Italy Through the Rear-View Mirror weaves together heart-warming and humorous stories focused on characteristic aspects of Italian culture-its traditions and rituals, its food, and of course its people and their engaging approach to 'living life in the piazza'. But, as we discover, these are just the backdrop for a more compelling narrative. While pursuing her insatiable passion for Italy, travelling to all twenty regions over fifteen years, Italy and its inhabitants helped Susan discover the real reason behind a growing attachment to this sun-drenched country. Beneath the obvious beauty and intriguing diversity that we learn about, she knew there was something deeper building her sense of connection to a country she otherwise had no connection with. A rear-view mirror perspective opened Susan's eyes to the underlying role of every-day aspects of Italian life in fostering those connections-the ties that were binding it all together for her, and her to it. Travel was the vehicle and Italy the teacher, helping to illuminate how we are all wired for connection, how we crave a sense of belonging, and how simple human encounters can feed our soul. Italy Through the Rear-View Mirror inspires us to reflect on our own journey, whether it involves travel or not, and in the process learn about our connection to this global community we call humanity. In fragile times, when our capacity to travel may be constrained and our ability to connect feels distant, the message is even more relevant.

An emotional romance that pulls at the heart strings. Previously published as Her Retreat. Interior designer Isabella, Contessa di Sorano, is skilled at creating beautiful facades that cover a multitude of sins, especially when it comes to herself. Behind her immaculate appearance she hides a heart-breaking secret she's determined to keep. But when she's forced to sell the Castello Romitorio and accept a lucrative contract from her ex lover, she can no longer avoid facing up to her painful past. Seven years earlier, Luca Vittori had been rejected by Isabella and he'd left Italy. But now he's back to honor a promise he made to his grandmother to hire Isabella to redecorate the castello. He just wants it over and done with so he can return to his home in Australia. Trouble is, he hadn't planned on re-igniting a passion he'd hoped was long dead—a passion which threatens to destroy before it can heal... —Italian Romance— The Italian’s Perfect Lover Seduced by the Italian The Passionate Italian An Accidental Christmas —Desert Kings— Wanted: A Wife for the Sheikh The Sheikh’s Bargain Bride The Sheikh’s Lost Lover Awakened by the Sheikh Claimed by the Sheikh Wanted: A Baby by the Sheikh —The Sheikhs of Havilah— The Sheikh’s Secret Baby Bought by the Sheikh The Sheikh’s Forbidden Lover Surrender to the Sheikh —Secrets of the Sheikhs— The Sheikh’s Revenge by Seduction The Sheikh’s Secret Love Child The Sheikh’s Marriage Trap

In recent years, Italian cinema has experienced a quiet revolution: the proliferation of films by women. But their thought-provoking work has not yet received the attention it deserves. Reframing Italy fills this gap. The book introduces readers to films and documentaries by recognized women directors such as Cristina Comencini, Wilma Labate, Alina Marazzi, Antonietta De Lillo, Marina Spada, and Francesca Comencini, as well as to filmmakers whose work has so far been undeservedly ignored. Through a thematically based analysis supported by case studies, Luciano and Scarparo argue that Italian women filmmakers, while not overtly feminist, are producing work that increasingly foregrounds female subjectivity from a variety of social, political, and cultural positions. This book, with its accompanying video interviews, explores the filmmakers' challenging relationship with a highly patriarchal cinema industry. The incisive readings of individual films demonstrate how women's rich cinematic production reframes the aesthetic of their cinematic fathers, re-positions relationships between mothers and daughters, functions as a space for remembering women's (hi)stories, and highlights pressing social issues such as immigration and workplace discrimination. This original and timely study makes an invaluable contribution to film studies and to the study of gender and culture in the early twenty-first century.

There are elements of a way of life that likely will not come our way again in Carolyn Sue Noah Graetz homespun, sometimes intense, paperback memoir A Look into the Rear View Mirror. In writing her book, graetz repeats genealogical information, linking the life and times of some ancestors to events of the wider world. This is a good method that might invite borrowing from any number of amateur genealogists who take the plunge Gratez did and do some volumes.

For centuries Italy has been the destination of a lifetime for an endless stream of travellers. This book – focussing on the experience of contemporary Australian intellectuals – explores an aspect as of yet scarcely studied within the global phenomenon of travel to Italy, and discovers an image of the country starkly different from the one that prevailed in previous writings. From the beginning of the 1990s onwards there has been a sizeable output of books by Australian writers set in or about Italy. After a meticulous examination of these works, Roberta Trapè has selected and analysed those that she considers the most interesting examples of Australians’ continuing fascination with Italy – works of Jeffrey Smart and Shirley Hazzard, and of Robert Dessaix and Peter Robb. Examining the ways the four authors describe Italian places, Imaging Italy looks into what it is that continues to attract Australian writers and artists to the country, and tries to detect new trends in their attitude towards it. The image of Italy that emerges from the most recent works is, no doubt, a superb picture – not flattering but certainly not false – of its contemporary times.

Back Roads of Italy opens with a brief portrait of the country and then moves on to provide all the practical information required to plan a driving vacation: how to get there, bringing your own vehicle and options for renting, and detailed driving advice. The main section divides into numbered drives, following a logical progression around each country. Each drive features highlights and itinerary spreads for an overview and planning, followed by extensive descriptions of each sight and activity with clear driving instructions between. A language section at the back of the guide lists essential words and phrases, with a particular emphasis on road signs and road-related vocabulary.

'There are two major stars in this book, the laconic private eye Daniel Leicester and the city of Bologna itself. Tom Benjamin mixes these ingredients perfectly making Italian Rules a really great read.' Ian Moore, author of DEATH AND CROISSANTS 'Italian Rules is a fabulously sophisticated and classy mystery with an utterly gripping plot' Victoria Dowd When Hollywood comes to Bologna, La Dolce Vita turns sweet murder... A famous Hollywood director arrives in Bologna to remake a cult film and the city's renown cinema archive decides to mark the occasion with a screening of the original, only to discover it has disappeared. After English detective Daniel Leicester follows the trail of Love on a Razorblade to an apparent murder-suicide, he begins to suspect there may be more at stake than missing negatives - could the film contain a clue to one of the city's most enduring mysteries? Together with a star from the forthcoming remake, Daniel moves from the glamour of Venice Lido to the depths of Bologna's secret tunnel system as a sinister network closes in and he learns some people are ready to kill for the ultimate director's cut. Praise for Italian Rules ' Benjamin skilfully combines a cracking crime novel with a love letter to Italian cinema . . . Italian Rules is an absolute treat' Trevor Wood 'Intelligent, kinetically sprung ' Irish Times 'Soul-moving' Peterborough Telegraph Praise for Tom Benjamin 'The locale is brought to life . . . the plot keeps you guessing' The Times 'A slow-burning, tense and brooding thriller' The Herald Scotland 'Tom Benjamin's debut novel blows the lid off a political cauldron in which Leftist agitators, property moguls, the police and city elders struggle for survival and dominance' Daily Mail 'It's an immensely promising debut, which leaves the reader feeling they really know the city.' Morning Star 'Another great crime novel set in Bologna' Reader Review 'The mystery smolders away nicely and the wrap-up throws some curve balls. Another indulgent offering in this rewarding series.' Reader Review