Whether you are preparing for an Italian vacation or just looking for some armchair travel, there are a wealth of books on Italy, from practical guidebooks to non-fiction accounts of moving to Italy to great novels set in all time periods of Italian history. Perhaps the most famous book on Italy in recent years is Under The Tuscan Sun — and a whole genre of expat-meets-native-Italian life evolved from Frances Mayes’ book. At Dream of Italy, we’re serious about reading, so if you need a recommendation, see the articles below, we’re adding to them all the time and join our Facebook group The Dream of Italy Book Club and look for our Facebook Live Book Club meetings.
- Join Us Live From Cortona Aug. 25th – Dream of Italy Book Club!
- Book Excerpt: Introduction to Dream of Italy: Travel, Transform and Thrive by Kathy McCabe
- New Companion Book to PBS Special Gives Actionable Advice to Make Your Dream of Italy Come True
- Discovering a Life of Bella Figura in Italy
- Book Excerpt: The Hero’s Way by Tim Parks
- Book Excerpt: Under the Light of the Italian Moon by Jennifer Anton
- Book Excerpt: The Secret Life of Sofonisba Anguissola by Melissa Muldoon
- Book Excerpt: Beneath A Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan
- Editor’s Note: December 2020/January 2021 Dream of Italy Issue
- Book Excerpt: The Woman in Red by Diana Giovinazzo
- Excerpt From The Night Portrait: A Novel of WWII & da Vinci’s Italy by Laura Morelli
- Book Excerpt: Braided in Fire by Solace Wales
- Book Excerpt: Blood Washes Blood by Frank Viviano
- Excerpt From Always Italy by Frances Mayes with Ondine Cohane
- Book Excerpt: Return to Glow by Chandi Wyant
- Book Excerpt: From Scratch by Tembi Locke
- Book Excerpt: The Gondola Maker by Laura Morelli
- Book Excerpt: See You In The Piazza by Frances Mayes
- Book Excerpt: Love in a Tuscan Kitchen by Sheryl Ness
- Catch Ferrante Fever on This Naples Tour
- A Woman, a Dog and Umbria: Excerpt from the Book “Marcus of Umbria”
- The Dream Interview: Author Frances Mayes of Under the Tuscan Sun
- What Makes Italy Such a Romantic Destination
Premium Content – Members Only
- About The Night Portrait: A New Book About A Da Vinci Painting (August/September 2020)
- Tim Parks: “Translating” Italy For Readers (February 2017)
- Donna Leon’s Venice
- Visiting Commissario Brunetti’s Favorite Places in Venice (From Donna Leon’s Mystery Novels)
- Walking Tours of Commissario Brunetti’s Venice (From Donna Leon’s Mystery Novels)
- The Italians: A Fresh Perspective
- Scenes from Italian Life: Colds, Drafts and Germs
- Two Books for Italophiles
- Catching Up With Frances Mayes, Author of Under the Tuscan Sun
- The Dream Interview: Tuscany and Umbria Insider Barrie Kerper
- Where and How to Learn the Italian Language
- Authentic Roman Dining Near the Pantheon
- A Year of Gastronomy: One Woman’s Reawakening in Italy
- Summer Reading for Italophiles
- The Dream Interview: Secrets of the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel
- A Resource for Shopping Till You Drop in Florence
- Taking the Kids to Rome? Read This First
- Biblioteca Italiana: Which Italy Travel Books to Read This Summer
- How to Keep the Kids Happy in Italy
- The Dreaming of Tuscany Interview: Barbara Ohrbach
- The Dream Interview: Pauline Frommer’s Italy
- Pauline Frommer’s Italy Picks
- Author Explores Hearts and Minds of Italians
- Restaurant Reviews and Recipes from “A Culinary Traveller in Tuscany”
- Tips and Resources for “Living the Dream” in Italy
- On the Road in Italy with St. Francis of Assisi
- An Italian Housewife in Hollywood
- The Dream Interview: John Berendt on Venice
- There’s an Italian Cookbook for Everyone
- New Book Explores Complicated Lives of Bernini and Borromini
- The Dream Interview: Italian Cookbook Author Faith Willinger
- A Book for When You Have Tuscany in Mind
- Debut Novel Illuminates 1960s Sicilian Society
- On The Bookshelf: Tuscany Novel, Guide to Italian Restaurants
- In Brief: First Truffle Museum, History of Latin
- Give the Gift of Italy: A Guide for the Holidays
- Seasons in Basilicata: A Home in Aliano
- Pompeii Unearths the Human Dimension
- Read Italy: Editor’s Picks
- The Dream Interview: Raeleen Mautner on Italian Living
- The Dream Interview: Clare Brown on Inns & Itineraries
- Read Italy: A Thousand Days in Venice
- The Dream Interview: Theresa Maggio on Sicily
- Editor’s Pick: A Venetian Affair
- Read Italy: New at the Bookstores
- Read Italy: New Releases
- Editor’s Book Pick: Too Much Tuscan Sun