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Thursday, April 26, 2018

Guest Post by Flavia Brunetti, Author of 'All the way to Italy'

Note:

Readers Muse thanks the author for writing this interesting guest post.


The places in Italy I’m in love with (that became characters in my book)

Writing All the Way to Italy felt a bit like writing a love story to the country I had grown up so at odds with: no matter how much I didn’t always want to be there, there were places that always filled my heart, that felt (and still feel) like a healing salve. Writing a book was a form of homage, where the setting becomes a character in itself. Here are three of the ones I most treasure:

Baths of Caracalla (Rome): Named after the emperor Caracalla because he was ruler when they were finished, these gargantuan ruins are some of the most overlooked gems of the city. Visiting them during the daytime is fantastic, walking by them as the sun sets an experience you won’t soon forget. But my most beloved? During the summer, the Opera di Roma moves here for its summer performances, and it is life-changing.

Villa Gregoriana (Tivoli): In the book, Little spends a wondrous afternoon exploring this glorious park run by the awesome people of the FAI (Italy’s National Trust). Lace up your walking shoes and go from the ruins of ancient temples to exploring the waterfalls. You’ll come out feeling a little more cultured and a little more wild; I can never recommend this spot enough.

Palazzo Donn’Anna (Naples): Sitting at the water’s edge of this most colorful of Italian cities is a woman’s heartbreak holding fast against the sea. Palazzo Donn’Anna has one of the most romantic, broken stories in its past, and its poignant beauty against a setting sun is Napoli personified. I’m not going to tell you the story because Betty tells Little in the book, and wouldn’t you rather go read the book?! (Don’t Google! That’s cheating!)

These three, especially the last two, sometimes get passed over when people come to visit Rome, but I hope, when you come to visit us, that you have the chance to let them transform your trip. I’d love to hear what you think, or what your all-time favorite spots in Rome are—after all, in Italian we say: Roma, una vita non basta. Rome, one life is not enough.

Book Spotlight Tour: All the way to Italy by Flavia Brunetti




Book Details:

Book Title: All the Way to Italy: A modern tale of homecoming through generations past
Author: Flavia Brunetti
Category: Adult Fiction, 222 pages
Genre: Women's Fiction (can fit into YA Fiction as well)
Publisher: Ali Ribelli Edizioni
Release date: April 21, 2018
Tour dates: April 23 to May 18, 2018
Content Rating: PG for the occasional use of "for God's sake" and a few religious references (though very mild). No violence, no swear words, and no sex scenes.

Book Description:

Until her dad died, Little considered herself a Californian. Now, thanks to half a letter, a symbol she can’t quite remember, and writer’s block, she finds herself back in Italy, the country of her birth. In a headlong rush to return to her beloved San Francisco, Little will journey throughout Italy, hoping to find the answers she needs to move on with her life so she need never look back. She’ll enlist the help of the woman who raised her, Sira, her father’s sister; but Sira has secrets she’s kept for decades, and Little underestimates the power of the country she fled years before.

In this powerful story of mixed cultures in a world trying to globalize, one girl’s struggle to leave her home behind will lead her back to the women in her family and the memories each of them has safeguarded through the generations. From war-torn Italy to the belpaese of today, All the Way to Italy is a tale for those in search of a balance between wanderlust and the necessity to come home, a reminder that although we may be fragments, we are never a lost cause.

To follow the tour and read reviews, please visit Flavia Brunetti's page on Italy Book Tours.


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About the Author:

Photo credit: Roberta Perrone

Born just outside of Rome, Flavia Brunetti grew up bouncing back and forth between Italy and California, eventually moving back to the Eternal City and confirming her lifelong commitment to real gelato. Flavia holds a Master of Arts degree in Government and Politics from St. John’s University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from John Cabot University. Today she travels the world working for an international humanitarian organization and spends her free time writing and wandering around her beloved Roma in constant search of bookstores and the perfect espresso. You can find her city blog on Rome at whichwaytorome.com and her portfolio of published writing at flaviinrome.com.

Connect with Flavia: Website ~ Blog on Rome ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Instagram

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