Damian and Johnny return with a colorful volume of hearty fare of Tuscan derivation. From the antipasti to dolci, these chefs offer intensely flavored dishes from that fabled west-central Italian region crowned by Florence.

Famed for its bustling cities rich with art, history, and centuries-old traditions, as well as for its gently rolling landscapes filled with vineyards, cypress trees, and olive groves, Tuscany is one of the most popular regions in Italy. Mary Ann Esposito, host of the longest-running television cooking show, invites us to experience the tastes, smells, and traditions of this wonderful region, one delectable meal at time. With eighty delicious recipes accompanied by anecdotes, travel essays, and cooking tips and techniques, this collection shares and explores the essence of Tuscan cooking. Cucina povera, country-style cooking, is the backbone of the Tuscan culinary heritage, and you'll see it in practice on an agricultural estate just outside of Siena, at a palazzino in the heart of Florence, at a popular restaurant in an industrial city, in medieval villages, and in the charming cities and towns across the region. Simple, flavorful ingredients are transformed into authentic, mouth-watering dishes such as Scarola e Fagioli (Escarole and Beans), Pappa al Pomodoro (Tomato Bread Soup), Patate con Olio e Ramerino (Potatoes with Olive Oil and Rosemary), Bistecca alla Fiorentina (Grilled T-bone Steak), Gnocchi di Patate con Salsa di Pecorino e Panna (Potato Gnocchi with Pecorino Cream Sauce), Panforte, Ricciarelli di Siena (Siena-Style Almond Cookies), and much more. Complete with information on mail-order sources, Web sites, and Tuscan restaurants, this celebration of the region of Tuscany is a tribute to the people practicing and preserving its rich culinary traditions.

Allan and Nancy Parker's idyll at Villa San Clemente in the hills of Tuscany continues - they learn more about what it means to be Tuscan. Their appreciation of the richness, the culture and the people of this beautiful part of the world deepens as they explore the nooks and crannies of the Old World from the little village of Trequanda.

Just east of Tuscany, Umbria is lush with rolling hills and rustic small towns - and delicious, healthful, traditional Italian cooking. In her most intimate and personal cookbook to date, popular cooking-show host Mary Ann Esposito, beloved for her long-running series "Ciao Italia," takes us through this delightful, unspoiled region - cooking, eating, and making friends along the way. With 60 authentic recipes along with anecdotes, profiles, and cooking tips, this companion to "Ciao Italia" is a "traveling cookbook" that transports us to the unforgettable foods of Umbria and the people who prepare them. You'll visit bustling food markets, glorious street festivals, aroma-filled home kitchens, family-run vineyards, top-secret truffle fields, and a heavenly chocolate museum. You'll also find information on mail-order sources, web sites, and Umbrian restaurants. Everyone who loves Italy will savor the bounty of Umbrian specialties on these pages, including hearty gnocchi, sizzling vegetables and pork sausages alla griglia (on the grill), delectable black truffles, simple ragus, healthful lentils and farro, hearty country breads, and Perugian chocolate desserts. So pull up a chair, pour a glass of Sangiovese, and come along to Umbria - and bring your appetite!

Recipes from the kitchens and restaurants of Italy's new culinary masters, who combine an innate sixth sense for quintessentially Italian flavor with a contemporary approach, defining an exciting new gastronomy. Everybody loves Italian food. It is among the most talked about, written about, and globally popular. But as travelers have sought out culinary experiences in off-the-beaten-path destinations elsewhere in the world, in Italy even consummate foodies eat the same postcard versions of traditional dishes, occasionally making forays into a handful of fine-dining favorites. Yet by far the country's most interesting cuisine is to be found outside of well-trodden establishments, and it's as varied and full of personality as it is delicious. This generation of chefs has come a long way from their nonna's kitchen: they approach tradition with a respectful yet emancipated perspective; they rethink the formats of the Italian restaurant; they are rediscovering foraging and farming; they introduce serious cocktail programs. This book covers thirty-two chefs and restaurateurs who are reinterpreting the "greatest hits" of Italian dining: from trattorias to fine dining, from aperitivo to pizzerias. Laura Lazzaroni takes her readers on a visual north-to-south tour of this new cucina italiana, stopping at restaurants, inns, farms, and pop-ups all across the country, showing in stories and recipes the multitude of approaches, influences, and ingredients that compose this movement, which is paving the way for the country's gastronomic rebirth.

Bribed with 500 euros, seventeen-year-old Caylin agrees to go with her parents on a package holiday to Tuscany. She soon regrets her decision, leaves Mum and Dad behind at the hotel and hitchhikes alone to the city of Siena in search of something more exciting. But Caylin's big adventure in Siena soon gets scary and dangerous when she meets a girl, Lula, who brands her a thief, which leads to Caylin being ostracised by her new best friend, Stefania. Meanwhile, unknown to Caylin, twenty-one-year-old Joe has volunteered to leave the holiday group to search for her and make sure she's safe, or at least that's his story anyway! Caylin makes two dramatic discoveries, one about Joe and the other about Lula. Caylin's adventure starts to spiral out of control, until love intervenes to give her the chance of a new life.

In Tuscan Spaces, Silvia Ross focuses on constructions of Tuscany in twentieth-century Italian literature and juxtaposes them with English prose works by such authors as E.M. Forster and Frances Mayes to expose the complexity of literary representation centred on a single milieu.