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| The Lady in the Palazzo: At Home in Umbria | 
 enlarge | Author: Marlena De Blasi
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Category: Book
List Price: $23.95
Buy New: $1.50
You Save: $22.45 (94%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  16 reviews
Sales Rank: 134870
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 317
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.4
ISBN: 1565124731
Dewey Decimal Number: 945.652
EAN: 9781565124738
ASIN: 1565124731
Publication Date: December 21, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
With the breathless anticipation that seduced her readers to fall in love with Venice and then Tuscany, Marlena de Blasi now takes us on a new journey as she moves with her husband, Fernando, to Orvieto, a large and ancient city in Italy's Umbria. Having neither an edge to a sea nor a face to a foreign land, it's a region less trampled by travelers and, in turn, less accepting of strangers. So de Blasi sets out to establish her niche in this new place and to win over her new neighbors by doing what she does best, cooking her way into their hearts. (Her recipes are included.)
Rich with history and a vivid sense of place, her memoir is by turns romantic and sensual, joyous and celebratory, as she searches for the right balance in this city on the hill, as well as the right home—which turns out to be the former ballroom of a dilapidated sixteenth-century palazzo.
De Blasi meets and makes friends with an array of colorful, memorable characters, including cooks and counts and shepherds and a lone violinist, and their stories, too, become a part of the tapestry of life that she weaves for herself in Orvieto. With a voice full of wonder, she brings to life these engagingly quirky people and the aloof, almost daunting society that exists in Umbria. Not since Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence has a writer so happily succeeded in capturing the essence of a singular place and in creating a feast for readers of all stripes.
Book Description
Touching and humorous, Marlena de Blasi’s account of moving with her husband, Fernando, to Orvieto, the largest city in Italy’s Umbria, is a story that will appeal to anyone who delights in travel and shares the fantasy of beginning a new life in a very different place. By turns romantic and sensual, joyous and celebratory, it is a tale of the couple’s search for the right home—which turns out to be the former ballroom of a fifteenth-century palazzo—and for the right balance in their lives, in this case making friends of cooks, counts, shepherds, and a lone violinist. It is a tale, too, of an American woman finding her niche in a society bound by tradition and seemingly closed to outsiders. With a voice full of wonder, de Blasi brings to life these engagingly quirky people and the aloof, almost daunting society that exists in Umbria. Not since Peter Mayle’s A Year in Provence has a writer so happily succeeded in capturing the essence of a singular place and creating a feast for readers of all stripes.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 11 more reviews...
 Beautifully written. February 12, 2007
33 out of 33 found this review helpful
There is a lot to love about this book, which is the third - and I think the best - of her books on life in Italy. It chronicles her search for a home in Orvieto, in Umbria. She and her husband find an ideal place, an apartment in what was once the grand palazzo of the Ubaldini family - a home dating back to medieval times. Unfortunately, the apartment had been sitting vacant for 13 years and was in dire need of restoration. They could not live in their home during the construction. So they waited. And waited. And waited! This story follows the author as she adjusts to life in her adopted community during this long wait, and it culminates with a lavish dinner party held in her new home.
As usual, with de Blasi, you can expect a book filled with sensual talk of wine and food; with regional recipes; with cultural and historical tidbits. But the real heart of this book - the soul of this book - is in the people to whom we are introduced. Some of them are given space to tell their life stories in their own words - and their stories are deeply moving.
"Let life shape itself" is the underlying theme of this book.
I can think of no author to compare to Marlena de Blasi. Part chef, part philosopher, part travel guide, part poet..she is an original.
Highly recommended.
I think she'll spend more than 1,000 days in orvieto March 22, 2007
22 out of 22 found this review helpful
After being disappointed by 1,000 Days in Tuscany my expectations weren't as high for this new offering from Marlene DeBlasi but I loved it.Her affection for Orivieto and the characters in the surrounding countryside, and her developing appreciation for the centuries-old relationships, not to mention her description of the home she is creating, were described in similar loving and wondering terms as her descriptino of her early days in Venice. I appreciated the personal moments (wondering if she would ever get to live in the palazzo) interspersed with cultural descriptions (the venetian's understanding of conversational subtext) and on top of it all her yearning to get on on with her life (cooking, writing) while living with the unexpected. I really loved the book.
 Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover July 8, 2007
16 out of 16 found this review helpful
You know what they say, never judge a book by its cover. Well in this case the photograph of the author on the inside of the cover led me to some judgemental thoughts.
It should be said that am drawn to books on Italy and I enjoyed my visit to Umbria several years ago. But I almost didn't buy this book because of the picture of Marlena De Blasi. Well I took a chance and I have to say I was wrong. There is no doubt that De Blasi is a free spirit, bohemian, and different. That is her charm and you can read about it on every page.
It is a wonderful story that she tells of her integration into to the conservative Italian life of Orvieto in Umbria. She mixes her quixotic lifestyle with the down-to-earth inhabitants of this city on a hill for delicious results. She is exuberant and her story is redolent with her passion for life and total disregard for the Italian class system. Despite this all turns out well in the end.
I highly recommend this tale of life in Italy. It is a completely different perspective
De Blasi is a pleasure to read February 16, 2007
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
I have read two other of Ms. de Blasi's books and thoroughly enjoyed them but this one was the most enjoyable so far. I think of A Thousand Days in Venice as a love story both for her new Italian husband and her new life in Venice, A Thousand Days in Tuscany as a continuation of her life in Italy. The Lady in the Palazzo was more like being her neighbor in Umbria and hearing her tell the story of her new life experiences.
I felt like I was sitting in the cucina with her over a cup of coffee...actually many cups of coffee.
In other words, I really liked it.
The Lady in the Palaxxo:At Home in Umbria March 29, 2007
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
Since my first visit to Italy and Tuscany, I have fallen in love with the area....the art (as an artist), the light and climate, the food, the culture and the people. After reading, Under the Tuscany Sky and all of that authors books I looked for similar and I found another author that I love and so now look forward to all of Marelna de Blasi books. A Thousand Days in Venice...then Tuscany...made want to follow her to Umbria. I was not disappointed. Therefore, I highly recommend this book to all. Now I look forward to her next adventure.
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