Synopses & Reviews
A wonderful invitation to experience the people, villages, and countryside of this beautiful area of southwestern Italy -- companion book to the 1997 TV series
"People from all over Italy lay claim to living in the real Italy, but they are wrong. The real Italy is here, in the Comino Valley, north of Naples, south of Rome, high in the mountains, surrounded by the Apennine peaks". -- From the book
Since childhood, Paolo Tullio has returned each year to his hometown of Gallinaro and the immoderate, warmhearted people of his valley. Passionate, corruptible, inquisitive, illogical and diligent, with an irrepressible desire to celebrate life as often as possible, they are memorable in this delightful portrayal.
North of Naples, South of Rome describes a chaotic wine competition, samples the Italian cantina, instructs on market-day haggling and surreptitious truffle hunting, and investigates the scams and the charms of Naples: "Driving here is a bit like fairground dodgems and the rules seem to be about the same. Certainly, it's the only city I know where traffic lights are universally ignored".