Movies Set in Italy

Some are great films, some are just beautiful shots of Italy in mediocre attempts at filmmaking.

Tuscany
Under the Tuscan Sun
Much Ado About Nothing 
Stealing Beauty
Tea with Mussolini (San Gimignano)
English Patient (southern Tuscany)
A Room with a View
Up at the Villa
Hannibal 
Life is Beautiful
Quantum of Solace
The Last Victory
The Best of Youth (and elsewhere)
Light in the Piazza
The Affairs of Cellini
Virgin Territory (based on the Decameron)
Letters to Juliet
Portrait of a Lady
Prince of Foxes
Where Angels Fear to Tread
The Triumph of Love
The Night of the Shooting Stars
Obsession
The Gladiator
Romeo and Juliet (1968)
New Moon

Venice
Bread and Tulips 
Dangerous Beauty 
The Italian Job (2003)
It Started in Naples
Casino Royale
The Tourist 
Everyone Says I Love You
From Russia with Love
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Moonraker
Vampire in Venice
Death in Venice
Brideshead Revisited
Don't Look Now
Summertime

Sicily
Cinema Paradiso
I Cento Passi
Malena
The Godfather Part III
Mighty Aphrodite (opening)
Stanno Tutti Bene (later elsewhere in Italy)

Rome
Three Coins in a Fountain
Roman Holiday
La Dolce Vita
Angels and Demons 
The Bicycle Thieves
Caterina in the Big City
Besieged
The Secret of Santa Vittaria (Anticoli Corrado)
Eat Pray Love

The Beaches or Lakes
Enchanted April (Ligurian coast)
The Talented Mr. Ripley (Ischia) 
Il Postino (Naples, Bay of Naples, Sicily)
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (Lake Como)
A Month by the Lake (Como)
Respiro
Caro Diario (Aeolian Islands and Rome)

Matera (a unique locale)
The Passion of the Christ
Christ Stopped at Eboli

Other or I'm Not Sure Where These Were Shot!
Agata and the Storm
My House in Umbria
The Name of the Rose
Ciao Professore (Naples)
Novecento (Parma)

Stolen First Editions by Galileo and Copernicus Headed Back Home

Photo courtesty of thelocal.it

I can't believe they thought they could get away with this!

1,500 books stolen in four months... 

Shame on you Library Director, Marino Massimo De Caro!

Now the 16th and 17th century treasures are headed back to their proper home at Girolamini.  Well done.

Visions of sugarplums danced in their heads...

Vernazza is well on its way to full recovery from the 2011 floods.  You can keep abreast of its progress and donate to help restoration efforts at savevernazza.com or on FB facebook.com/SaveVernazza

Beautiful Ruins Book Review

I ran across this book at the library.  It was on a special shelf labeled "Bucket List Books."  I was wary.  But the cover was absolutely stunning.  I also pick my wine by the label.  I googled it on Kirkus and it had a starred review.  So I gave it a shot.  

Go ahead and read it.

It is a lush story of old Liguria mixed with vintage and new Hollywood.  You may laugh out loud as I did when you read the Scientology jokes.

It's a great mix of old, new, exotic and, if you live in Southern California, local.  It's sweet and heartbreaking and I bet you can relate to at least one character. 

And if you don't like it, the cover alone -- stunning Manarola in the Cinque Terre -- will be lovely to look at on your night stand.

Summer Bounty

This picture, while not so appetizing, shows our first summer bounty of pesto from the prolific basil plants that love our sun and lack of rain.  I've found freezing in ice cube trays and transferring to zip lock bags for the freezer retains freshness.  And, it's so messy to make in the blender that I'd rather do it in a huge batch and only clean once!  

Pizza School

Sixty hours of training (40 in class, 20 in restaurant) to learn the art of making pizza in Napoli.  1500 euro plus more for a translator.

Maybe not a smart career choice with the long hours and modest pay but the course sounds fascinating!  I'm guessing not a lot of women taking this class...