that he inherited on the death of his mother, who was the youngest sister.

There's a problem, however: a woman, Elisa, is "squatting" in the cottage, which she maintains was bequeathed to her family by Aldo, Hugh's grandfather, who left his family during World War II as a partisan fighting the Nazis in Italy's north and never returned. Elisa's mother was hidden as a child at the villa during the war, and later returned to her own village where Aldo, wounded in the war, was cared for by her family. In gratitude, he wrote a letter that explained his wishes, but the Serafinos doubt its authenticity.

When Hugh comes to Valetto for a visit, he is thrust into the middle of this conflict, and over the course of its resolution, uncovers the secrets of his family and the village, and its affect upon both over the decades since the war. 

The book is richly atmospheric, and engaging with vivid descriptions of the setting, the characters, and their stories, yet is deceptively subtle as it pulls the reader deep into their hearts and minds. 

I'll be looking for more novels by Dominic Smith on my next library visit. For readers looking for a comparative author, his style reminds me a bit of the work of Mark Helprin, another favorite writer whose historical novels include one set in Italy (A Soldier of the Great War), or of the rich atmospheric detail of Helene Wecker's The Golem and the Ginni. 

 

A Food Journey from Iran to Italy – Pomegranates & Artichokes by Saghar Setareh

This beautiful book will take the reader (and cook) on a journey around the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and through history. Many of the recipes are mouthwatering, the photographs by the author are both enticing and sensitive, and the commentary of her life journey from her Iranian homeland to a new life in Italy is both joyful and poignant.

War and Art in Italy – The Last Masterpiece by Laura Morelli

A deep dive into World War II Italy, and the race between the Nazis and the Allies for the fate of the treasures of European art, particularly that of Florence, where, in my experience, there is something that stops the traveler in their tracks with practically every step.  

The author tells the story from the points of view of two fictitious women. Eva is a German photographer who is brought on to document the paintings, sculptures, and other works that the Nazis are removing from the museums and other locations, ostensibly to protect them, but in reality to eventually bring them to the "super museum" Hitler is planning for Linz, Austria. Her counterpart is Josie, an American, who has joined the WACs (Women's Army Corps), and because of her excellent stenography skills, becomes an assistant to the officers of the Monuments Men, who are trying to save the same works from falling into Nazi hands. 

Author Morelli is an art historian with a Yale Ph.D, who has written several historical novels set in the art world. This is the first I've read, but I will get to the others (eventually), as this one was so fascinating for a reader like me with a strong interest in art and art history, and a love for all things Italian. As I read, I thought of my trips to Italy, especially Florence, and how astonishing it is, and how grateful I am, that so many of the great works of art were saved, and that so much of the war's destruction has been restored. It is a profound to realize, while reading this book, how differently things could have turned out, had the Nazis triumphed – here that is concerning art, but of course there is so much to consider.

It is very evident how much research and knowledge went into this book, with its descriptions of the art and the physical environment throughout Italy, along with aspects of the conditions in Austria (as background for Eva's story).

Morelli also handled the characterizations very well, for both women, their families and personal relationships. Both primary characters evolved and grew due to their wartime experiences. The forays into the friendships and camaraderie that developed among the WACs, and the inner thoughts of each woman as they dealt with their own conflicts were sensitively portrayed. Her light touch on romance rounded out the novel, but was not its point – there was just enough.

I felt the chapters featuring Eva moved a little slowly at first – my only criticism. Because of her origins and beliefs, she was not immediately likable, or understandable, to me, but as I continued reading, I was able to understand and even feel sorry for her. As the book closed, I thought of what it would be like for her to be on that losing side, and return home, knowing that she had embraced and worked for a cause that she realized was both evil and immoral. That is a topic for another kind of book altogether...

Jewish Cooking and Culture in Rome, The Eternal City – Portico by Leah Koenig

What a wonderful book...the recipes are enticing, the pictures are stunning, and the commentary is so interesting. My only wish is that such a book had existed before I traveled to Rome in 1983, on my first trip abroad. Even though I had read guidebooks, I had almost no information about the former Jewish Ghetto, and I was dissuaded even from going to Trastevere, having been told that it was a dangerous neighborhood at the time, and perhaps it was for a young woman tourist on her own. After a couple of incidents of unwanted and aggressive attention, I took the warning seriously. Now, after reading this cookbook I am absolutely ready for fourth Italian sojourn, which would certainly now include Jewish Rome.