Writing for general readers and specialists alike, Gallo illuminates the artistic, cultural, social, and political dimensions of secular music, vocal and instrumental. His account also sheds new light on the potent influence of French culture in Italian courtly life.

Vincigliata Castle, a menacing medieval fortress set in the beautiful Tuscan hills, has become a very special prisoner of war camp on Benito Mussolini’s personal order. Within are some of the most senior officers of the Allied army, guarded by almost two hundred Italian soldiers and a vicious fascist commando who answers directly to “Il Duce” Mussolini himself. Their unbelievable escape, told by Mark Felton in Castle of the Eagles, is a little-known marvel of World War II. By March 1943, the plan is ready: this extraordinary assemblage of middle-aged POWs has crafted civilian clothes, forged identity papers, gathered rations, and even constructed dummies to place in their beds, all in preparation for the moment they step into the tunnel they have been digging for six months. How they got to this point and what happens after is a story that reads like fiction, supported by an eccentric cast of characters, but is nonetheless true to its core.

"A group of travellers chance to meet, first in a castle, then a tavern. Their powers of speech are magically taken from them and instead they have only tarot cards with which to tell their tales. What follows is an exquisite interlinking of narratives, and a fantastic, surreal, and chaotic history of all human consciousness."--Goodreads

A magnificent and audacious attraction that hosts some of the finest winemaking in the Napa Valley, Castello di Amorosa is one of California's most successful wineries How the winery came to be is an inspiring entrepreneurial tale of one man's daring vision and his determination to see it realized no matter what. That man is Dario Sattui, founder of the V. Sattui Winery in St. Helena. For as long as he can remember, Dario has cultivated a passion for medieval European architecture. Inspired by stories of the old country from his Italian great-grandfather and other relatives, he made it a hobby to study old castles, lodges, and monasteries almost religiously during the dozens of visits he made to Europe -- particularly Tuscany and Umbria -- throughout the years. In 1993, when he semi-retired from V. Sattui, he began to explore this fascination in a new way, vowing to bring a slice of Italy to Napa by building a modest, authentic medieval monastery on his dream property in Calistoga, where he intended to live and grow grapes for V. Sattui. Over the next 15 years, this plan took on a life of its own and evolved into a massive new winery project with a 136,000-square-foot authentic medieval castle known as Castello di Amorosa at its center. Full of hundreds of lush photos of the magnificent castle and grounds, Castello di Amorosa: A Labor of Love tells the improbable story of the castle's construction and includes an exclusive tour of the castle that only its creator could deliver. Bound to delight readers interested in Napa history, winemaking, and medieval architecture, Castello di Amorosa will undoubtedly thrill the castle's legion of fans around the world.

The first translated part by Lovett Edwards was published in 1954 by the Folio Society; this is the first publication of the full translation of the text. Following events taking place between 1775 and 1858 and the central drama is thrown into greater relief by the many subsidiary characters described by Nievo with a range of expression varying frp, biting humour to deep tenderness and understanding. An epic novel, long recognised as a classic in the Italian fiction. Ippolito Nievo was a soldier-poet and lieutenant of Garibaldi, lost at sea i 1861 at the age of thirty.