is a special book for people who know Carrara, Lucca, Aulla and other Italian locations in the region, If you are a foreigner luvinb there even part time, this book is for you, Many details can make you laugh or make you sad, if you met these details yourself, All in all, I had a great time reading it and telling my friends about it, A joyful reading for anyone not just in love with Italy, but being a foreigner and accepting the country in its full, A bittersweet reminiscence of the Newbysyears in which they owned a second home in the Tuscany region and of their relationship with their neighbors, many of whom became close friends.
The stories of the grape harvesting and winemaking, together with the attendant feasts are the idyllic tales one thinks of as quintessentially Tuscan, The author describes buying, rehabbing, and living in a house in the Italian countryside, Making this easier for him is that he is a welloff Englishman who has married an Italian woman, Given the intricacies described of dealing with Italian workmen and becoming a resident, his money and Italian connection through his wife made things easier, But this is a kind of fishoutofwater story that goes on a long time, as the author becomes part of the neighborhood, I enjoyed the quirky stories of a time gone by, The authors most interesting observation was about some policemen he was travelling with could easily have killed him a few years earlier, when he was an Allied soldier and they were in the local militia.
Things change, often for the better, Travel writer Eric Newby and his wife Wanda buy and renovate a rundown house in Italy, called I Castagni The Chestnuts, which becomes their beloved holiday home foryears.
This book is a memoir of those years, told with warmth and affection,
Having previously read and enjoyed sitelinkLove and War in the Apennines about Newby's time as an escaping POW in WWII Italy, I was keen to read this account of his return to the country in thes.
I enjoyed the opening chapters where he writes about their search for a house and we get to know his neighbours in the village, Eric and Wanda a Slovenian who grew up in Italy and met Eric when he was a POW threw themselves into life there, making friends, renovating their house and setting up a vineyard and olive groves.
Surprisingly for a travel writer, Newby has a rather prosaic writing style and fills his account with facts and figures, especially figures, On a walk across the Apennines, he lists the mountains he climbs, with heights in metres, On visiting a chapel, he lists dates and the different features of the building, Those who would prefer some personal response to his experiences, or even more imagery in the descriptions, will often be disappointed, It's a shame, because when he turns to anecdotes about his friends and one memorable foe at I Castagni, the book comes to life and his genuine affection for the place shines through.
This is a likeable account of Italian rural life and an easy read, I give it.stars, the best parts were worthbut overall it didn't quite deserve that rating, A very vivid description of life in the country in Liguria betweentofrom the perspective of an English author, I enjoyed reading this book and felt deeply enthralled despite its shortness, What a terrific read this is! Generations before Frances Mayes and others set the world spinning
with tales of Tuscany, Eric and his wonderful wife Wanda were digging ditches, harvesting grapes, throttling nests of cockroaches and living the hardcore peasant life in Tuscany.
All the while he remembers being on the run during the war and being helped by many Italians, He leaves a lot left unsaid but what he says is gold, InEric and Wanda Newby fulfilled a longcherished dream when they bought a rundown farmhouse in northern Tuscany, in the foothills of the Italian Alps.
They were the first foreigners to live in the region, "A Small Place in Italy" describes how the house was restored with the help of their neighbors, a colorful east of characters who quickly befriended the Newbys.
With his characteristic wry humor and sharp eye for the quirks of human nature, Eric Newby paints an unforgettable picture of rural Italy and its people.
The rhythms and rituals of country life harvesting grapes, making wine, hunting for wild mushrooms are lovingly evoked, along with the storybook landscapes and changing seasons.
At the center of his memoir is the farmhouse itself, which from unpromising beginnings tileless roof, longabandoned septic tank and mice the size of small cats was gradually restored.
It is fitting that I should become acquainted with Devon travel writer, Eric Newby, while I was traveling in Devon, browsing the the bookstall at the Tavistock Pannier Market.
There I purchased his “Love and War in the Apennines”, his account of being an escaped POW in Mussolinis Italy who was sheltered by many Italians.
Twentyfive years after the war, he and his wife Wanda purchased a dilapidated farm house near those who risked their lives to save him, providing the basis for “A Small Place in Italy”.
While not as dramatic as “Love and War”, this book is a touching memoir about what is now a lost way of life, and I couldnt help but feel wistful thinking that while the modern era has given us so much ease and entertainment, it has taken so much from us: connection, communication, camaraderie with others and the land.
Newbys wry and gentle humor and astute abilities for observation make him a sympathetic guide to the past, As he and Wanda are literally “Newbys” to the area, they must prove themselves to their neighbors and learn the Italian way of life, from building a home, joining harvests, making wine, and participating in all of the festivities.
Although it is episodic, it is a nice escape to the past to see how life once was, and it reminded me a bit of Laurie Lees “As I Walked Out One Summer Morning” about preFranco Spain and Julia Childs “My Life in France”.
Highly recommend if you are looking for classic travel literature, About another time in Italy Eric Newby and his wife decided to buy an old house in Italy in thes with all the related trials and tribulations.
He explained the situation of establishing a second household there and set the scene well, As he and his wife decided to move on in, Italy was doing the same, Still worth reading, for nostalgic value as well as descriptions of nearby famous smaller cities Lucca, for example and countryside, The author bought himself a dilapidated house in rural Italy in the late's, and this book is an account of the many experiences during the times, related to the house, the neighbors, Italian food and customs.
His wry humor makes this book even more enjoyable, This book appealed to me just like nearly everything about Italy appeals to me, but the writing wasn't as polished as I thought it would be for a professional travel writer.
Nevertheless it was a joy to read about Eric and Wanda's adventures, I found myself referring to a map looking for Fosdinovo because although I've been to La Spezia and Cinque Terre, I am unfamiliar with the area inland, where their abode I Castagni is located.
Newby's detailed description of the sheer strength and laborforce necessary for the vendemmia gave me new appreciation for both rarity and price of Tuscan wines.
Goodness, what an undertaking! Even if modern machinery has since replaced human exertion, the annual grape harvest likely remains a time consuming and expensive undertaking.
.stars
A really lovely homage to the life that Eric Newby and his wife Wanda built for themselves in the Italian mountains! I read his memoir Love and War in the Apennines two years ago which was absolutely incredible.
It's stayed in my mind all this time, so it was wonderful to read about these two, at peace and happy, in the decades the followed the war in which they met.
The only reason it falls just short of four is the length of some of the 'less interesting' scenes, that had me skim reading.
But I'm so glad I finally read it! Eric Newby is a fantastic, witty writer whose choice of words and depictions of the Italian characters often makes me laugh.
A funny yet sad memoir set in Italy, WWveteran returning with his wife two purchase a home, While navigating local customs they create a rich life with good friends, Probably not quite a five star but certainly a solid,
A reread after almostyears, and a very enjoyable experience it was, like meeting an old friend after many years,
Ive said it before that you cant go far wrong with a good Eric Newby book, and this is no exception, Eric Newby, and his wife, Wanda acquire a small and ruined farmhouse in the foothills of the Alps, This book is about how they set about restoring that house, and their life in this rural area of Italy, Newby met Wanda when he was a POW on the run during WW, a story recounted in 'Love and War In The Appenines', This book reads as a much more 'authentic' experience than the current penomenally successful 'Under The Tuscan Sun', which it predates by a couple of years.
Eric Newby was an author whose books I truly enjoyed reading, so its no surprise his account of the home he purchased in Italy would eventually end up in my collection.
Itsin Northern Tuscany when he and his wife first set sight upon the little house and they ended up living there into thes.
Naturally its a renovation project, not so much for trendy interiors, but just to get the home into a livable condition,
This is Italy and Tuscany before the wealthy and the avalanche of tourists arrived, As Newby notes, its a land where oldstyle work methods still endured, Manual labor rather than big machinery was the way the olives and the grapes were picked and processed, a truly pastoral lifestyle, There were characters galore. The seller of the house wouldnt sell unless he could get real cash, rather than a cheque, The house also came with an elderly man who talked to himself and slept in a tiny alcove with a sagging roof, He would suddenly go off to other parts of the region to help with the local harvests and then suddenly return to create some innovative hardware solution for the Newbys.
The neighbours were eccentric but always willing to help and the Newbys enjoyed the type of food that nowadays require expensive tour packages, When their decades of habitation there come to an end, the reader feels sad knowing the original cast of characters is long gone and an older way of life is going away.
I just love the way Newby wrote his books, How shall I describe it Its as though youve been casually walking along a quiet road, and youre invited to sit down on a porch to listen to stories and watch the sun set.
Invitational. Come on along and become part of the community, Warm, witty, selfdeprecating. He writes in a biostyle but its a travelogue and he makes the reader appreciative of the land and of the fading people,
Book Season Summer the coming of the sun
I'm glad I found this book just before a trip to Tuscany, In short it's a memoir of a British man and his Italian wife's small home in Italy where they took part in local life foryears.
How they met and Newby's WWII experience that formed the backbone of this book was the most interesting part! The author spent time in Italy during the Second World War.
A number of years later, he and his wife had an opportunity to purchase a place in Tuscany which they worked to restore and make livable during their twice a year trips.
But this isnt just about the renovation efforts, its also about the people they met who made them part of their lives involving them in the events of the region.
Published by Lonely Planet, this is a glimpse into a region and its customs at that time, My main drawback is the frequent use of Italian words and phrases with no translation provided, FROM MY BLOG Who wouldn't love to have a second home in Europe Italy, or perhaps France Back in, I discussed Peter Mayle's book, A Year in Provence, about his adventures among his French neighbors.
This past week, I read Eric Newby'smemoir, A Small Place in Italy,
I actually chose Newby's book a British paperback edition obtained from a secondhand bookstore through Amazon simply because I wanted to read something else by Newby.
In the past, I've discussed his more famous books, The Last Grain Race and A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush, as well as last month his collection of essays, A Traveller's Life.
While not the best of Newby's writing, A Small Place in Italy as it turned out had a special interest for me.
The house he and his wife ended up buying in the mids named "I Castagni" was near Sarzana, in the hills about five miles behind Lerici on the Ligurian coast.
Lerici is just five miles south of La Spezia, and La Spezia is the southern entrance to the Cinque Terre, As some will recall, before the pandemic, I had planned a birthday celebration next month withguests for Levanto, at the north end of the Cinque Terre.
Lerici is also where the English poet Shelley drowned, although that's not relevant to Newby's story,
Reading the book was the next best thing to actually visiting the area, although as the book makes clear, the area changed radically betweenand, when the Newbys sold their house and moved away.
Readers of A Traveller's Life will recall that Newby temporarily escaped from a prisoner of war camp in Italy during World War II, and wandered about the Apuan Alps, holing up in a cave during one winter with assistance from local sympathizers.
The nearness to that area between Lerici and Parma was one factor in his decision to purchase property where he did, He hoped to and did look up people who had become good friends and allies during the war,
For those of us who are physically lazy, the book is somewhat exhausting to read, As with Mayle's story of Provence, and other books by English writers describing life in southern Europe, the Newbys made close friends, friends of peasant stock who were largely friendly, goodhumored, and close to the land.
But the book describes in detail for me, excessive detail the hard physical labor required to restore the house from virtual ruin to an inhabitable residence, and their work harvesting grapes and olives on their own property and, reciprocally, for their neighbors.
All accomplished, year after year, during time he managed to take away from his job in London as the travel editor for a London newspaper.
You may learn more about grapes and olives not to mention mushrooms than you hoped to know,
As you would guess, from reading Newby's betterknown works, he and his ethnically Slovenian but Italianreared wife Wanda, are a hard working but easygoing couple.
They make friends easily. Wanda is fluent in Italian, and Eric is close to fluent, Although their neighbors generally spoke a local dialect among themselves, which is largely unintelligible to Italian speakers, They knew both how to offer hospitality to their neighbors, and how to accept hospitality freely, They accept without hesitation all the peculiarities they encounter among their peasant neighbors, and are able to relate to them on their own terms, They came to Italy to learn to be Italian farmers, not to bring the joys of British civilization to the Italians,
A lesson we can all carefully note,
They managed to get along well with everyone, aside from a malicious and unpopular neighbor named Arturo, who tied them up in litigation for years in an attempt to wrest from them an easement over their property.
There's one in every crowd, as they say,
The last three chapters are a heartrending story of the deaths of one friend after another, Young children became middleaged adults, with less interest in tending vines or olive trees, The help their neighbors had so willingly provided with the crops, and the hospitality and huge meals they had provided, became less available, Even this backwoods, mountainous part of Italy was becoming part of a standardized, modern world, All of a sudden, television was everywhere,
The words Newby provides describing a town on the Parma side of the mountains a town that was grim and somewhat closed in on itself, and full of old people dressed in black, when first visited serve as a requiem for the peasant life throughout the Apuan Alps and all of rural Europe, perhaps.
The year before we left I Castagni, Sassalbo had changed not beyond recognition but sufficiently to make one rub one's eyes, It was not only the village that had changed, the inhabitants also had undergone a degree of metamorphosis, But there were still shepherds who had big flocks of sheep and the shepherds still sold the cheese, but nobody sold the wool any more and no one spun it and very few people wore black and the place was full of teenagers, mostly students.In one way, the people were "more allegro," happier, But something real and authentic had been lost,
Eric and Wanda, no longer able to tend their vines and trees, sold their house and returned to England, .